# How Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/wfc
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on WFC alone. It places WFC (Wells Fargo & Company) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where WFC stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: WFC's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** WFC has gone against the market, falling 4.3% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its bank peers split over the past 3 months: TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank) rose 2.1%, while BAC (Bank of America) fell 15.8%.
- **Stock or market?:** Not a move of its own: the banks ETF KBE (State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF) fell 6.8% over the past 3 months, with BAC (Bank of America, down 15.8%) and C (Citigroup, down 4.3%), while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its bank peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank) rose 2.1%, while BAC fell 15.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, WFC fell 2.4% while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. That said, the last two calendar years both went the same way: WFC rose 35.6% in 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%.
- **Long term:** WFC turned $10,000 into $24,100 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. That said, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: WFC rose 85.0% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, WFC has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500. The Covid crash took 47.1% off WFC, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. That was more than JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co., 42.5%) but less than C (Citigroup, 54.8%).
- **Diversification:** WFC is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.54 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.57 with the total US market, more closely than 81% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years, WFC's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.13: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.0 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.3 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CBOE (Cboe Global Markets, capital markets) and RY (Royal Bank of Canada, banks) earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years. CBOE returned 21.5% a year at 25.1% volatility, against 13.1% a year at 29.5%.
  - **Whole market:** 181 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), WMT (Walmart) and JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.).

## How much would $10,000 in WFC have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in WFC over the past 29 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of WFC over the same span and WFC's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in WFC at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $112,272 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of WFC, and TD finished highest, at $422,896.

## WFC at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- WFC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 79.0%, from September 2008 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, WFC's best was 1997, when it returned 81.9%, and its worst was 2020, when it lost 41.6%. It lost money in seven of those years.
- WFC is 13.3% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Banks - Diversified)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $248B
- Volatility (5 years): 29.5%; Sharpe ratio: 0.57
- Worst decline ever: −79.0%, from September 19, 2008 to March 5, 2009; back at its high by March 7, 2013

| Period | WFC total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −5.0% |
| 3 months | −4.3% |
| 6 months | +1.4% |
| year to date | −12.3% |
| 1 year | −2.4% |
| 3 years | +119% |
| 5 years | +85.0% |
| 10 years | +141% |

## WFC against the whole market

Where WFC ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does WFC rank among all stocks?

This section ranks WFC on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- WFC is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 24% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | WFC | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −2.4% | 2,081 of 3,287 (top 64%) |
| 3-year return | +119% | 777 of 3,017 (top 26%) |
| 5-year return | +85.0% | 785 of 2,893 (top 28%) |
| 10-year return | +141% | 1,120 of 2,202 (top 51%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 29.5% | 680 of 2,893 (top 24%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.57 | 756 of 2,893 (top 27%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −64.5% | 1,063 of 2,187 (top 49%) |

### What has beaten WFC on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 104 stocks and 77 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than WFC over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 5% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half WFC's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 16% less than WFC's 29.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.57 for WFC.
- Among WFC's popular alternatives, BNY, TD and JPM are in the region. BNY earned 22.7% a year against 13.1% a year for WFC, at 24.4% volatility, 18% less than WFC's 29.5%.

### Is there a better investment than WFC?

The table below lists investments that beat WFC over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among WFC's popular alternatives, JPM, TD and BNY earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years. JPM returned 17.3% a year at 24.3% volatility, against 13.1% a year at 29.5%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CBOE (capital markets) and RY (banks) earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years. CBOE returned 21.5% a year at 25.1% volatility, against 13.1% a year at 29.5%.
- Across the whole market, 181 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, WMT and JPM.

The 15 strongest of 181 investments that beat WFC over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with WFC | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WFC: Wells Fargo & Company (this page) |  | +13.1% | 29.5% | 0.57 | −64.5% | +141% |  |  |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MRK](https://easycompare.io/research/mrk): Merck & Co., Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +16.3% | 24.8% | 0.74 | −43.4% | +241% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CB](https://easycompare.io/research/cb): Chubb Limited | Property & Casualty Insurance | +15.7% | 20.4% | 0.82 | −42.6% | +248% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MSI](https://easycompare.io/research/msi): Motorola Solutions, Inc. | Communications Equipment | +14.8% | 23.6% | 0.71 | −32.8% | +625% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +18.5% | 28.0% | 0.75 | −38.5% | +1,168% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +18.9% | 22.9% | 0.87 | −45.3% | +443% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| L: Loews Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +14.3% | 19.2% | 0.80 | −48.5% | +180% | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| RNR: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. | Insurance | +20.1% | 27.8% | 0.80 | −40.7% | +215% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| THG: The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +14.4% | 22.9% | 0.70 | −40.1% | +291% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | Capital Markets | +21.5% | 25.1% | 0.91 | −43.2% | +463% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## WFC against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against WFC, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do WFC's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Eight of the 23 popular alternatives, led by BNY, GS and JPM, were both more rewarding and calmer than WFC over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, WFC returned 13.1% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (29.5% against 17.1%).

### Has WFC consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares WFC with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Seven of the 23 popular alternatives, led by JPM, TD and BNY, outperformed WFC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- JPM and TD outperformed WFC in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- BNY, TD and JPM earned more for the risk they took than WFC (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of WFC | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WFC: Wells Fargo & Company (this page) | −2.4% | +119% | +85.0% | +141% |  |  | 0.57 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | +13.0% | +150% | +122% | +537% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.78 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | +57.5% | +141% | +109% | +310% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.84 |
| [BNY](https://easycompare.io/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | +35.3% | +272% | +179% | +341% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.97 |
| [BMO](https://easycompare.io/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | +37.6% | +146% | +89.4% | +295% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.71 |
| [STT](https://easycompare.io/research/stt): State Street Corporation | +47.9% | +181% | +96.2% | +212% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.60 |
| [FITB](https://easycompare.io/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | +29.6% | +151% | +38.9% | +255% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.37 |
| NTRS: Northern Trust Corporation | +31.1% | +180% | +52.9% | +205% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.44 |
| [MS](https://easycompare.io/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | +13.9% | +170% | +110% | +627% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | +18.2% | +215% | +145% | +521% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | +26.0% | +238% | +102% | +234% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [AXP](https://easycompare.io/research/axp): American Express Company | −7.9% | +133% | +88.5% | +446% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| CFG: Citizens Financial Group, Inc. | +31.5% | +205% | +55.0% | +266% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |
| [COF](https://easycompare.io/research/cof): Capital One Financial Corporation | −4.7% | +134% | +27.0% | +222% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [MA](https://easycompare.io/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | +10.3% | +64.3% | +79.2% | +541% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | +19.0% | +78.2% | +82.5% | +429% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| RF: Regions Financial Corporation | +20.5% | +120% | +45.7% | +278% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| [PNC](https://easycompare.io/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | +25.3% | +120% | +25.1% | +230% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.30 |
| KEY: KeyCorp | +24.6% | +143% | +11.9% | +143% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | −0.6% | +107% | +21.6% | +282% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | +30.3% | +117% | +17.6% | +94.6% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | +23.4% | +111% | +59.3% | +143% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | +1.9% | +82.4% | +16.1% | +132% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |
| [TFC](https://easycompare.io/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | +13.6% | +102% | −5.7% | +82.7% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |

### How did WFC do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where WFC ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, WFC finished in the top quarter in seven of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 11 of 24.
- WFC finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, V came out ahead of WFC most often, in 11 of the 17 years both traded.

| Year | WFC | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +35.6% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +46.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +22.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −11.9% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +61.1% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −41.6% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +21.4% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −21.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +13.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +4.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How WFC has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were WFC's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all four of WFC's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: WFC fell 64.5% from January 2018 to October 2020, while the S&P 500 rose 21.3%.
- The slowest recovery came after WFC fell 79.0% from September 2008 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until March 2013, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −79.0% | September 19, 2008 | March 5, 2009 | March 7, 2013 | −44.1% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −64.5% | January 26, 2018 | October 29, 2020 | February 8, 2022 | +21.3% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −43.6% | October 5, 2007 | July 15, 2008 | September 18, 2008 | −21.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −38.8% | June 5, 1990 | October 3, 1990 | February 1, 1991 | — |  |
| −37.1% | February 9, 2022 | March 24, 2023 | March 4, 2024 | −11.8% | 2022 bear market |

### How did WFC do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far WFC, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- WFC fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when WFC fell 79.0% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.
- Among its popular alternatives, V held up best, falling less than WFC in seven of the eight crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | WFC fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −29.2% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −79.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.1% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −20.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −13.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −47.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −36.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −12.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does WFC move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- 20 of the 23 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than WFC's 0.75, led by MA, V and JPM.
- V took just 79% of the S&P 500's losses, against 129% for WFC, while still keeping 93% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, WFC captured 96% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 129% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.13. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WFC: Wells Fargo & Company (this page) | 96.0% | 129% | 1.13 |
| [JPM](https://easycompare.io/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 117% | 103% | 1.09 |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 89.0% | 80.0% | 0.88 |
| [BNY](https://easycompare.io/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | 115% | 120% | 1.08 |
| [BMO](https://easycompare.io/research/bmo): Bank of Montreal | 104% | 112% | 1.12 |
| [STT](https://easycompare.io/research/stt): State Street Corporation | 128% | 166% | 1.48 |
| [FITB](https://easycompare.io/research/fitb): Fifth Third Bancorp | 102% | 114% | 1.22 |
| NTRS: Northern Trust Corporation | 111% | 136% | 1.18 |
| [MS](https://easycompare.io/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | 142% | 137% | 1.39 |
| [GS](https://easycompare.io/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 136% | 133% | 1.39 |
| [C](https://easycompare.io/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | 131% | 165% | 1.49 |
| [AXP](https://easycompare.io/research/axp): American Express Company | 117% | 113% | 1.16 |
| CFG: Citizens Financial Group, Inc. | 118% | 140% | 1.37 |
| [COF](https://easycompare.io/research/cof): Capital One Financial Corporation | 115% | 146% | 1.39 |
| [MA](https://easycompare.io/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | 105% | 88.0% | 0.95 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | 93.0% | 79.0% | 0.87 |
| RF: Regions Financial Corporation | 113% | 127% | 1.26 |
| [PNC](https://easycompare.io/research/pnc): The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. | 108% | 127% | 1.15 |
| KEY: KeyCorp | 100% | 132% | 1.28 |
| [BAC](https://easycompare.io/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | 127% | 146% | 1.36 |
| [USB](https://easycompare.io/research/usb): U.S. Bancorp | 89.0% | 130% | 1.05 |
| MTB: M&T Bank Corporation | 75.0% | 86.0% | 0.86 |
| HBAN: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated | 89.0% | 116% | 1.13 |
| [TFC](https://easycompare.io/research/tfc): Truist Financial Corporation | 86.0% | 126% | 1.11 |

### What diversifies WFC?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in WFC into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+14.3% for WFC alone, +16.1% for the mix).
- MCK made money in six of the seven calendar years in which WFC lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EWP have moved largely independently of WFC over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.43 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with WFC | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in WFC's 7 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.43 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 7 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.26 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 7 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.40 | +140% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 2 of 7 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.31 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 7 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.08 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 7 |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | 0.46 | +107% | 17.2% | 0.94 | 3 of 7 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.42 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 7 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.42 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 7 |

## Common questions

### What was WFC's worst drawdown?

WFC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 79.0%, from September 2008 to March 2009. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were WFC's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, WFC's best year was 1997, when it returned 81.9%. Its worst was 2020, with a return of -41.6%.

### Is there a better investment than WFC?

Among WFC's popular alternatives, JPM, TD and BNY earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years. JPM returned 17.3% a year at 24.3% volatility, against 13.1% a year at 29.5%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CBOE (capital markets) and RY (banks) earned more than WFC with less volatility over the past 5 years. CBOE returned 21.5% a year at 25.1% volatility, against 13.1% a year at 29.5%.

### Is WFC more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. WFC's volatility over the past 5 years was 29.5%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, WFC's return lands within 29.5% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is WFC's Sharpe ratio?

WFC's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.57, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so WFC earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is WFC with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, WFC's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.54 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against WFC instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a WFC holding.

### What are the best alternatives to WFC?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, seven outperformed WFC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: JPM, TD and BNY.

### Did WFC outperform the S&P 500?

WFC finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +35.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did WFC do in stock market crashes?

WFC fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when WFC fell 79.0% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies WFC?

These had a low correlation with WFC over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.43), DXJ (correlation 0.26) and EWP (correlation 0.40); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.29), CLS (correlation 0.48) and FIX (correlation 0.35). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/wfc
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against WFC live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=WFC&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research