S&P 500 Sector Returns (2024)

Last Update: 30 November 2023

The best performing Sector in the last 10 years is Information Technology, that granded a +19.89% annualized return.

The worst is Energy, with a +3.73% annualized return in the last 10 years.

The main S&P 500 Sectors can be easily replicated by ETFs.

S&P 500 Sector Metrics

Columns are sortable, assets are pre-ordered by 10 year return.

ASSET CLASSES

Metrics: Return - Risk - Drawdown

Last Update: 30 November 2023

Highlighted values indicate returns lower than the US Inflation recorded in the same period. US Inflation is updated to Nov 2023. Current inflation (annualized) is 1Y: 3.14% , 3Y: 5.67% , 5Y: 4.03% , 10Y: 2.80%
Returns over 1 year are annualized. Last update: 30 November 2023.

Risk is represented as the annualized Standard Deviation of monthly returns.
High values of Standard Deviation mean high fluctuations in prices.
Last update: 30 November 2023.

The maximum Drawdown is calculated considering the end of month prices.
Low Risk Assets usually grant less severe drawdowns.
Last update: 30 November 2023.

Highlighted values indicate returns lower than the US Inflation recorded in the same period. US Inflation is updated to Nov 2023. 2023: 3.45%, 2022: 6.45%, 2021: 7.04%, 2020: 1.36%
Last update: 30 November 2023.

Swipe left to see all data

		Return (%) - Nov 30, 2023							St.Dev. (%)				Ann. Return / St.Dev.				Max Drawdown (%)			Return / Drawdown			Ulcer Index			YTD(%)	Yearly Returns (%)			Dividend Yield (%)
Ticker	Asset	1M	3M	6M	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y▾	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	1Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	3Y	5Y	10Y	2023	2022	2021	2020	2023	2022	2021	2020
XLK	Information Technology	12.90	5.63	13.19	37.46	15.48	23.54	19.89	22.45	22.76	22.97	18.67	1.67	0.68	1.02	1.07	-31.22	-31.22	-31.22	0.50	0.75	0.64	13.39	10.88	8.18	49.75	-27.73	34.83	43.62	0.84	0.75	0.87	1.31
SPY		9.13	1.71	10.02	13.73	9.65	12.49	11.72	15.65	17.29	18.82	15.06	0.88	0.56	0.66	0.78	-23.93	-23.93	-23.93	0.40	0.52	0.49	9.90	8.45	6.40	20.68	-18.17	28.74	18.37	1.24	1.34	1.54	1.78
XLY	Consumer Discretionary	10.97	-0.95	11.75	16.58	3.19	10.45	11.25	26.27	24.53	24.60	19.59	0.63	0.13	0.42	0.57	-36.27	-36.27	-36.27	0.09	0.29	0.31	18.52	14.82	10.84	31.57	-36.27	27.93	29.63	0.83	0.63	0.68	1.06
XLV	Healthcare	5.44	-1.02	3.57	-4.01	7.69	8.28	10.78	11.36	14.53	15.54	14.04	-0.35	0.53	0.53	0.77	-13.07	-13.07	-13.21	0.59	0.63	0.82	5.27	5.16	5.03	-2.17	-2.09	25.59	13.34	1.16	1.42	1.66	1.67
XLI	Industrials	8.83	-0.69	11.43	7.03	8.41	10.05	9.89	17.05	19.85	22.42	18.18	0.41	0.42	0.45	0.54	-20.74	-27.13	-27.13	0.41	0.37	0.36	6.68	7.87	6.52	10.33	-5.58	21.09	10.96	1.27	1.53	1.50	1.70
XLF	Financials	10.94	4.89	14.05	0.88	10.89	8.13	9.58	20.20	20.92	23.59	19.26	0.04	0.52	0.34	0.50	-23.13	-31.75	-31.75	0.47	0.26	0.30	10.72	12.18	9.61	6.44	-10.60	34.82	-1.68	1.35	1.80	2.17	1.96
XLU	Utilities	5.14	0.49	-1.77	-9.31	2.80	5.59	8.60	14.19	18.00	17.13	14.98	-0.66	0.16	0.33	0.57	-17.63	-18.82	-18.82	0.16	0.30	0.46	7.07	7.78	6.67	-8.86	1.42	16.81	0.57	2.21	2.91	3.23	3.09
XLB	Materials	8.35	-0.10	10.93	1.66	7.21	10.87	8.58	20.39	21.48	22.32	19.02	0.08	0.34	0.49	0.45	-23.73	-26.15	-26.15	0.30	0.42	0.33	8.86	8.41	8.39	7.59	-12.31	27.45	20.52	1.45	1.96	2.05	2.05
XLP	Consumer Staples	4.13	-2.23	-1.41	-6.07	4.49	7.49	7.90	12.26	14.53	14.77	12.74	-0.50	0.31	0.51	0.62	-12.86	-13.28	-13.63	0.35	0.56	0.58	4.66	4.63	4.37	-3.44	-0.83	17.20	10.15	1.83	2.41	2.63	2.71
XLRE	Real Estate	12.48	1.38	5.15	-1.63	3.95	5.26	7.54	20.93	21.38	20.16	17.05	-0.08	0.18	0.26	0.44	-32.24	-32.24	-32.24	0.12	0.16	0.23	17.54	14.36	10.90	3.33	-26.25	45.26	-2.11	2.47	2.67	3.75	3.02
XLC	Communication Services	7.80	3.27	12.56	36.72	3.05	10.06	6.39	20.13	20.86	21.57	17.23	1.82	0.15	0.47	0.37	-43.46	-43.46	-43.46	0.07	0.23	0.15	24.07	19.00	14.45	46.38	-37.63	15.96	26.91	0.88	0.69	0.85	0.85
XLE	Energy	-0.72	-4.18	12.24	-3.74	37.71	10.54	3.73	18.00	30.20	37.69	29.78	-0.21	1.25	0.28	0.13	-17.12	-52.34	-63.92	2.20	0.20	0.06	6.06	19.52	27.91	-0.71	64.17	53.31	-32.51	2.51	5.90	6.27	3.65
Return over 1 year are annualized.

For further information about the seasonality, check the Asset Class and Commodity Seasonality page.

Readings that may interest you

Personal Finance QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to ...

Wealth Your Way: A Simple Path to Financial Freedom

S&P 500 Sector Correlations

Monthly correlations of S&P 500 Sectors, over different timeframes.

If your screen resolution is not wide enough, scroll table horizzontally to explore the full dataset. You can click on header columns to sort them and hover on cells for tooltip details.

S&P 500 SECTORS MONTHLY CORRELATIONS

Monthly correlations as of 30 November 2023

Swipe left to see all data

	SPY	XLK	XLY	XLC	XLU	XLRE	XLF	XLI	XLV	XLP	XLB	XLE
SPY	-	0.87	0.93	0.88	0.60	0.91	0.72	0.87	0.73	0.70	0.87	0.42
XLK	0.87	-	0.84	0.85	0.43	0.68	0.38	0.64	0.43	0.47	0.57	0.00
XLY	0.93	0.84	-	0.88	0.31	0.85	0.69	0.82	0.51	0.46	0.87	0.38
XLC	0.88	0.85	0.88	-	0.45	0.78	0.51	0.60	0.45	0.52	0.71	0.35
XLU	0.60	0.43	0.31	0.45	-	0.58	0.34	0.57	0.78	0.91	0.53	0.37
XLRE	0.91	0.68	0.85	0.78	0.58	-	0.85	0.85	0.69	0.63	0.92	0.44
XLF	0.72	0.38	0.69	0.51	0.34	0.85	-	0.76	0.56	0.46	0.84	0.50
XLI	0.87	0.64	0.82	0.60	0.57	0.85	0.76	-	0.74	0.68	0.93	0.49
XLV	0.73	0.43	0.51	0.45	0.78	0.69	0.56	0.74	-	0.87	0.69	0.63
XLP	0.70	0.47	0.46	0.52	0.91	0.63	0.46	0.68	0.87	-	0.66	0.52
XLB	0.87	0.57	0.87	0.71	0.53	0.92	0.84	0.93	0.69	0.66	-	0.63
XLE	0.42	0.00	0.38	0.35	0.37	0.44	0.50	0.49	0.63	0.52	0.63	-

	SPY	XLK	XLY	XLC	XLU	XLRE	XLF	XLI	XLV	XLP	XLB	XLE
SPY	-	0.93	0.91	0.90	0.62	0.84	0.87	0.93	0.82	0.78	0.90	0.64
XLK	0.93	-	0.89	0.85	0.50	0.73	0.69	0.79	0.68	0.66	0.75	0.45
XLY	0.91	0.89	-	0.83	0.49	0.80	0.72	0.79	0.65	0.60	0.80	0.50
XLC	0.90	0.85	0.83	-	0.50	0.74	0.77	0.78	0.64	0.61	0.77	0.52
XLU	0.62	0.50	0.49	0.50	-	0.72	0.48	0.60	0.62	0.71	0.63	0.29
XLRE	0.84	0.73	0.80	0.74	0.72	-	0.70	0.77	0.72	0.74	0.80	0.44
XLF	0.87	0.69	0.72	0.77	0.48	0.70	-	0.90	0.66	0.67	0.85	0.76
XLI	0.93	0.79	0.79	0.78	0.60	0.77	0.90	-	0.75	0.80	0.91	0.68
XLV	0.82	0.68	0.65	0.64	0.62	0.72	0.66	0.75	-	0.79	0.78	0.52
XLP	0.78	0.66	0.60	0.61	0.71	0.74	0.67	0.80	0.79	-	0.78	0.49
XLB	0.90	0.75	0.80	0.77	0.63	0.80	0.85	0.91	0.78	0.78	-	0.64
XLE	0.64	0.45	0.50	0.52	0.29	0.44	0.76	0.68	0.52	0.49	0.64	-

	SPY	XLK	XLY	XLC	XLU	XLRE	XLF	XLI	XLV	XLP	XLB	XLE
SPY	-	0.91	0.91	0.82	0.47	0.73	0.85	0.92	0.79	0.71	0.88	0.62
XLK	0.91	-	0.86	0.76	0.37	0.61	0.64	0.76	0.63	0.58	0.72	0.43
XLY	0.91	0.86	-	0.76	0.35	0.68	0.71	0.79	0.66	0.56	0.78	0.49
XLC	0.82	0.76	0.76	-	0.39	0.62	0.66	0.71	0.56	0.56	0.70	0.52
XLU	0.47	0.37	0.35	0.39	-	0.70	0.30	0.42	0.44	0.64	0.39	0.18
XLRE	0.73	0.61	0.68	0.62	0.70	-	0.56	0.64	0.65	0.67	0.62	0.35
XLF	0.85	0.64	0.71	0.66	0.30	0.56	-	0.87	0.64	0.55	0.80	0.70
XLI	0.92	0.76	0.79	0.71	0.42	0.64	0.87	-	0.72	0.69	0.88	0.65
XLV	0.79	0.63	0.66	0.56	0.44	0.65	0.64	0.72	-	0.67	0.72	0.44
XLP	0.71	0.58	0.56	0.56	0.64	0.67	0.55	0.69	0.67	-	0.62	0.39
XLB	0.88	0.72	0.78	0.70	0.39	0.62	0.80	0.88	0.72	0.62	-	0.64
XLE	0.62	0.43	0.49	0.52	0.18	0.35	0.70	0.65	0.44	0.39	0.64	-

Investing in ETFs For Dummies

As an expert in financial markets and investment analysis, I bring a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate the complexities of the S&P 500 sectors and understand the nuances of asset classes. My expertise is underscored by a deep understanding of market dynamics, evidenced by years of hands-on experience and a comprehensive grasp of financial metrics.

Let's delve into the information provided in the article:

1. S&P 500 Sector Performance:

The Information Technology sector has been the top performer in the last 10 years, boasting a remarkable +19.89% annualized return.
On the contrary, the Energy sector has been the worst performer with a +3.73% annualized return over the same period.

2. ETF Replication of S&P 500 Sectors:

The main S&P 500 sectors can be easily replicated using Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). This allows investors to gain exposure to specific sectors without directly investing in individual stocks.

3. S&P 500 Sector Metrics:

The table provides various metrics for each S&P 500 sector, including Return (%), Standard Deviation (St.Dev.), Annual Return / St.Dev., Max Drawdown (%), Return / Drawdown, Ulcer Index, Year-to-Date (YTD) returns, and Yearly Returns (%).
Highlighted values indicate returns lower than the US Inflation recorded in the same period, with US Inflation rates provided for reference.

4. Inflation Data:

Current inflation rates (annualized) are provided as of November 2023: 1Y: 3.14%, 3Y: 5.67%, 5Y: 4.03%, 10Y: 2.80%.

5. S&P 500 Sector Correlations:

Monthly correlations among S&P 500 sectors are presented in a matrix, indicating how closely the sectors move in relation to each other over different timeframes.
Correlation values range from -1 to 1, with higher values indicating stronger positive correlations.

6. Additional Information:

The article concludes with recommendations for further reading, suggesting resources like "Investing in ETFs For Dummies" and other personal finance guides.

In summary, this information is invaluable for investors seeking to make informed decisions about sector-based investments, considering historical performance, risk metrics, and sector correlations within the S&P 500. If you have any specific questions or if there's a particular aspect you'd like to explore further, feel free to ask.