How Can I Beat the S&P 500? What the Evidence Says
The honest answer to the most asked question in investing: how many people beat the index, why it is so hard, why investors trail even their own funds, and how daily market context fits in.
eXp World Holdings, Inc. Common Stock, real estate (market value $660 million): how it compared with the S&P 500, how it behaved in every crash since 2008, its risk‑adjusted returns and what analysts said. Data as of Sep 30, 2026.
Over the 5 years to Sep 30, 2026, eXp World Holdings, Inc. Common Stock (AGNT) returned −89.9% including dividends, versus +90.0% for the S&P 500 (SPY). It lagged the index by 179.9 percentage points, or −36.7% a year against +13.7%.
| Period | AGNT | S&P 500 | AGNT per year | S&P 500 per year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | −64.4% | +15.7% | −64.4% | +15.7% | Lagged |
| 3 years | −75.7% | +85.0% | −37.6% | +22.8% | Lagged |
| 5 years | −89.9% | +90.0% | −36.7% | +13.7% | Lagged |
| Period | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGNT | −64.4% | −75.7% | −89.9% |
| S&P 500 | +15.7% | +85.0% | +90.0% |
| AGNT per year | −64.4% | −37.6% | −36.7% |
| S&P 500 per year | +15.7% | +22.8% | +13.7% |
| Result | Lagged | Lagged | Lagged |
Total return with dividends reinvested, from month-end prices to Sep 30, 2026. Beating the index on raw return is only half the story: the next section adjusts for the risk taken. See also how to beat the S&P 500.
AGNT beat the S&P 500 in 3 of the 7 full calendar years shown.
| Year | AGNT | S&P 500 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Sep 30, 2026) | −58.2% | +12.7% | −70.9% |
| 2025 | −19.6% | +17.7% | −37.3% |
| 2024 | −24.7% | +24.9% | −49.6% |
| 2023 | +42.1% | +26.2% | +15.9% |
| 2022 | −66.7% | −18.2% | −48.5% |
| 2021 | +6.9% | +28.7% | −21.8% |
| 2020 | +457.3% | +18.3% | +439.0% |
| 2019 | +59.9% | +31.2% | +28.7% |
Over 5 years, AGNT had a Sharpe ratio of −0.50 against 0.67 for the S&P 500, so it earned less return per unit of risk than the index. Its annualized volatility was 60.9% and its beta 2.07: it tended to move about 2.1× as much as the market.
| Metric | AGNT | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | −36.7% | +13.7% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 60.9% | 15.7% |
| Sharpe ratio | −0.50 | 0.67 |
| Sortino ratio | −0.69 | 1.08 |
| Max drawdown (month-end) | −92.2% | −23.9% |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | 2.07 | 1.00 |
Sharpe divides return above cash by total volatility; Sortino counts only downside volatility. Both use monthly returns and the 1–3 month T‑bill ETF (BIL) as the risk‑free rate.
AGNT was not trading through the earlier crises, so only its recent drawdowns are shown.
| Window | AGNT max drawdown |
|---|---|
| Last 1 year | −47.4% |
| Last 3 years | −47.4% |
| Last 5 years | −47.4% |
| Last 10 years | — |
Peak‑to‑trough declines from daily prices inside each crisis window. A crash replay does not predict the next crisis; it shows how much room a holding needs. Run the same replay on a whole portfolio with the crash test.
Correlation runs from −1 (moves opposite) to +1 (moves in lockstep). Over the last 60 months of monthly returns, AGNT’s correlation with the S&P 500 was 0.53, with the Nasdaq‑100 0.52, with long Treasuries (TLT) 0.42 and with gold (GLD) 0.09.
Adding a 5% AGNT position to an S&P 500 portfolio would have moved its 5‑year volatility from 15.7% to 16.7%.
| Least correlated large caps | Correlation | Most correlated large caps | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | −0.08 | BX | 0.60 |
| DELL | −0.08 | LOW | 0.55 |
| LMT | −0.04 | MCO | 0.54 |
| PFE | −0.03 | PH | 0.51 |
| VZ | −0.03 | TSLA | 0.50 |
Holdings that are highly correlated behave like one position in a selloff. See how to find hidden overlap.
In the 12 months to 30 days ago, 2 analysts published 24 ratings on AGNT. Their latest calls were 0% Buy, 100% Hold and 0% Sell. 0 of them rank 4★ or higher in Exent’s analyst scoring, which is based on each analyst’s past price‑target hit rate and returns.
Ratings are shown with a 30‑day delay. Who the top‑ranked analysts on AGNT are, their live calls and the median target of only the top‑rated analysts are in Exent Gems.
No named analyst changed a rating or price target on AGNT in the 5 weeks to Sep 22, 2026 (calls are shown 30 days after publication). The top‑ranked analysts’ calls are in Exent Gems. See all of the latest analyst upgrades and downgrades.
Returns are total returns from month‑end adjusted closing prices (dividends reinvested) through Sep 30, 2026. Crisis drawdowns and trailing maximum drawdowns use daily prices. Analyst coverage counts ratings published in the last 12 months, shown with a 30‑day delay. Full method: Exent methodology.
Company data as of Oct 20, 2026. The move around an earnings report runs from the close before it to the close after it; a price target counts as hit when the stock closed at or beyond it within 12 months (Exent analyst data). Revenue by region and segment, share counts and executive pay come from company filings; insider trades from SEC Form 4, short interest from FINRA, institutional ownership from 13F filings, Congress trades from STOCK Act disclosures filed with the House and Senate, federal contracts from USAspending.gov. Filings from the last 30 days are shown as counts only.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Historical figures are calculated by Exent from market data and are for education only; they are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
No. AGNT returned −89.9% (−36.7% a year) over the 5 years to Sep 30, 2026, versus +90.0% (+13.7% a year) for the S&P 500, including dividends.
No. As of Oct 20, 2026, AGNT (eXp World Holdings, Inc. Common Stock) is not one of the 503 stocks in the S&P 500.
No. As of Oct 20, 2026, AGNT (eXp World Holdings, Inc. Common Stock) is not one of the 101 stocks in the Nasdaq-100.
Over the 5 years to Sep 30, 2026, AGNT’s Sharpe ratio was −0.50 and its Sortino ratio −0.69, versus 0.67 and 1.08 for the S&P 500.
AGNT’s 5‑year annualized volatility was 61.5%, higher than the S&P 500’s 17.0%, with a beta of 2.07.
Among large US stocks, the lowest correlations with AGNT over the last 60 months were PG (−0.08), DELL (−0.08), LMT (−0.04). Its correlation with long Treasuries (TLT) was 0.42 and with gold (GLD) 0.09.
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Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.