SOFI vs HOOD: Stock Returns, Risk & Volatility (2026)

Q: Which is a better investment: SOFI or HOOD?

Over the past year, HOOD looks like the better investment: it had higher total return (HOOD +83.2% vs SOFI +46.9%) and a higher Sharpe ratio (HOOD 1.15 vs SOFI 0.88). On risk, SOFI was less volatile (SOFI 58.5% vs HOOD 70.9%), SOFI had a smaller max drawdown (SOFI -53.0% vs HOOD -57.3%), and SOFI had less severe losses on the worst 5% of days (Expected Shortfall of SOFI -8.00% vs HOOD -9.47%).

Written by Gale Finance Team

Reviewed by Sid Kalla CFA Charterholder

Quick answer

Which is a better investment: SOFI or HOOD?

Over the past year, HOOD outperformed (+46.9% vs +83.2%) with a Sharpe ratio of 1.15.

Total Return

SOFI +46.9%

HOOD WIN +83.2%

Sharpe Ratio

SOFI 0.88

HOOD WIN 1.15

Annualized Volatility

SOFI WIN 58.5%

HOOD 70.9%

Max Drawdown

SOFI WIN -53.0%

HOOD -57.3%

Analysis period: 2025-04-03 to 2026-04-01

SOFI Total Return

↑ +46.9%

HOOD Total Return

↑ +83.2%

Relative Performance of SOFI vs HOOD (Normalized to 100)

SOFI HOOD

Normalized to 100 at start date for comparison

Key Takeaways

Total Return: SOFI delivered a +46.9% total return, while HOOD returned +83.2% over the same period. HOOD outperformed on total returns.
Risk-Adjusted Return (Sharpe Ratio): HOOD had a higher Sharpe (1.15 vs 0.88), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.
Volatility (Annualized): HOOD was more volatile, with 70.9% annualized volatility, versus 58.5% for SOFI.
Maximum Drawdown: SOFI's maximum drawdown was -53.0%, while HOOD experienced a deeper drawdown of -57.3%.
Tail Risk (VaR & Expected Shortfall): At the 5% level (daily log returns), SOFI's VaR was -6.28% and its Expected Shortfall (CVaR) was -8.00%; HOOD's were -7.70% and -9.47%. VaR is the cutoff; Expected Shortfall is the average move on the worst days.
Skew & Kurtosis: Skew: SOFI 0.05 vs HOOD 0.42. Excess kurtosis: SOFI 2.28 vs HOOD 2.35. Negative skew leans downside; higher excess kurtosis means fatter tails.
Tail Days & Extremes: 2σ tail days (down/up): SOFI 7/4, HOOD 10/6. Worst day: SOFI -11.86% (2025-11-13) vs HOOD -10.81% (2025-11-06). Best day: SOFI +19.89% (2025-04-09) vs HOOD +23.53% (2025-04-09).
Risk ratios: Sortino - SOFI: 1.32 vs. HOOD: 1.85 , Calmar - SOFI: 0.89 vs. HOOD: 1.47 , Sterling - SOFI: 2.08 vs. HOOD: 2.98 , Treynor - SOFI: 0.25 vs. HOOD: 0.33 , Ulcer Index - SOFI: 19.68% vs. HOOD: 23.70%

SoFi Technologies vs Robinhood Correlation

0.54 Average Correlation

SoFi Technologies and Robinhood are moderately correlated over the past year. With a correlation of 0.54, these assets show moderate co-movement, offering some diversification when held together.

For portfolio construction, this moderate correlation offers some diversification benefit, though the assets still tend to move together during major market moves.

Metric	Value
Current (30-day)	0.62
Average (full period)	0.54
Minimum	-0.02
Maximum	0.86

Correlation measures how closely two assets move together. Values near +1 indicate strong co-movement, near 0 indicates independence, and negative values indicate inverse movement.

Investment Comparison

If you invested $10,000 in each asset on April 3, 2025:

SOFI $14,689.85 +46.9%

HOOD $18,324.62 +83.2%

Difference: $3,634.77 (HOOD ahead)

SoFi Technologies and Robinhood: Risk Analysis

SoFi Technologies experienced its maximum drawdown of -53% from 2025-11-12 to 2026-03-30. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Robinhood experienced its maximum drawdown of -57.3% from 2025-10-09 to 2026-03-30. It has not yet recovered to its previous peak.

Smaller drawdowns and faster recoveries indicate lower downside risk and greater resilience during market stress.

Sharpe Ratio of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Sharpe Ratio

↑ 0.88

HOOD Sharpe Ratio

↑ 1.15

Sharpe ratio measures return per unit of risk (volatility). A higher Sharpe indicates better risk-adjusted performance. HOOD had a higher Sharpe (1.15 vs 0.88), indicating better risk-adjusted performance.

A Sharpe above 1.0 is generally considered good, above 2.0 is excellent. Negative Sharpe means the asset underperformed the risk-free rate. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Sortino Ratio of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Sortino Ratio

↑ 1.32

HOOD Sortino Ratio

↑ 1.85

Sortino ratio measures return per unit of downside risk. Unlike Sharpe, it only counts downside deviation (returns below the target return). HOOD had better downside-adjusted returns.

A higher Sortino is better. It's useful when upside volatility is common (crypto is the obvious example). Downside deviation: SOFI 39.0% vs HOOD 44.1%. Calculated on each asset's full 365-day lookback of available prices, using the daily risk-free rate as the target return, and annualized using the asset calendar (365 for crypto, 252 trading days for equities/ETFs/metals).

Calmar Ratio of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Calmar Ratio

↑ 0.89

HOOD Calmar Ratio

↑ 1.47

Calmar ratio compares CAGR to maximum drawdown. Higher Calmar means more return per unit of worst drawdown. HOOD posted the higher Calmar ratio.

Calmar is computed on each asset's full 365-day lookback and uses the max drawdown over that same window.

Sterling Ratio of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Sterling Ratio

↑ 2.08

HOOD Sterling Ratio

↑ 2.98

Sterling ratio measures excess return per unit of average drawdown (typically drawdowns worse than 10%). HOOD posted the higher Sterling ratio.

Sterling uses average drawdown events deeper than 10% and subtracts the risk-free rate to report excess return.

Treynor Ratio of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Treynor Ratio

↑ 0.25

HOOD Treynor Ratio

↑ 0.33

Treynor ratio measures excess return per unit of market risk (beta) instead of total volatility. HOOD posted the higher Treynor ratio.

Treynor uses beta vs the S&P 500 (SPY) on shared dates and the average 3-month Treasury rate as the risk-free rate.

Ulcer Index of SOFI and HOOD

SOFI Ulcer Index

19.68%

HOOD Ulcer Index

23.70%

Ulcer Index captures drawdown depth and duration. Lower Ulcer Index means less drawdown pain. SOFI had the lower Ulcer Index (less drawdown pain).

Ulcer Index is computed from each asset's drawdown series over the full lookback window.

Tail Risk & Distribution Shape (1-Year): SoFi Technologies vs. Robinhood

This section looks at the shape of daily returns, not just the average. Tail stats are computed per asset on its own daily series (crypto includes weekends). We use daily log returns $\ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)$ so multi-day moves add cleanly.

Definitions: Value at Risk (VaR), Expected Shortfall, skew, kurtosis, and fat tails.

Metric (1-Year)	SOFI	HOOD
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.28%	-7.70%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-8.00% (worst 13 days)	-9.47% (worst 13 days)
Skew	0.05	0.42
Excess kurtosis	2.28	2.35
2σ tail days (down / up)	7 / 4	10 / 6
Worst day	-11.86% (2025-11-13)	-10.81% (2025-11-06)
Best day	+19.89% (2025-04-09)	+23.53% (2025-04-09)

Downside co-moves (2σ) — 1-Year

Computed on shared dates only (n=249). A “2σ downside move” means a shared-close log return more than 2 standard deviations below that asset’s own mean on this shared-date series. Dates below show simple returns (%) for readability.

When HOOD has a big down day, SOFI also does

40.0%

4 / 10 days

When SOFI has a big down day, HOOD also does

57.1%

4 / 7 days

Show downside tail dates

Dates below are shared-date observations. The “Date” is the period end (close). Tail thresholds are computed on log returns, but the table shows simple returns (%) for readability. Returns are computed from the previous shared close to this one (for example, Friday → Monday includes weekend moves).

Days when both SOFI and HOOD had a big down day (2σ)

Date (interval)	SOFI	HOOD
2025-04-04	-10.06%	-9.80%
2025-10-10	-7.94%	-8.85%
2025-11-06	-9.68%	-10.81%
2025-11-13	-11.86%	-8.61%

Days when SOFI had a big down day

Date (interval)	SOFI	HOOD
2025-04-04	-10.06%	-9.80%
2025-04-10	-7.64%	-4.03%
2025-10-10	-7.94%	-8.85%
2025-11-06	-9.68%	-10.81%
2025-11-13	-11.86%	-8.61%
2026-01-06	-7.86%	-1.25%
2026-02-27	-7.02%	-4.53%

Days when HOOD had a big down day

Date (interval)	SOFI	HOOD
2025-04-04	-10.06%	-9.80%
2025-10-10	-7.94%	-8.85%
2025-11-06	-9.68%	-10.81%
2025-11-13	-11.86%	-8.61%
2025-11-20	-6.77%	-10.11%
2025-12-11	-0.07%	-9.05%
2026-01-30 → 2026-02-02	-3.20%	-9.62%
2026-02-05	-6.22%	-9.85%
2026-02-11	-2.97%	-8.91%
2026-02-12	-6.08%	-8.79%

Read this as “how ugly the ugly days get”, not as a precise forecast. One-year samples are small, so tail estimates are inherently noisy.

SoFi Technologies vs Robinhood Volatility (SOFI vs HOOD)

SOFI Volatility

58.5%

±3.68% daily

HOOD Volatility

70.9%

±4.46% daily

Typical daily swing

SOFI

±3.68%

HOOD

±4.46%

SoFi Technologies's annualized volatility of 58.5% means it typically moves ±3.68% on any given day.

Robinhood's annualized volatility of 70.9% means it typically moves ±4.46% on any given day.

HOOD's higher volatility means a wider path to returns — this can be attractive for tactical, shorter-term exposure, while SOFI's smoother profile may better suit long-term allocators seeking steadier growth.

For comparison, the S&P 500 typically has 15-18% annualized volatility, translating to roughly ±1% daily moves. Higher volatility means larger potential gains but also larger potential losses.

SoFi Technologies vs Robinhood Performance Over Time

Metric	SOFI	HOOD
30 Days	-15%	-11%
90 Days	-40.3%	-38%
180 Days	-38.1%	-52.8%
1 Year	46.9%	83.2%

Shorter time frames can show different leaders as market conditions change. Consider your investment horizon when comparing performance.

Full Comparison of SoFi Technologies vs. Robinhood (1-Year)

Metric	SOFI	HOOD
Total Return	+46.9%	+83.2%
Annualized Volatility	58.5%	70.9%
Sharpe Ratio	0.88	1.15
Sortino Ratio	1.32	1.85
Calmar Ratio	0.89	1.47
Sterling Ratio	2.08	2.98
Treynor Ratio	0.25	0.33
Ulcer Index	19.68%	23.70%
Max Drawdown	-53.0%	-57.3%
Avg Correlation to S&P 500	0.62	0.55
5% VaR (daily log return)	-6.28%	-7.70%
5% Expected Shortfall (CVaR)	-8.00%	-9.47%
Skew	0.05	0.42
Excess kurtosis	2.28	2.35
2σ tail days (down / up)	7 / 4	10 / 6

Audit this calculation

Formulas, inputs, and conventions used to compute the metrics on this page.

Inputs & conventions

Shared window for pair metrics: 2025-04-03 → 2026-04-01 (last shared close).
Rolling correlation sample (shared closes): 220 rolling 30-day values (from 249 shared daily returns).
Annualization (days/year): SOFI: 252 days/year; HOOD: 252 days/year.
Risk-free rate: Uses the 3-month U.S. Treasury yield (FRED: DGS3MO), averaged over each asset’s window:

SOFI: 4.18% over 2025-04-03 → 2026-04-01.

HOOD: 4.18% over 2025-04-03 → 2026-04-01.
Volatility drag (rule of thumb): Estimated from annualized volatility (simple returns). For the log-return framing, see Log returns.

SOFI: ≈ -17.1%/yr

HOOD: ≈ -25.1%/yr
Data alignment: No forward fill. Correlation and tail co-moves are computed on shared closes only.
For cross-calendar pairs (e.g., crypto vs stocks), weekend/holiday moves roll into the next shared close.
Return conventions: Volatility/Sharpe/Sortino use simple daily returns. Tail-risk uses daily log returns for distribution stats (but tables show simple returns). Log returns.

Formulas

Daily simple return

r_t = \frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}} - 1

Volatility

\sigma_{ann} = \sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}

Volatility drag (approx.)

\text{drag} \approx \tfrac{1}{2}\sigma_{ann}^2

Sharpe Ratio

S = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sigma(r_t)\sqrt{A}}

Sortino Ratio

So = \frac{A\,\bar{r} - r_f}{\sqrt{\mathbb{E}[\min(0,\,r_t - r_f/A)^2]}\,\sqrt{A}}

Maximum Drawdown

MDD = \min_t\left(\frac{P_t}{\max_{s \le t} P_s} - 1\right)

Average Correlation

\rho = \frac{\operatorname{cov}(r^A,\,r^B)}{\sigma_A\,\sigma_B}

Log returns

\ell_t = \ln\left(\frac{P_t}{P_{t-1}}\right)

Notation

$P_t$: Price on day t.
$r_t$: Simple daily return.
$\ell_t$: Log daily return.
$\bar{r}$: Average daily return.
$\sigma(r_t)$: Standard deviation of daily returns.
$A$: Annualization factor (days/year).
$r_f$: Annual risk-free rate.

SoFi Technologies vs Robinhood: Frequently Asked Questions

Which has higher volatility: SOFI or HOOD?

HOOD showed higher volatility at 70.9% annualized, compared to 58.5% for SOFI Over the past year. Higher volatility means larger price swings in both directions.

Does SOFI provide diversification when held with HOOD?

SOFI and HOOD are moderately correlated over the past year, with an average correlation of 0.54. This offers some diversification benefit, though they still tend to move together during major market moves.

How bad are the worst 5% days for SOFI vs HOOD?

Over the past year, SOFI's 5% VaR was -6.28% and its 5% Expected Shortfall was -8.00% (worst 13 days). HOOD's were -7.70% and -9.47% (worst 13 days).

Do SOFI and HOOD crash together on bad days?

On shared dates (n=249), when HOOD has a 2σ down day, SOFI also does 40.0% (4/10 days). In the other direction, when SOFI has one, HOOD also does 57.1% (4/7 days).

Which has better risk-adjusted returns: SOFI or HOOD?

HOOD showed better risk-adjusted performance with a Sharpe ratio of 1.15 versus SOFI's 0.88 Over the past year.

Can SOFI and HOOD be combined in a portfolio?

Yes, though allocation sizing matters. Their moderate correlation offers some diversification benefits. HOOD's higher volatility (70.9%) means even small allocations can materially impact overall portfolio risk.

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