Utility stocks this year have mounted a rally unseen in more than two decades. In the third quarter, utilities are the best out of 11 sectors that comprise the S & P 500, climbing 18%. As a group, utilities are poised to score their largest quarterly gain since George W. Bush was president in 2003. Year-to-date gains are even more substantial, at around 27%. If that holds through yearend, utilities will see their biggest annual advance since 2000, when they surged more than 50%.
She noted that the total long-term return of the S & P 500 utilities sector — including the effect of reinvested dividends — was in line with the Nasdaq Composite 's, likening their performance to the tortoise and the hare children's fable. XLU .IXIC 5Y mountain The utility ETF vs. the Nasdaq Composite, 5 years Part of the buy-in to utilities came as the Fed dropped rates, according to Bank of America data. In fact, Bank of America found investors pushed nearly $1.