MSCI EAFE drawdown: at its all-time high
MSCI EAFE is trading at its all-time high (as of market close, Sep 4, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.
- Below all-time high
- at the high
- 99.6% of ATH
- All-time high
- $108.81
- Aug 25, 2026
- Time below the high
- 0 days
- since Aug 25, 2026
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −63.2%
- Mar 9, 2009
- Longest underwater
- 17.5 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Aug 7, 2026
- 28 days ago
% of all-time high since 2001#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31, 2007 | Mar 9, 2009 | −63.2% | 16 mo | May 2, 2025 | 17.5 yrs |
| Aug 27, 2001 | Mar 12, 2003 | −32.7% | 1.5 yrs | Dec 1, 2003 | 2.3 yrs |
| May 9, 2006 | Jun 13, 2006 | −15.8% | 35 days | Oct 26, 2006 | 6 mo |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 2001: how far MSCI EAFE stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ#
- How far is MSCI EAFE from its all-time high?
- MSCI EAFE is currently at (or within half a percent of) its all-time high, set Aug 25, 2026.
- What was the biggest MSCI EAFE drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2001) took MSCI EAFE 63.2% below its prior high, bottoming Mar 9, 2009. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since 2001 from EFA, MSCI EAFE's tracking fund; no free deep history exists for MSCI EAFE — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.