Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF drawdown: 45.4% below the all-time high (price)
Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF is 45.4% below its all-time high, set Aug 6, 2020 (as of market close, Oct 16, 2026), measured on price alone — dividends are not included, the convention headlines and crash histories use. 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
- −45.4%
- 54.6% of ATH
- All-time high
- $117.53
- Aug 6, 2020
- Time below the high
- 6.2 yrs
- since Aug 6, 2020
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −47.0%
- Oct 5, 2026
- Longest underwater
- 6.2 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Apr 10, 2007
- 19.5 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- never before
- no prior −45.4% episode
% of all-time high since 2007: price#
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2020 | Oct 5, 2026 | −47.0% | 6.2 yrs | not yet | 6.2 yrs+ |
| Mar 9, 2020 | Mar 19, 2020 | −20.0% | 10 days | Jul 16, 2020 | 4 mo |
| Jul 25, 2012 | Sep 5, 2013 | −19.2% | 13 mo | Jan 28, 2015 | 2.5 yrs |
| Jul 8, 2016 | Nov 2, 2018 | −17.5% | 2.3 yrs | Aug 8, 2019 | 3.1 yrs |
| Nov 26, 2007 | Nov 3, 2008 | −16.4% | 11 mo | Dec 17, 2008 | 13 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 2007: how far Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF 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 Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF from its all-time high?
- Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF is currently 45.4% below its all-time high, set Aug 6, 2020 (as of market close, Oct 16, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2007) took Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF 47.0% below its prior high, bottoming Oct 5, 2026. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from BLV; no free deep history exists for Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF — 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.