Vanguard Small-Cap ETF drawdown: 6.4% below the all-time high
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF is 6.4% below its all-time high, set Aug 14, 2026 (as of market close, Sep 18, 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
- −6.4%
- 93.6% of ATH
- All-time high
- $309.29
- Aug 14, 2026
- Time below the high
- 35 days
- since Aug 14, 2026
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −61.0%
- Mar 9, 2009
- Longest underwater
- 3.6 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- May 6, 2026
- 4 mo ago
- Last time this deep
- Mar 31, 2026
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 2004#
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2007 | Mar 9, 2009 | −61.0% | 1.7 yrs | Feb 11, 2011 | 3.6 yrs |
| Feb 20, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | −42.3% | 32 days | Nov 9, 2020 | 9 mo |
| Nov 8, 2021 | Sep 26, 2022 | −28.8% | 11 mo | Oct 14, 2024 | 2.9 yrs |
| Apr 29, 2011 | Oct 3, 2011 | −28.3% | 5 mo | Sep 13, 2012 | 17 mo |
| Nov 25, 2024 | Apr 8, 2025 | −25.9% | 4 mo | Dec 10, 2025 | 12 mo |
| Aug 29, 2018 | Dec 24, 2018 | −25.3% | 4 mo | Dec 19, 2019 | 16 mo |
| Jun 23, 2015 | Feb 11, 2016 | −24.4% | 8 mo | Nov 17, 2016 | 17 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 2004: how far Vanguard Small-Cap 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 Small-Cap ETF from its all-time high?
- Vanguard Small-Cap ETF is currently 6.4% below its all-time high, set Aug 14, 2026 (as of market close, Sep 18, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest Vanguard Small-Cap ETF drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2004) took Vanguard Small-Cap ETF 61.0% 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 -1 from VB; no free deep history exists for Vanguard Small-Cap 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.