Vanguard S&P 500 ETF drawdown: 2.0% below the all-time high (price)
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is 2.0% below its all-time high, set Oct 6, 2026 (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
- −2.0%
- 98.0% of ATH
- All-time high
- $716.2
- Oct 6, 2026
- Time below the high
- 10 days
- since Oct 6, 2026
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −34.3%
- Mar 23, 2020
- Longest underwater
- 2.0 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Aug 4, 2026
- 2 mo ago
- Last time this deep
- Sep 16, 2026
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 2010: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | −34.3% | 33 days | Aug 18, 2020 | 6 mo |
| Jan 3, 2022 | Oct 12, 2022 | −25.4% | 9 mo | Jan 19, 2024 | 2.0 yrs |
| Sep 20, 2018 | Dec 24, 2018 | −20.3% | 3 mo | Apr 29, 2019 | 7 mo |
| Apr 29, 2011 | Oct 3, 2011 | −19.6% | 5 mo | Feb 21, 2012 | 10 mo |
| Feb 19, 2025 | Apr 8, 2025 | −19.0% | 48 days | Jun 26, 2025 | 4 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 2010: how far Vanguard S&P 500 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 S&P 500 ETF from its all-time high?
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is currently 2.0% below its all-time high, set Oct 6, 2026 (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 S&P 500 ETF drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2010) took Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 34.3% below its prior high, bottoming Mar 23, 2020. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily data since -1 from VOO; no free deep history exists for Vanguard S&P 500 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.