VSS drawdown: 3.4% below the all-time high
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF (VSS) is 3.4% below its all-time high, set May 11, 2026 (as of market close, Aug 6, 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. "All-time" means since our price data begins (2009).
- Below all-time high
- −3.4%
- 96.6% of ATH
- All-time high
- $162.7
- May 11, 2026
- Time below the high
- 3 mo
- since May 11, 2026
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −46.8%
- Mar 23, 2020
- Longest underwater
- 4.0 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Feb 11, 2026
- 6 mo ago
- Last time this deep
- Apr 29, 2026
- in a previous episode
% of all-time high since 2009#
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.
% of all-time high on the price basis — the all-time high considers the full history of VSS, including years before the visible window. Dividends are excluded on this basis (the convention headlines use).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2018 | Mar 23, 2020 | −46.8% | 2.2 yrs | Feb 8, 2021 | 3.0 yrs |
| Sep 3, 2021 | Oct 14, 2022 | −35.8% | 13 mo | Sep 8, 2025 | 4.0 yrs |
| Apr 29, 2011 | Dec 28, 2011 | −29.1% | 8 mo | Feb 28, 2014 | 2.8 yrs |
| Jul 3, 2014 | Feb 11, 2016 | −27.5% | 1.6 yrs | Aug 31, 2017 | 3.2 yrs |
| Apr 14, 2010 | May 26, 2010 | −18.5% | 42 days | Sep 20, 2010 | 5 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 2009: how far VSS 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: VSS is on this chart precisely because it survived — the many stocks that fell this far and never recovered (or were delisted) aren't on anyone's chart, 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 VSS from its all-time high?
- VSS is currently 3.4% below its all-time high, set May 11, 2026 (as of market close, Aug 6, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest VSS drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2009) took the stock 46.8% 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 closing prices since 2009 (split-adjusted). "All-time" means since our price data begins — VSS may have traded earlier. For a 150-year index 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, 150 years of returns and the rolling-returns explorer. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.