ABALX’s worst drop since 1999 was 40%
American Funds American Balanced A (ABALX) fell 40% from Oct 2007 to Mar 2009. It took 3.3 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Jan 2011. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 64th of the 109 mutual funds PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 1999 to now
How ABALX held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | ABALX | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | −21.1% | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −40.1% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −22.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −18.8% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
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What was ABALX’s maximum drawdown?
ABALX’s deepest fall since 1999 was 40.1%, from its high on October 9, 2007 to its low on March 9, 2009. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did ABALX take to recover?
3.3 years. ABALX first closed above its Oct 2007 high again on January 12, 2011.
Was ABALX riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, ABALX’s worst drop was 40.1% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −34.8% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, January 5, 1999 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.