BLV’s worst drop since 2007 was 38%
Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) fell 38% from Aug 2020 to Oct 2023. It has not closed above that Aug 2020 peak since, 6.2 years later. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 133rd of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2007 to now
How BLV held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | BLV | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | not trading yet | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −12.7% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −20.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −32.1% | −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 BLV’s maximum drawdown?
BLV’s deepest fall since 2007 was 38.3%, from its high on August 6, 2020 to its low on October 19, 2023. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did BLV take to recover?
It has not recovered yet. As of October 13, 2026 it sits 28.8% below that Aug 2020 high.
Was BLV riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, BLV’s worst drop was 38.3% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −33.1% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, April 11, 2007 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.