IEFA’s worst drop since 2012 was 35%
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) fell 35% from Jan 2018 to Mar 2020. It took 2.8 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Nov 2020. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 34%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 148th of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2012 to now
How IEFA held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | IEFA | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | not trading yet | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | not trading yet | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −34.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −29.2% | −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 IEFA’s maximum drawdown?
IEFA’s deepest fall since 2012 was 34.8%, from its high on January 26, 2018 to its low on March 23, 2020. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did IEFA take to recover?
2.8 years. IEFA first closed above its Jan 2018 high again on November 16, 2020.
Was IEFA riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, IEFA’s worst drop was 34.8% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −28.8% against −19.7%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, October 25, 2012 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.