SCHA’s worst drop since 2009 was 42%
Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) fell 42% from Jan 2020 to Mar 2020. It took 0.8 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 125th of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2009 to now
How SCHA held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | SCHA | 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 | −42.4% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −26.7% | −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 SCHA’s maximum drawdown?
SCHA’s deepest fall since 2009 was 42.4%, from its high on January 16, 2020 to its low on March 23, 2020. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did SCHA take to recover?
0.8 years. SCHA first closed above its Jan 2020 high again on November 9, 2020.
Was SCHA riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, SCHA’s worst drop was 42.4% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −35.6% against −19.7%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, November 4, 2009 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.