SCHF’s worst drop since 2009 was 35%
Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF) 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 147th of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2009 to now
How SCHF held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | SCHF | 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 | −34.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −28.4% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
See how SCHF behaves inside your whole mix, with the worst 12 months, loss odds and crash replays. Free, no signup, and the math runs in your browser.
Open SCHF in PortfolioAutopsyCheck my whole portfolioQuestions
What was SCHF’s maximum drawdown?
SCHF’s deepest fall since 2009 was 35.0%, 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 SCHF take to recover?
2.8 years. SCHF first closed above its Jan 2018 high again on November 11, 2020.
Was SCHF riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, SCHF’s worst drop was 35.0% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −27.4% 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.