SHY’s worst drop since 2002 was 6%
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) fell 6% from Aug 2021 to Nov 2022. It took 2.8 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Jun 2024. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 195th of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2002 to now
How SHY held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | SHY | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | not trading yet | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −2.3% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −0.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −4.9% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
See how SHY 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.
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What was SHY’s maximum drawdown?
SHY’s deepest fall since 2002 was 5.7%, from its high on August 2, 2021 to its low on November 3, 2022. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did SHY take to recover?
2.8 years. SHY first closed above its Aug 2021 high again on June 3, 2024.
Was SHY riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, SHY’s worst drop was 5.7% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −5.4% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, July 31, 2002 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.