VCSH’s worst drop since 2009 was 13%
Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) fell 13% from Mar 2020 to Mar 2020. It took 0.2 years from that peak to close at a new high, in May 2020. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 34%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 192nd of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2009 to now
How VCSH held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | VCSH | 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 | −12.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −8.4% | −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 VCSH’s maximum drawdown?
VCSH’s deepest fall since 2009 was 12.9%, from its high on March 5, 2020 to its low on March 19, 2020. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did VCSH take to recover?
0.2 years. VCSH first closed above its Mar 2020 high again on May 28, 2020.
Was VCSH riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, VCSH’s worst drop was 12.9% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −8.7% against −19.7%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, November 24, 2009 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.