VHYAX’s worst drop since 2019 was 35%
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Admiral (VHYAX) fell 35% from Jan 2020 to Mar 2020. It took 1.0 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Jan 2021. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 34%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 72nd of the 109 mutual funds PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2019 to now
How VHYAX held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | VHYAX | 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 | −35.2% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −15.9% | −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 VHYAX’s maximum drawdown?
VHYAX’s deepest fall since 2019 was 35.2%, from its high on January 17, 2020 to its low on March 23, 2020. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did VHYAX take to recover?
1.0 years. VHYAX first closed above its Jan 2020 high again on January 6, 2021.
Was VHYAX riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, VHYAX’s worst drop was 35.2% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −25.5% against −19.7%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, February 8, 2019 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.