VOO’s worst drop since 2010 was 34%
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) fell 34% from Feb 2020 to Mar 2020. It took 0.5 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Aug 2020. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 34%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 156th of the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2010 to now
How VOO held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | VOO | 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 | −34.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −24.5% | −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 VOO’s maximum drawdown?
VOO’s deepest fall since 2010 was 34.0%, from its high on February 19, 2020 to its low on March 23, 2020. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did VOO take to recover?
0.5 years. VOO first closed above its Feb 2020 high again on August 10, 2020.
Was VOO riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, VOO’s worst drop was 34.0% against 33.7% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −19.7% against −19.7%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, September 10, 2010 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.