VTINX’s worst drop since 2003 was 20%
Vanguard Target Retirement Income (VTINX) fell 20% from May 2008 to Mar 2009. It took 1.5 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Nov 2009. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 99th of the 109 mutual funds PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 2003 to now
How VTINX held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | VTINX | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | not trading yet | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −19.9% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −12.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −16.4% | −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 VTINX’s maximum drawdown?
VTINX’s deepest fall since 2003 was 19.9%, from its high on May 19, 2008 to its low on March 9, 2009. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did VTINX take to recover?
1.5 years. VTINX first closed above its May 2008 high again on November 16, 2009.
Was VTINX riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, VTINX’s worst drop was 19.9% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −17.2% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, October 28, 2003 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.