VWINX’s worst drop since 1999 was 22%
Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund (VWINX) fell 22% from Oct 2007 to Mar 2009. It took 1.9 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Sep 2009. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 98th of the 109 mutual funds PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 1999 to now
How VWINX held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | VWINX | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | −8.2% | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −21.7% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −17.4% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −15.3% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
See how VWINX 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.
Open VWINX in PortfolioAutopsyCheck my whole portfolioQuestions
What was VWINX’s maximum drawdown?
VWINX’s deepest fall since 1999 was 21.7%, from its high on October 29, 2007 to its low on March 9, 2009. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did VWINX take to recover?
1.9 years. VWINX first closed above its Oct 2007 high again on September 16, 2009.
Was VWINX riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, VWINX’s worst drop was 21.7% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −18.2% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, January 5, 1999 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.