BND observed max drawdown: 17.3%
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF. From its 2020-07-31 peak, BND fell 17.3% to the 2022-10-31 trough and has not yet made a new high. Computed from 233 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 2007-04-10; the monthly analysis runs from 2007-04-30 through 2026-08-31.
Before 2007-04-10, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is BND's observed maximum drawdown?
BND's observed maximum drawdown was 17.3%, from a peak in 2020-07-31 to a trough in 2022-10-31, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2007-04-10. The sample contains 233 monthly observations through 2026-08-31. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -17.3% |
| Peak | 2020-07-31 |
| Trough | 2022-10-31 |
| Recovered | Not yet recovered |
| Monthly observations | 233 |
Last verified
What is BND's observed maximum drawdown?
BND's observed maximum drawdown was 17.3%, from a peak in 2020-07-31 to a trough in 2022-10-31, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2007-04-10.
How long did BND take to recover from its worst drawdown?
BND has not yet recovered from its worst observed drawdown, which began at the 2020-07-31 peak.
What was BND's worst 12-month return?
BND's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -15.6%, in the 12 months ending 2022-10-31.
BND observed fund drawdown statistics
2020-07-31 peak to 2022-10-31 trough.
Still below the prior peak.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2022-10-31.
The biggest BND drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -17.3% | 2020-07-31 | 2022-10-31 | not yet | 27 mo | 6.1 years |
| -4.0% | 2013-04-30 | 2013-08-31 | 2014-05-31 | 4 mo | 13 months |
| -3.9% | 2008-03-31 | 2008-10-31 | 2008-12-31 | 7 mo | 9 months |
| -3.7% | 2016-07-31 | 2016-11-30 | 2017-08-31 | 4 mo | 13 months |
| -2.7% | 2015-01-31 | 2015-06-30 | 2016-02-29 | 5 mo | 13 months |
Methodology: observed BND fund prices only, first available from 2007-04-10. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2007-04-30 through 2026-08-31; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Before 2007-04-10: simulated from the underlying index with assumptions
This separate series combines observed prices with a modeled pre-inception extension from 1970-01-31 through 2026-09-30. The 2026-09-30 endpoint is the legacy current partial-month bucket/month-end label, not evidence that BND was observed through that future date. It is not observed BND performance. The API's observed boundary is 2007-04-10; observed monthly statistics run from 2007-04-30 through 2026-08-31.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for BND: AGG (proxy_etf), from 1920-01-31 to 2007-04-09.
- Proxy source for AGG: VBMFX (proxy_etf), from 1986-12-11 to 2003-09-25.
- Proxy source for AGG: us_10yr (static_monthly), from 1920-01-31 to 1986-12-10.
- Proxy source for SPY: VFINX (proxy_etf), from 1976-08-31 to 1993-01-28.
- Proxy source for SPY: spy_tr (static_monthly), from 1900-01-31 to 1976-08-30.
Modeled extended statistics
2020-07-31 peak to 2022-10-31 trough.
Still below the prior peak.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2022-10-31.
For context, SPY (the S&P 500 baseline) had a maximum drawdown of 50.8% over the same kind of monthly-close analysis.
Modeled extended drawdowns
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -17.3% | 2020-07-31 | 2022-10-31 | not yet | 27 mo | 6.2 years |
| -15.8% | 1979-06-30 | 1980-02-29 | 1980-05-31 | 8 mo | 11 months |
| -14.6% | 1980-06-30 | 1981-09-30 | 1981-11-30 | 15 mo | 17 months |
| -10.8% | 1987-01-31 | 1987-09-30 | 1990-11-30 | 8 mo | 3.8 years |
| -8.0% | 1984-01-31 | 1984-05-31 | 1984-08-31 | 4 mo | 7 months |
Monthly closing prices, peak-to-trough on total return where available. The pre-inception segment is a reconstruction, not a live fund record, and actual tracking, financing, taxes, spreads, and volatility drag can differ.
Drawdowns are the reason tactical strategies exist
Buy-and-hold BND means living through every number on this page. BestFolio tracks published TAA strategies whose whole job is cutting these drawdowns, with out-of-sample track records.