DBC observed max drawdown: 74.5%
Invesco DB Commodity Index Fund. From its 2008-06-30 peak, DBC fell 74.5% to the 2020-04-30 trough and has not yet made a new high. Computed from 248 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 2006-02-06; the monthly analysis runs from 2006-02-28 through 2026-09-30.
Before 2006-02-06, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is DBC's observed maximum drawdown?
DBC's observed maximum drawdown was 74.5%, from a peak in 2008-06-30 to a trough in 2020-04-30, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2006-02-06. The sample contains 248 monthly observations through 2026-09-30. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -74.5% |
| Peak | 2008-06-30 |
| Trough | 2020-04-30 |
| Recovered | Not yet recovered |
| Monthly observations | 248 |
Last verified
What is DBC's observed maximum drawdown?
DBC's observed maximum drawdown was 74.5%, from a peak in 2008-06-30 to a trough in 2020-04-30, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2006-02-06.
How long did DBC take to recover from its worst drawdown?
DBC has not yet recovered from its worst observed drawdown, which began at the 2008-06-30 peak.
What was DBC's worst 12-month return?
DBC's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -48.7%, in the 12 months ending 2009-06-30.
DBC observed fund drawdown statistics
2008-06-30 peak to 2020-04-30 trough.
Still below the prior peak.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2009-06-30.
The biggest DBC drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -74.5% | 2008-06-30 | 2020-04-30 | not yet | 142 mo | 18.3 years |
| -7.4% | 2006-07-31 | 2006-09-30 | 2007-02-28 | 2 mo | 7 months |
| -1.9% | 2007-07-31 | 2007-08-31 | 2007-09-30 | 1 mo | 2 months |
| -1.3% | 2006-04-30 | 2006-06-30 | 2006-07-31 | 2 mo | 3 months |
| -0.9% | 2008-02-29 | 2008-03-31 | 2008-04-30 | 1 mo | 2 months |
Methodology: observed DBC fund prices only, first available from 2006-02-06. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2006-02-28 through 2026-09-30; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Before 2006-02-06: simulated from the underlying index with assumptions
This separate series combines observed prices with a modeled pre-inception extension from 1970-01-31 through 2026-10-31. The 2026-10-31 endpoint is the legacy current partial-month bucket/month-end label, not evidence that DBC was observed through that future date. It is not observed DBC performance. The API's observed boundary is 2006-02-06; observed monthly statistics run from 2006-02-28 through 2026-09-30.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for DBC: ^SPGSCI (proxy_index), from 1984-01-03 to 2006-02-03.
- Proxy source for DBC: gsci (static_monthly), from 1969-12-31 to 1983-12-30.
- Proxy source for SPY: VFINX (proxy_etf), from 1987-01-06 to 1993-01-28.
- Proxy source for SPY: SP500_TR_DAILY (static), from 1976-08-31 to 1987-01-05.
- Proxy source for SPY: spy_tr (static_monthly), from 1900-01-31 to 1976-08-30.
Modeled extended statistics
2008-06-30 peak to 2020-04-30 trough.
Still below the prior peak.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2009-06-30.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -74.5% | 2008-06-30 | 2020-04-30 | not yet | 142 mo | 18.3 years |
| -51.6% | 1990-09-30 | 1999-02-28 | 2003-02-28 | 101 mo | 12.4 years |
| -37.5% | 1974-11-30 | 1977-07-31 | 1979-01-31 | 32 mo | 4.2 years |
| -35.3% | 1980-10-31 | 1986-07-31 | 1990-09-30 | 69 mo | 9.9 years |
| -22.6% | 2003-02-28 | 2003-04-30 | 2004-02-29 | 2 mo | 12 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 DBC 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.