SHY observed max drawdown: 5.4%
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF. From its 2021-05-31 peak, SHY fell 5.4% to the 2022-10-31 trough and needed 3.1 years to make a new high (2024-06-30). Computed from 290 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 2002-07-26; the monthly analysis runs from 2002-07-31 through 2026-08-31.
Before 2002-07-26, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is SHY's observed maximum drawdown?
SHY's observed maximum drawdown was 5.4%, from a peak in 2021-05-31 to a trough in 2022-10-31, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2002-07-26. The sample contains 290 monthly observations through 2026-08-31. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -5.4% |
| Peak | 2021-05-31 |
| Trough | 2022-10-31 |
| Recovered | 2024-06-30 |
| Monthly observations | 290 |
Last verified
What is SHY's observed maximum drawdown?
SHY's observed maximum drawdown was 5.4%, from a peak in 2021-05-31 to a trough in 2022-10-31, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2002-07-26.
How long did SHY take to recover from its worst drawdown?
SHY took 3.1 years from the 2021-05-31 peak to make a new high in 2024-06-30, based only on observed fund prices.
What was SHY's worst 12-month return?
SHY's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -5.1%, in the 12 months ending 2022-09-30.
SHY observed fund drawdown statistics
2021-05-31 peak to 2022-10-31 trough.
New high reached 2024-06-30.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2022-09-30.
The biggest SHY drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5.4% | 2021-05-31 | 2022-10-31 | 2024-06-30 | 17 mo | 3.1 years |
| -1.2% | 2008-03-31 | 2008-05-31 | 2008-09-30 | 2 mo | 6 months |
| -1.1% | 2004-03-31 | 2004-06-30 | 2004-10-31 | 3 mo | 7 months |
| -0.9% | 2017-08-31 | 2018-02-28 | 2018-11-30 | 6 mo | 15 months |
| -0.8% | 2009-11-30 | 2009-12-31 | 2010-02-28 | 1 mo | 3 months |
Methodology: observed SHY fund prices only, first available from 2002-07-26. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2002-07-31 through 2026-08-31; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Before 2002-07-26: 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 SHY was observed through that future date. It is not observed SHY performance. The API's observed boundary is 2002-07-26; observed monthly statistics run from 2002-07-31 through 2026-08-31.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for SHY: VFISX (proxy_etf), from 1991-10-28 to 2002-07-25.
- Proxy source for SHY: DGS2 (fred), from 1976-06-01 to 1991-10-25.
- Proxy source for SHY: t_bills (static_monthly), from 1900-01-31 to 1976-05-31.
- 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
2021-05-31 peak to 2022-10-31 trough.
New high reached 2024-06-30.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2022-09-30.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5.4% | 2021-05-31 | 2022-10-31 | 2024-06-30 | 17 mo | 3.1 years |
| -5.1% | 1980-06-30 | 1980-11-30 | 1981-03-31 | 5 mo | 9 months |
| -4.6% | 1980-01-31 | 1980-02-29 | 1980-04-30 | 1 mo | 3 months |
| -2.7% | 1979-09-30 | 1979-10-31 | 1979-12-31 | 1 mo | 3 months |
| -2.3% | 1994-01-31 | 1994-04-30 | 1995-01-31 | 3 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 SHY 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.