SMH observed max drawdown: 82.1%
VanEck Semiconductor ETF. From its 2000-08-31 peak, SMH fell 82.1% to the 2009-02-28 trough and needed 16.6 years to make a new high (2017-03-31). Computed from 316 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 2000-06-05; the monthly analysis runs from 2000-06-30 through 2026-09-30.
Before 2000-06-05, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is SMH's observed maximum drawdown?
SMH's observed maximum drawdown was 82.1%, from a peak in 2000-08-31 to a trough in 2009-02-28, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2000-06-05. The sample contains 316 monthly observations through 2026-09-30. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -82.1% |
| Peak | 2000-08-31 |
| Trough | 2009-02-28 |
| Recovered | 2017-03-31 |
| Monthly observations | 316 |
Last verified
What is SMH's observed maximum drawdown?
SMH's observed maximum drawdown was 82.1%, from a peak in 2000-08-31 to a trough in 2009-02-28, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 2000-06-05.
How long did SMH take to recover from its worst drawdown?
SMH took 16.6 years from the 2000-08-31 peak to make a new high in 2017-03-31, based only on observed fund prices.
What was SMH's worst 12-month return?
SMH's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -58.4%, in the 12 months ending 2001-09-30.
SMH observed fund drawdown statistics
2000-08-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2017-03-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2001-09-30.
The biggest SMH drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -82.1% | 2000-08-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2017-03-31 | 102 mo | 16.6 years |
| -40.0% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2023-07-31 | 9 mo | 19 months |
| -18.6% | 2024-06-30 | 2025-04-30 | 2025-06-30 | 10 mo | 12 months |
| -18.3% | 2018-08-31 | 2018-12-31 | 2019-04-30 | 4 mo | 8 months |
| -17.6% | 2026-06-30 | 2026-07-31 | not yet | 1 mo | 3 months |
Methodology: observed SMH fund prices only, first available from 2000-06-05. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 2000-06-30 through 2026-09-30; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Before 2000-06-05: simulated from the underlying index with assumptions
This separate series combines observed prices with a modeled pre-inception extension from 1985-07-31 through 2026-10-31. The 2026-10-31 endpoint is the legacy current partial-month bucket/month-end label, not evidence that SMH was observed through that future date. It is not observed SMH performance. The API's observed boundary is 2000-06-05; observed monthly statistics run from 2000-06-30 through 2026-09-30.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for SMH: SOXX (proxy_etf), from 1985-07-29 to 2000-06-02.
- Proxy source for SOXX: ^SOX (proxy_index), from 1994-05-04 to 2001-07-12.
- Proxy source for SOXX: FSELX (proxy_etf), from 1985-07-29 to 1994-05-03.
- 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
2000-03-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2017-03-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2001-03-31.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -82.5% | 2000-03-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2017-03-31 | 107 mo | 17.0 years |
| -49.0% | 1997-09-30 | 1998-08-31 | 1999-01-31 | 11 mo | 16 months |
| -48.1% | 1986-04-30 | 1988-11-30 | 1992-01-31 | 31 mo | 5.8 years |
| -44.4% | 1995-07-31 | 1996-07-31 | 1997-01-31 | 12 mo | 18 months |
| -40.0% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2023-07-31 | 9 mo | 19 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 SMH 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.