XLF observed max drawdown: 78.7%
Financial Select Sector SPDR. From its 2007-05-31 peak, XLF fell 78.7% to the 2009-02-28 trough and needed 10.2 years to make a new high (2017-07-31). Computed from 333 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 1998-12-22; the monthly analysis runs from 1998-12-31 through 2026-08-31.
Before 1998-12-22, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is XLF's observed maximum drawdown?
XLF's observed maximum drawdown was 78.7%, from a peak in 2007-05-31 to a trough in 2009-02-28, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 1998-12-22. The sample contains 333 monthly observations through 2026-08-31. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -78.7% |
| Peak | 2007-05-31 |
| Trough | 2009-02-28 |
| Recovered | 2017-07-31 |
| Monthly observations | 333 |
Last verified
What is XLF's observed maximum drawdown?
XLF's observed maximum drawdown was 78.7%, from a peak in 2007-05-31 to a trough in 2009-02-28, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 1998-12-22.
How long did XLF take to recover from its worst drawdown?
XLF took 10.2 years from the 2007-05-31 peak to make a new high in 2017-07-31, based only on observed fund prices.
What was XLF's worst 12-month return?
XLF's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -69.4%, in the 12 months ending 2009-02-28.
XLF observed fund drawdown statistics
2007-05-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2017-07-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2009-02-28.
The biggest XLF drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -78.7% | 2007-05-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2017-07-31 | 21 mo | 10.2 years |
| -31.8% | 2019-12-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2021-02-28 | 3 mo | 14 months |
| -27.9% | 2000-12-31 | 2002-09-30 | 2003-12-31 | 21 mo | 3.0 years |
| -23.1% | 2021-10-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2024-01-31 | 11 mo | 2.3 years |
| -22.1% | 1999-04-30 | 2000-02-29 | 2000-08-31 | 10 mo | 16 months |
Methodology: observed XLF fund prices only, first available from 1998-12-22. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 1998-12-31 through 2026-08-31; no proxy or pre-inception simulation is included in this table. Educational information, not investment advice.
Before 1998-12-22: simulated from the underlying index with assumptions
This separate series combines observed prices with a modeled pre-inception extension from 1981-12-31 through 2026-09-30. The 2026-09-30 endpoint is the legacy current partial-month bucket/month-end label, not evidence that XLF was observed through that future date. It is not observed XLF performance. The API's observed boundary is 1998-12-22; observed monthly statistics run from 1998-12-31 through 2026-08-31.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for XLF: FIDSX (proxy_etf), from 1981-12-10 to 1998-12-21.
- 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
2007-05-31 peak to 2009-02-28 trough.
New high reached 2017-07-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2009-02-28.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -78.7% | 2007-05-31 | 2009-02-28 | 2017-07-31 | 21 mo | 10.2 years |
| -46.9% | 1989-09-30 | 1990-10-31 | 1991-10-31 | 13 mo | 2.1 years |
| -32.5% | 1986-06-30 | 1987-12-31 | 1989-08-31 | 18 mo | 3.2 years |
| -31.8% | 2019-12-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2021-02-28 | 3 mo | 14 months |
| -27.9% | 2000-12-31 | 2002-09-30 | 2003-12-31 | 21 mo | 3.0 years |
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 XLF 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.