XLK observed max drawdown: 80.5%
Technology Select Sector SPDR. From its 2000-03-31 peak, XLK fell 80.5% to the 2002-09-30 trough and needed 16.8 years to make a new high (2017-01-31). Computed from 334 months of observed fund history. Fund inception boundary (first available fund observation): 1998-12-22; the monthly analysis runs from 1998-12-31 through 2026-09-30.
Before 1998-12-22, the extended history is simulated. Observed fund drawdowns come first; simulation assumptions and results are separated below.
What is XLK's observed maximum drawdown?
XLK's observed maximum drawdown was 80.5%, from a peak in 2000-03-31 to a trough in 2002-09-30, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 1998-12-22. The sample contains 334 monthly observations through 2026-09-30. Monthly closes can miss deeper daily losses.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum drawdown | -80.5% |
| Peak | 2000-03-31 |
| Trough | 2002-09-30 |
| Recovered | 2017-01-31 |
| Monthly observations | 334 |
Last verified
What is XLK's observed maximum drawdown?
XLK's observed maximum drawdown was 80.5%, from a peak in 2000-03-31 to a trough in 2002-09-30, based on monthly closes from fund prices first observed on 1998-12-22.
How long did XLK take to recover from its worst drawdown?
XLK took 16.8 years from the 2000-03-31 peak to make a new high in 2017-01-31, based only on observed fund prices.
What was XLK's worst 12-month return?
XLK's worst observed rolling 12-month return was -59.3%, in the 12 months ending 2001-08-31.
XLK observed fund drawdown statistics
2000-03-31 peak to 2002-09-30 trough.
New high reached 2017-01-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2001-08-31.
The biggest XLK drawdowns in observed fund history
| Depth | Peak | Trough | Recovered | Peak to trough | Total underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -80.5% | 2000-03-31 | 2002-09-30 | 2017-01-31 | 30 mo | 16.8 years |
| -31.2% | 2021-12-31 | 2022-09-30 | 2023-06-30 | 9 mo | 18 months |
| -17.4% | 2018-08-31 | 2018-12-31 | 2019-04-30 | 4 mo | 8 months |
| -15.3% | 2020-01-31 | 2020-03-31 | 2020-05-31 | 2 mo | 4 months |
| -11.4% | 2024-11-30 | 2025-03-31 | 2025-06-30 | 4 mo | 7 months |
Methodology: observed XLK fund prices only, first available from 1998-12-22. Monthly closing-price statistics cover 1998-12-31 through 2026-09-30; 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 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 XLK was observed through that future date. It is not observed XLK performance. The API's observed boundary is 1998-12-22; observed monthly statistics run from 1998-12-31 through 2026-09-30.
- Rebalancing convention: monthly rebalance at month-end close; drawdown statistics use monthly closing prices.
- Proxy source for XLK: FSPTX (proxy_etf), from 1982-10-01 to 1998-12-21.
- Proxy source for XLK: FF_TECH_DAILY (static), from 1926-06-30 to 1982-09-30.
- 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
2000-03-31 peak to 2002-09-30 trough.
New high reached 2017-01-31.
Share of all months spent below a prior high.
Rolling year ending 2001-08-31.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -80.5% | 2000-03-31 | 2002-09-30 | 2017-01-31 | 30 mo | 16.8 years |
| -52.1% | 1973-01-31 | 1974-09-30 | 1978-05-31 | 20 mo | 5.3 years |
| -43.6% | 1987-09-30 | 1987-11-30 | 1991-03-31 | 2 mo | 3.5 years |
| -33.6% | 1970-02-28 | 1970-06-30 | 1971-04-30 | 4 mo | 14 months |
| -31.9% | 1983-06-30 | 1985-09-30 | 1987-08-31 | 27 mo | 4.2 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 XLK 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.