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VFIAX · Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares
Over the last 15 years (2011-11 to 2026-11), $10,000 invested in VFIAX with dividends reinvested grew to $78,492, 14.64% a year, with a worst peak-to-trough fall of -23.89%. Past performance doesn't predict future results.
Our market-data provider has no prices for VFIAX in 4 months (2025-02 to 2025-05). The move across them is counted in the next month with prices, so the total and annual returns hold, but the volatility, worst drawdown and Sharpe ratio miss what happened inside those months.
Growth of $10,000 · 2011-11 to 2026-11 · dividends reinvested
How VFIAX held up in past market crashes
VFIAX has been through 4 of the market crashes since 2000 in our data. Its deepest price fall was 56.6% in the 2008 financial crisis, when the S&P 500 fell 56.5%. It took 4.0 years from the bottom to get back to its high. No fund is safe from losses; past falls do not predict future ones.
| Crash | VFIAX deepest fall | S&P 500 (SPY) | Peak to bottom | Back to peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 financial crisis | -56.6% | -56.5% | Oct 2007 to Mar 2009 | 4.0 years |
| 2018 fourth-quarter selloff | -20.2% | -20.2% | Sep 2018 to Dec 2018 | 4 months |
| 2020 COVID crash | -34.1% | -34.1% | Feb 2020 to Mar 2020 | 5 months |
| 2022 bear market | -25.4% | -25.4% | Jan 2022 to Oct 2022 | 15 months |
Price declines in the fund's listing currency, dividends not included, inside each crash's S&P 500 peak-to-bottom window. See how 50 popular ETFs compare in the crash study.
About VFIAX
Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares is a mutual fund designed to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index, a key benchmark representing 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. The fund employs a market-capitalization-weighted approach, holding each stock in proportions that mirror those in the index, thereby providing investors with broad exposure to the U.S. large-cap equity market.
Fund description from our market-data provider.
Put VFIAX to the test
Every tool below opens prefilled with VFIAX: free, no account needed.
Backtest VFIAX →
Full history, any date range, benchmarks, drawdowns, rolling returns.
Would VFIAX survive 2008? →
What actually happened to it in the crisis: real drawdown and recovery.
Project it forward →
Monte Carlo simulation of where it could go from here.
Compare VFIAX vs VTI →
Side by side with the total US market: returns, drawdowns and volatility over their shared history.
Replay $100/mo into VFIAX →
Animated growth of steady monthly contributions.
Fundamentals →
Holdings-level financials where available.
Educational use only, not investment advice. Results are hypothetical.Read full disclaimer
This tool is for educational and informational purposes only and does not provide financial, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Results are hypothetical and based on historical data and assumptions that may be inaccurate. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a licensed professional before making investment decisions.