What did VB do before 2004?

Before Feb 2004 the series is NAESX's. Those 19.0 years (Feb 1985–Jan 2004) show 7.6% a year with 20.4% annualized volatility and a worst drawdown of -51.0% (May 1986–Oct 1990). In major S&P 500 declines: 1987 crash, -38.8% versus -29.8% for the S&P 500 (NAESX); 1998 LTCM sell-off, -25.8% versus -15.3% for the S&P 500 (NAESX); 2000–02 dot-com bear, -30.1% versus -44.7% for the S&P 500 (NAESX). The full extended history's worst drawdown is -53.7% (May 2007–Feb 2009).

How closely does NAESX track VB?

Over 272 overlapping months (Feb 2004–Sep 2026), NAESX had a correlation of 0.999 with VB, a tracking error of 0.9% a year and a tracking difference of -0.15% a year (grade: close).

How far back can you test VB? To Feb 1985, with NAESX

Computed by the MarketHeist portfolio engine · Published 2026-10-10 · Updated 2026-10-10 · Data through Sep 2026

VB (US Small Cap) has its own monthly data from Feb 2004. Spliced with NAESX it reaches back to Feb 1985, which adds 19.0 years (46% of the extended history comes from proxies). Data through Sep 2026.

What you'd have missed

VB's own data starts in Feb 2004; NAESX extends it to Feb 1985, 19.0 more years.
Its own history misses the 1987 crash, the 1998 LTCM sell-off and the 2000–02 dot-com bear.
Its worst drawdown, -53.7% (May 2007–Feb 2009), is already inside the ETF's own history; the extension does not change the worst case.
VBR and IJS are extended with the same NAESX.

How the history is built

VB (ETF) Feb 2004 → now

NAESX (Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund, mutual fund) used Feb 1985 → Jan 2004; its own data runs Feb 1985 → now

Feb 1985Sep 2026

Solid bars are the months each fund contributes to the spliced series; the outline shows how far a proxy's own data runs. Each month uses the youngest fund that has data for it; returns are spliced, not prices (dividends reinvested via adjusted close).

How well each proxy tracked VB

Proxy	Kind	Months contributed	Overlap with VB	Correlation	Tracking error	Tracking difference	Beta	Vol ratio	Grade
NAESXVanguard Small-Cap Index Fund	mutual fund	Feb 1985–Jan 2004228 months	Feb 2004–Sep 2026272 months	0.999	0.85%	-0.15%	1.00	1.00	Close

Statistics are over the months a proxy and VB both have data. Tracking error is annualized; tracking difference is the annualized geometric gap (positive: the proxy earned more). Page grade: close, the worst grade among the proxies that contribute months.

VB's own history versus the extended history

	The ETF's own history	Proxy years only	Full extended history
Window	Feb 2004 – Sep 202622.7 years	Feb 1985 – Jan 200419.0 years	Feb 1985 – Sep 202641.7 years
Growth of $10,000	$80,336	$39,873	$320,326
CAGR	9.6%	7.6%	8.7%
Annualized volatility	18.9%	20.4%	19.6%
Sharpe ratio (risk-free 0%)	0.58	0.47	0.53
Max drawdown	-53.7%May 2007 → Feb 2009; recovered Dec 2010	-51.0%May 1986 → Oct 1990; recovered Jul 1993	-53.7%May 2007 → Feb 2009; recovered Dec 2010
Worst complete calendar year	2008 (-36.2%)	2002 (-20.0%)	2008 (-36.2%)
Best complete calendar year	2013 (37.7%)	2003 (45.6%)	2003 (45.6%)
Longest underwater (months)	42	85	85
Major declines covered	3	3	6

The columns cover different years, so a higher or lower CAGR is not a verdict on the fund; the point is which market regimes each window includes. Growth of $10,000 is the same one-asset, buy-and-hold calculation the live portfolio app makes.

Growth of $10,000

Log scale, so the early decades are not flattened. Grey is the proxy period; blue is VB's own data. Dashed lines mark where each fund's returns begin.

Drawdowns

Decline from the prior peak at month-end, the "underwater" curve.

How VB did in each major US stock-market decline since 1985

Decline	S&P 500	VB over the same months	Source of those months
1987 crashSep 1987–Nov 1987	-29.8%	-38.8%	NAESX
1998 LTCM sell-offJul 1998–Aug 1998	-15.3%	-25.8%	NAESX
2000–02 dot-com bearSep 2000–Sep 2002	-44.7%	-30.1%	NAESX
2007–09 financial crisisNov 2007–Feb 2009	-50.8%	-53.0%	ETF
2020 COVID crashJan 2020–Mar 2020	-19.4%	-30.1%	ETF
2022 inflation bearJan 2022–Sep 2022	-23.9%	-23.6%	ETF

The decline windows are computed, not chosen: every peak-to-trough fall of at least 15% (month-end) in the S&P 500 series since 1985. The fund's figure compounds its monthly returns from the month after the S&P 500's peak through the trough.

VB's own five deepest drawdowns (extended history)

Peak	Trough	Depth	Recovery	Source of the decline months
May 2007	Feb 2009	-53.7%	Dec 2010	ETF
May 1986	Oct 1990	-51.0%	Jul 1993	NAESX
Feb 2000	Sep 2002	-34.3%	Dec 2003	NAESX
Dec 2019	Mar 2020	-30.1%	Nov 2020	ETF
Apr 1998	Aug 1998	-29.8%	Dec 1999	NAESX

This covers declines the equity windows miss, such as the bond bear markets of 1994 and 2022.

Caveats

Before Feb 2004 the returns are NAESX's, after that fund's own costs; the measured gap while both existed is -0.15% a year.
Monthly month-end data: intra-month drawdowns were deeper than shown.
Dividends are reinvested; no taxes or trading costs are modeled.
Our data source's series for NAESX begins Feb 1985; the fund itself may be older.

Test it yourself

Open VB as a one-asset portfolio in the live app, where every number recomputes from fresh data.

Open VB (100%) in the portfolio builder →

Used in portfolios: Coffeehouse, No-Brainer

Used in guides: Coffeehouse, No-Brainer

All fund histories →

Frequently asked questions

How far back does VB data go?: VB (US Small Cap) has its own monthly data from Feb 2004. Spliced with NAESX it reaches back to Feb 1985, which adds 19.0 years (46% of the extended history comes from proxies). Data through Sep 2026.
What did VB do before 2004?: Before Feb 2004 the series is NAESX's. Those 19.0 years (Feb 1985–Jan 2004) show 7.6% a year with 20.4% annualized volatility and a worst drawdown of -51.0% (May 1986–Oct 1990). In major S&P 500 declines: 1987 crash, -38.8% versus -29.8% for the S&P 500 (NAESX); 1998 LTCM sell-off, -25.8% versus -15.3% for the S&P 500 (NAESX); 2000–02 dot-com bear, -30.1% versus -44.7% for the S&P 500 (NAESX). The full extended history's worst drawdown is -53.7% (May 2007–Feb 2009).
How closely does NAESX track VB?: Over 272 overlapping months (Feb 2004–Sep 2026), NAESX had a correlation of 0.999 with VB, a tracking error of 0.9% a year and a tracking difference of -0.15% a year (grade: close).

Methodology

Source: Yahoo Finance via MarketHeist, monthly adjusted close (dividends reinvested). Months run to the last complete calendar month.
Splice rule: Each month uses the youngest fund that has data for it; returns are spliced, not prices (dividends reinvested via adjusted close).
Numbers: Computed by the MarketHeist portfolio engine as a one-asset, 100% buy-and-hold portfolio, the same calculation the live app makes. Sharpe uses a risk-free rate of 0%. Drawdowns are month-end.
Correlation: Pearson correlation of monthly returns over the months both funds have.
Tracking error: Standard deviation of the monthly return differences (proxy minus VB) times the square root of 12.
Tracking difference: Annualized geometric return of the proxy minus that of VB over the overlap. Positive means the proxy earned more.
Beta and vol ratio: Beta is the covariance of the proxy with VB divided by the variance of VB; vol ratio is the proxy's standard deviation divided by VB's.
Grades: Close: correlation of at least 0.95 and tracking error of at most 3%. Approximate: tracking error of at most 8% and either a cash-like fund (volatility of at most 3%) or correlation of at least 0.80 with a vol ratio of at most 1.25. Category stand-in: anything weaker.
Generated: 2026-10-10; data through Sep 2026. Reproduce hash of the full extended one-asset portfolio: 032e8cc7e5d2d3a7

Historical simulation, not investment advice. Past returns, including spliced proxy returns, do not predict future results.