What if you started investing in the S&P 500 during the 2008 crisis?
You started investing 300,000 won every month in an S&P 500 ETF (SPY) at the beginning of 2008, just as the global financial crisis was unfolding. See what that plan would have looked like with real data, and check the maximum drawdown and underwater period along the way.
Investment conditions
Asset · S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Method · Recurring monthly investment
Period · 2008-01-01 ~ 2026-07-01
Amount · $222 / month
As of · 2026-07-01
Key metrics
These results do not reflect taxes. Based on historical data.
Risk & recovery
As important as returns. This service does not hide maximum drawdown or loss periods.
Maximum drawdown (MDD)
-33.5%
Largest drop from peak
Longest loss period
15months
Months in loss: 19
Recovery period
4months
Growth over time
Invested principal (dashed) and portfolio value (solid). Values below match the calculation.
Total invested $49,556 → Final value $221,267 (+346.5%), Maximum drawdown (MDD) -33.5%
Why this period and asset
The year 2008 was when the global financial crisis, triggered by U.S. subprime mortgage failures, reached its peak. The U.S. market, which topped in October 2007, plunged through the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, and by the March 2009 low the S&P 500 had fallen to roughly half its peak. This scenario starts investing in early 2008, right before the decline accelerated, so it runs through both the crash and the long recovery that followed. You met a large drop almost immediately, but if you never stopped, your purchases kept happening even near the lows.
Interpreting the result
The point of this scenario is to see plainly what happens when you do not stop investing in the middle of a crash. Be sure to check the maximum drawdown (how far it fell from its peak), the underwater period (how long you stayed below your invested amount or the prior peak), and the recovery time on the results screen. With monthly investing, the same amount buys more units when prices are low, so purchases made during the decline lower your average cost. That does not eliminate losses, however, and the paper losses and psychological strain during a downturn are real. You can compare directly, under the same conditions, how the outcome differs between stopping and continuing during the crash.
Caveats & limits
Continuing to invest through a crash is psychologically very hard, and you may have to endure a long stretch with your account below what you put in. Buying near the lows does not guarantee large gains, and no one can know in advance how long recovery will take. As a foreign asset, USD/KRW exchange-rate changes affect returns in won terms, and the ETF's expense ratio, trading costs, and taxes also erode real performance. There is no guarantee that past recovery patterns will repeat, and this page does not recommend buying any specific asset.
Data sources & limits
- Price data source: Yahoo Finance / FinanceDataReader
- Collected on: 2026-07-23
- Effective trading date: 2026-07-01
- Price basis: Cierre ajustado (refleja dividendos y desdoblamientos de acciones)
- Trading fees and taxes are not reflected — figures are pre-tax.
- Based on historical data; does not guarantee future returns.
Frequently asked questions
Is it right to keep buying even during a crash?
This page does not recommend buying and does not offer a single right answer. Monthly investing buys more units when prices are low, so purchases during a decline lower your average cost. On the other hand, if the decline lasts longer, you may have to endure paper losses for a long time, and the timing of recovery cannot be known in advance. It is important to judge for yourself after reviewing the maximum drawdown and underwater period on the results screen.
What if you had stopped investing during the crash?
Stopping means missing the chance to accumulate units at the low prices of a decline. On the other hand, if the drop continued, you would have avoided further losses. Which was better depends on the market path that followed and cannot be assumed. Try calculating and comparing 'continued' versus 'stopped' under the same conditions.
Is investing during a decline really advantageous?
It is true that monthly investing can lower your average cost during a decline, but that by itself does not remove losses. The deeper and longer the drop, the longer your account may stay below what you put in. It is important to review the underwater period and recovery time together and judge for yourself whether the volatility is bearable.
Related scenarios
📋 Los resultados se basan en datos históricos; las rentabilidades pasadas no garantizan rentabilidades futuras.
📋 Este servicio se ofrece con fines educativos para ayudarte a entender la inversión, no como asesoramiento de inversión.