Sam · What-If StrategistWhat if the market dropped 20%?
Downturns are part of investing. See what a 20% drop would do to your portfolio today, how long it might take to recover — and what selling at the bottom could cost you.
Free to start · iOS & Android
Why a drop isn't a loss until you sell
A falling market lowers your portfolio's value on paper, but the loss only becomes real when you sell. If you have years before you need the money, history shows markets have tended to recover over time. The calculator shows your value after the fall, a rough recovery timeline, and where staying invested could leave you compared with locking in the drop.
Questions people ask
How long does it take a portfolio to recover from a 20% drop?
It depends on the return you earn afterwards. To climb back from a 20% fall you actually need a 25% gain, because you're rebuilding from a smaller base. At a 6% yearly return that's roughly four years — the calculator estimates it from your own numbers.
Should I sell when the market drops?
Selling turns a paper drop into a realised loss and means you can miss the rebound. This page can't tell you what to do — it's an education tool — but it does show the gap between staying invested and locking in the fall so you can see the trade-off clearly.
What if I need the money soon?
The shorter your time horizon, the less room a portfolio has to recover before you draw on it. Money you need in the next year or two behaves very differently from money you won't touch for a decade — which is why the calculator asks how long until you need it.
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