Buy and Hold Strategy for SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF)

The strategy spanned a total of 11795 days, covering the full period from 1993-01-29 to 2025-05-16. This range represents all available trading data we could find — likely from the stock's initial listing date up to the most recent trading day.

Performance Overview

Starting with an initial capital of $10000, we purchased shares of SPY on 1993-01-29, at a price of $24.45 per share (adjusted for splits and dividends). No trading, no tinkering — just a simple buy-and-hold approach.

We held the position continuously through every market twist and turn, never selling. As of 2025-05-16, the price of SPY had risen to $594.2. While we didn't sell, we can still assess the performance by calculating the current value of the investment: $243001.41.

This translates into an annualized return of 10.38% over the entire period. This result closely matches the long-term historical performance of the S&P 500, which SPY is designed to replicate.

Drawdown and Risk

The maximum drawdown recorded during this period was 55.19%. This drawdown began after a peak price of $112.43 on 2007-10-09, and reached its lowest point on 2009-03-09 when the price fell to $50.38. The drawdown lasted for 517 days.

The drawdown was substantial, though not uncommon for long-term equity strategies that span full market cycles. This level suggests exposure to significant corrections or crashes. The maximum drawdown lasted over a year, indicating an extended period of underperformance. This duration is typical of major corrections or bear markets.

The return-to-risk ratio, known as the Calmar Ratio, is 0.19. This metric is calculated by dividing the annualized return by the maximum drawdown, both expressed as percentages. It helps assess how efficiently the strategy converted risk into reward.

The Calmar Ratio is on the lower side of what's seen in broad market performance, such as SPY over long periods.