The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought the Russell 2000 in 2020?
COVID hit small caps hardest, the Russell 2000 cratering far more than the megacaps in March 2020 before staging a furious stimulus-fuelled rally into year-end. The year the market's most fearful corner whipsawed the hardest.
$100 on 2020-01-02, worth today
US$177
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of the Russell 2000 bought at 2020's open (US$1,667) is worth US$177 — 1.77×.
price return · index level · USD
How much would $100 of the Russell 2000 bought in 2020 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| US$100 | US$177 | 1.77× |
| US$1,000 | US$1,766 | 1.77× |
| US$10,000 | US$17,663 | 1.77× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, tracking the index level (price return, before dividends), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did the Russell 2000 do in 2020?
Opened
US$1,667
2020-01-02
Peaked
US$2,007
2020-12-23
Bottomed
US$991.16
2020-03-18
Closed
US$1,975
2020-12-31
These are the index's own closing levels (price return). Real index funds also pay dividends, so a true total-return figure would be higher still.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
US$33,700 deployed as $100 a week from 2020-01-02, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | US$59,524 |
| Steady weekly buys | US$50,482 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | US$45,480 |
| Traded it perfectly | US$50,482 |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2020's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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