The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) in 2020?
COVID knocked a third off the Australian market in March, and VAS — being literally the market — fell with it. By year-end iron ore and stimulus had clawed most of it back, rewarding everyone who simply held the index and did nothing.
$100 on 2020-01-01, worth today
A$166
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) bought at 2020's open (A$66.00) is worth A$166 — 1.66×.
total return · dividends reinvested · AUD
How much would $100 of Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) bought in 2020 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| A$100 | A$166 | 1.66× |
| A$1,000 | A$1,658 | 1.66× |
| A$10,000 | A$16,584 | 1.66× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, total return (dividends reinvested, splits adjusted), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) do in 2020?
Opened
A$66.00
2020-01-01
Peaked
A$70.77
2020-02-19
Bottomed
A$45.47
2020-03-22
Closed
A$67.28
2020-12-30
Levels are dividend-adjusted, so historical figures look lower than the headline price of the day — that's the total-return lens, and it's the honest one.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
A$33,700 deployed as $100 a week from 2020-01-01, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | A$55,889 |
| Steady weekly buys | A$45,816 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | A$45,696 |
| Traded it perfectly | A$47,357 |
“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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