The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) in 2021?
The post-vaccine melt-up year, when seemingly every Australian portfolio was the same three letters. Buying the whole ASX in one ticker felt almost too easy — which was rather the point.
$100 on 2021-01-03, worth today
A$160
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) bought at 2021's open (A$68.20) is worth A$160 — 1.60×.
total return · dividends reinvested · AUD
How much would $100 of Vanguard Australian Shares (VAS) bought in 2021 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| A$100 | A$160 | 1.60× |
| A$1,000 | A$1,605 | 1.60× |
| A$10,000 | A$16,048 | 1.60× |
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 2021?
Opened
A$68.20
2021-01-03
Peaked
A$79.71
2021-12-29
Bottomed
A$67.47
2021-01-05
Closed
A$78.98
2021-12-30
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$28,500 deployed as $100 a week from 2021-01-03, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | A$45,737 |
| Steady weekly buys | A$36,437 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | A$36,437 |
| Traded it perfectly | A$37,643 |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
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