The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Westpac in 2020?
Westpac entered 2020 already bruised by AUSTRAC's 23-million-breach money-laundering case, then COVID drove it lower still. The worst-performing big bank of the era tested every dividend investor's patience.
$100 on 2020-01-01, worth today
A$196
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Westpac bought at 2020's open (A$17.84) is worth A$196 — 1.96×.
total return · dividends reinvested · AUD
How much would $100 of Westpac bought in 2020 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| A$100 | A$196 | 1.96× |
| A$1,000 | A$1,962 | 1.96× |
| A$10,000 | A$19,624 | 1.96× |
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 Westpac do in 2020?
Opened
A$17.84
2020-01-01
Peaked
A$19.03
2020-02-20
Bottomed
A$10.40
2020-03-22
Closed
A$14.52
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$66,132 |
| Steady weekly buys | A$58,224 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | A$50,390 |
| Traded it perfectly | A$69,894 |
“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.
These were the round numbers. Run your real ones.
Your amount, your date, your certificate. Takes about a minute.
Calculate my failureAdjacent timelines