|
Asset class |
Annualized volatility |
Historical drawdown |
|---|---|---|
|
U.S. large-cap equities |
15.4% |
-50.9% |
|
U.S. small-cap equities |
20.4% |
-52.9% |
|
International large-cap equities |
16.4% |
-56.7% |
|
International small-cap equities |
17.6% |
-59.7% |
|
Emerging-market equities |
21.9% |
-61.6% |
|
U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) |
20.1% |
-69.3% |
|
U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) |
5.5% |
-13.6% |
|
U.S. core fixed income |
4.1% |
-17.2% |
|
U.S. short Treasury |
1.6% |
-5.3% |
|
Cash |
0.6% |
0.0% |
|
Bitcoin spot price (U.S. dollar) |
72.1% |
-73.4% |
|
Ether spot price (U.S. dollar) |
98.3% |
-87.8% |
Source: Schwab Asset Management, using data from Morningstar and Bloomberg. Monthly data from 1/1/2002 to 10/31/2025. Bitcoin analysis based on the period from 1/1/2015 to 10/31/2025. Ether analysis based on the period between 2/8/2018 to 10/31/2025. This is the most recent data available.
Bitcoin analysis begins in 2015 because bitcoin, launched in 2009, was thinly traded in its early years and in our view its price action prior to 2015 was not representative of its price action after 2015. Analysis of Ethereum, which was launched publicly in 2015, begins in 2018 for similar reasons. Volatility estimated based on an exponentially weighted average (a technique for tracking a running average of data by giving more weight to recent observations and exponentially less weight to older data) with a half-life parameter (which measures the time required for a financial variable to decay to half of its initial value, signaling the speed of mean reversion) of 10 years (120 months). See disclosures for indexes that represent the above asset classes. Total return includes price growth plus dividend and interest income. Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs, and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. For illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be, nor should they be construed as, a recommendation to buy, sell, or continue to hold any investment.