SPLV Lost $107,460 on $300,000 in the 2020 Crash, More Than VOO’s $102,030
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You buy a low-volatility fund so a crash hurts less. In early 2020, it hurt more. From the February 19, 2020 close to the March 23, 2020 close, a hypothetical $300,000 in the Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (NYSEARCA:SPLV) lost $107,460. A matching investment in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) lost $102,030. The fund sold as the calmer choice cost its holder an extra $5,430.
What a $300,000 Cushion Cost You in 2020
Over that window, SPLV returned -35.82% with distributions included. VOO returned -34.01%. That leaves the low-volatility fund 1.81 percentage points worse during the exact kind of event its buyers fear most.
Fees add a second layer. VOO charges a net expense ratio of 0.03%, per its fact sheet dated March 25, 2026. That works out to $3 a year per $10,000 invested. SPLV lists its own fee in Invesco’s prospectus (0.25%). Every dollar it charges above VOO’s $3 comes out of your return each year and compounds against you for as long as you hold.
Why a Calm Fund Can Fall Harder
SPLV holds the 100 stocks from the S&P 500 with the lowest realized volatility over the trailing 12 months, reweighted quarterly. Realized volatility measures how much a price actually moved. The method ranks stocks on how they behaved over the past year. A sudden shock can hit sectors that have been calm, and those stocks can fall as hard as the market or harder. Past calm offers no protection when conditions flip overnight.
The current portfolio shows where that method leads. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held about $7.09 billion in net assets, with most positions between 0.8% and 1.4%. Utilities, real estate investment trusts, and insurers dominate the list. The largest holdings were Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) at 1.36%, WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC | WEC Price Prediction) at 1.26%, and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) at 1.26%. A shock that hits those sectors at once lands on much of the fund.
What the Factsheet Leaves Out
Every stock SPLV owns comes from the S&P 500, so every one also is inside VOO. You pay for a filter on an index you could own directly. Over the 10 years ended November 10, 2026, SPLV’s adjusted price rose 140.86%. VOO rose 305.91%. Over five years, SPLV gained 35.14% against VOO’s 72.51%.
Taxes add drag in a taxable account. SPLV pays monthly, with $1.65492 per share distributed over the trailing 12 months. The latest ex-dividend date was October 19, 2026. Those payouts can trigger a tax bill each year, whether you reinvest them or not.
In Fairness, One Crash Proves Little
The 2020 selloff is one episode. Low-volatility funds aim to reduce swings over time, and results vary by period. Over the past year, from November 10, 2025 to November 9, 2026, SPLV’s maximum drawdown (its worst peak-to-trough drop) was -3.84%, smaller than VOO’s -4.37%. Over the past year, SPLV gained 11.86% to VOO’s 12.43%. The strategy can smooth the ride in some periods and still fail you in a sudden crash.
A Cheaper Mirror Already Holds Every SPLV Stock
VOO owns the full S&P 500 for 0.03% a year. The trade-off: VOO carries the market’s full swings, with no screen for calmer stocks. In the 2020 crash, that direct exposure lost less than SPLV did. If you hold SPLV for protection, the cheaper fund delivered better protection during the event that counted most.
What This Means for Your Retirement Cushion
A fund’s label describes how it picks stocks. It promises nothing about any single drawdown. If you count on a low-volatility fund to cushion withdrawals, you need to understand that it chooses holdings based on past calm and can still fall sharply (a bad market in the first years of retirement does far more damage than one later on, which is the whole subject of our free early retirement defense guide). Three questions are worth asking before trusting any defensive fund.
How does it select holdings, and how often does it update them? How did it perform in past sudden selloffs, compared with a plain index fund? What does it charge above VOO’s $3 per $10,000, and has that extra cost paid off?
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Ryne Mauck is an investment writer covering exchange-traded funds, retirement planning, and portfolio strategy. Through his work at 24/7 Wall St. and other investment platforms, including Seeking Alpha, he aims to provide clear, research-driven insights that help investors make more informed decisions while maintaining a long-term approach to investing.
Ryne holds a B.Sc. in Finance and an M.A. in Political Science. He is a formerly registered Municipal Advisor Representative and has passed the Series 50, Series 63, and Series 65 exams. His articles are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, financial advice.
