Is “Sell in May and Go Away” a good investment Strategy?

Is “Sell in May and Go Away” a good investment strategy? What this means is that the stretch between the start of May and the end of October has been a seasonally weak period for markets and thus it is recommended to avoid it.

While this has been true over the long term, as seen in the following table that looks at S&P 500 performance, the trend hasn’t held over the past five years, according to the WSJ Market Data Group.

It is also worth noting that according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac, August ranks as one of the weakest months of the year for major indexes, with steeper losses in midterm election years, as the current one is.

Reference

MarketWatch, Ryan Vlastelica, 2018-07-30, “After a Strong July, August Looks Ominous For Stocks”