If You Sell in May, Your Returns May Go Away

Let me be emphatic and say that I do not believe in the old wives tale of “selling in May and going away.” There will plenty of opportunities in the next 6 months.

Here is some quantitative support for my opinion. The S&P500 [SPX] SPX is up on average 3.10% for the six month period of June through November since 1950. During the Presidential Election years, the SPX has risen on average 5.98% for the six month period of June through November since 1950.

If you sell in May and go away then your returns might be going away as well. Be careful of people who quote this old wives tale to you because they might be the buyers on the other side.