Why January is the worst month for shares this century
5th January 2018 09:08
January used to be one of the strongest months of the year for shares - not so much anymore.
From 1984 to 1999, the average return in the month was 3.3%. The market only fell twice in January in those 16 years.
But after 2000, things changed dramatically. Since then the average market return in January has been -1.6%, and the market has seen positive returns in only six years. In four years since 2000 the market has fallen by more than 5% in the month. This makes January the worst of all months for shares since 2000.
In the stockmarket, Jauary is famous for the 'January effect': the tendency of small-cap stocks to outperform large caps.
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Since 1999, the FTSE Fledgling index has outperformed the index in January every year prior to 2015. The small-cap index underperformed large caps in January 2016, suggesting that the anomaly had disappeared. But the historical trend reasserted itself in 2017, when small caps outperforming large caps by 3.9 percentage points.
What's in store for 2018?
Turning to the outlook for 2018 as a whole, let's examine the historical precedents. Since 1800, the market has generally been relatively strong in the eighth year of the decade. It has been especially strong since 1958, having delivered an average annual return of 11%, rising every decade until - yep - 2008. In that year the market fell by 33%, which has rather dented the decennial eighth-year record.
The guidance from the centennial cycle is also encouraging. In 1718, 1818 and 1918 the respective annual returns for the UK market were 0.6, 5.5, and 11% - a steady progression of increasing returns suggesting a return of around 16% in 2018.
In the Chinese calendar, 2018 will be the year of the dog, which is excellent news. Since 1950, the dog (despite the name) has produced the best record of returns of all the 12 zodiac signs. Since 1950 the average annual return for the S&P 500 index has been 16.8% in dog years.
This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Money Observer, which ceased publication in August 2020.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
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