Ignis' Ormiston: Why 'selling in May' has worked so far

ON EUROPE

Ignis' Ian Ormiston looks at market moves over the Summer months, and whether now is a good time to return to European stocks.

There are many overused expressions and sayings used in equity markets, but one that crops up every spring is ‘sell in May and don’t come back until St. Leger Day’. Of course, there are summers when this is a brilliant strategy, and others (quickly forgotten) where it does not work at all. So why mention an old adage that is inconsistent at best? Since the financial crisis, seasonal effects have been exaggerated and pivotal summer events have set the tone for the remainder of the year. In each year since the crisis, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has guided expectat...