Selling in May: The end of the beginning?

Take forecasts beyond Q2 with a pinch of salt

Investors will be familiar with the old adage "sell in May, go away, come back on St Leger's Day", which originated from a time when financiers would escape to the country during the hotter months and return in time for the end of the race.

While trading can slow down during the summer, this has widely been debunked as a myth or an old wives' tale by numerous investment professionals over the years. And as we enter May, it seems as though this goes beyond an old wives' tale and becomes a high-risk strategy for investors to undertake, given the extreme price swings we have seen recently. Had an investor decided to sell their investments at the end of Q1 this year for instance, the chances are they would have cashed in a loss, given that all major equity indices fell double-digits in Q1 this year. But despite the fact m...