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CFDs are complex instruments. 72% of retail client accounts lose money when trading CFDs, with this investment provider. You can lose your money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money.

Sell in May and go away: the Halloween Effect explained

'Sell in May and go away’ is an old investing adage which recommends that investors close their positions in May and reopen them in October. Discover the details of this strategy and whether it is still useful in the present day.

Banker Source: Bloomberg
Halloween FTSE 100 Index Asset classes Short Market liquidity Buy and hold

What does it mean to 'sell in May and go away'?

'Sell in May and go away' is a trading strategy which recommends investors close their positions in May and walk away from the markets until October. The sell in May strategy is different to a buy-and-hold strategy, in which investors will ride out temporary slumps in the market.

It is popularly believed that the practice of selling shares in May originated in high society England, sometime between 1694 and 1776. The full version of the phrase is ‘sell in May and go away, come back on St. Leger’s Day’. This is a reference to the St. Leger Stakes horse race – the last leg of the British Triple Crown, which is held every year in the middle of September.

Halloween effect index chart

Typically, wealthy investors would sell their stocks and move from London to their country escapes for the summer months. Since they would be unable to monitor their shares while they were away from the city, investors would close their positions. This, in turn, supposedly caused the markets to slump.

The Halloween effect explained

Closely linked to the sell in May and go away strategy is the Halloween effect. This is the theory that stocks perform better between 31 October and 1 May, or the winter months. With summer over, investors would return to London and reopen positions on the stock market. In return, the extra capital being invested caused greater liquidity in the market.

The Halloween effect, or Halloween strategy, advocates for investors to buy equities between the end of October and start of May, and to focus on other asset classes from May to October. Other asset classes could include fixed income, bonds, or money market investments.

Halloween effect average monthly total return chart

As far as derivative traders are concerned, in theory, they could take up short positions in May and capitalise on the supposed slump in stock prices. They could then go long in October, when prices are thought to recover.

Is ‘sell in May and go away’ a viable trading strategy?

Historically, the 'sell in May and go away strategy' could have enabled investors to avoid slumps or losses in the summer months. Shares rose 65% of the time between the end of October and the start of May from 1920 to 1970. This is compared to a rise of 58% between May and October for those same years.

With that being said, there is some disagreement over just how reliable the sell in May and Halloween effect strategies are nowadays, and whether they should be used at all.

Halloween effect chart

Price movements in the FTSE 100 from January to November 2018

For example, the FTSE 100 rose from 6185 in May 2016 to 6954 in October 2016. Equally, the FTSE 100 fell to 5536 in February 2016 from 6361 at the start of November 2015. It finished at 6322 at the end of April 2016. This evidence would be contrary to the Halloween and sell in May strategies.

It is worth mentioning that the sell in May strategy is a timing strategy and is best employed by professional traders and investors. In reality, returns can fluctuate throughout the year, and could well be high in the summer months instead of the winter months. Forms of technical and fundamental analysis could be much better at predicting moves in the market when compared to the sell in May and Halloween strategies.


This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.

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