Seasonality refers to particular time frames when stocks/sectors/indices are subjected to and influenced by recurring tendencies that produce patterns that are apparent in the investment valuation.   Tendencies can range from weather events (temperature in winter vs. summer, probability of inclement conditions, etc.) to calendar events (quarterly reporting expectations, announcements, etc.).   The key is that the tendency is recurring and provides a sustainable probability of performing in a manner consistent to previous results.

Identified below are the periods of seasonal strength for each market segment, as identified by Brooke Thackray.   Each bar will indicate a buy and sell date based upon the optimal holding period for each market sector/index.

Entry and exit points provided by Thackray’s 2010 Investor’s Guide.

A seasonality study preferably uses at least 10 years of data. Most of our studies use 10-20 years of data, however, data may not always be available for periods greater than 10 years in length.   Studies using less than ten years of data can be used, but they tend to be less reliable. Results of shorter term studies have a higher chance of being skewed by a single data point.

For COMBINING SEASONAL INVESTING WITH TECHNICAL ANALYSIS go HERE

Equity Clock is a division of the Tech Talk Financial Network, a market analysis company that provides technical, fundamental and seasonality analysis on a daily basis via TimingTheMarkets.com andEquityClock.com.   Equity Clock’s mission is to identify periods of reoccurring strength among individual equities in the market using methodologies presented by some of the top analysts in the industry, including that of Don Vialoux, author of TimingTheMarkets.com.

Feel free to use any of the content or seasonality studies (charts, timelines, or otherwise) presented as long as a link-back to this site at EquityClock.com is provided.