Sell Erev Rosh Hashana, Buy Yom Kippur, Rest Sukkot 2020

There is a Wall Street adage of SELL ROSH HASHANA, BUY YOM KIPPUR to make some dollars on the stock market.

If you had done that from 1998 to 2005, on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, (assuming no commission fees), you would have realized an increase in your portfolio in seven of those eight years… let’s say about a 1 percent return in the ten days of awe(someness).

In 2001 and 2005, the ten day gains were over 2.7%

Last October, in 2019, had you sold the Dow on Rosh Hashana and bought it back on Yom Kippur, the gain was 600 points, or about 2.1%

And what about this Tishrei (2020) during lockdowns and work from home situations?

An investor would have once again had a slight gain.

Had you sold at Rosh and bought it back at Yom, the market was about 1% lower, and one could realize a gain of about 0.8%.

Just a fun thought experiment.

As for me, I contemplate Isaiah’s (Yom Kippur liturgy) words about choosing a fast to free people and defeat racism, and not make stock market deals in the cloakroom.

Happy Sukkot to all.

(as the say, bulls and bears make money, pigs get slaughtered, lulav get shaken, and etrogs get sniffed)
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