Ken Fisher Debunks “So Goes January” Market Myth

Ken Fisher, Fisher Investments’ founder, Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer, shares his thoughts on the old investment saying, “As goes January, so goes the year.” The premise of the saying is January’s returns dictate how the rest of the year’s returns will turn out. While the saying is snappy and the concept simple, Ken shows it lacks validity.

According to Ken, the facts are clear—history shows that January does not determine the year’s returns. Ken reminds us that January is simply one of the twelve months with no predictive power over the others—which is the only way you should view it. Sharing a real January market observation with investors, Ken notes that stocks that performed worst in December—pressured by tax-loss selling—often see a stronger, short-term January bounce relative to other stocks.