Market Commentary October 2018

Despite its reputation for volatility (since 1984, seven of the ten largest one-day falls in the market have occurred in the month of October), for the most part the market posts a positive return – rising 0.9% on average 76% of the time. This strength may not be unconnected with the fact that the strong six-month period of the year starts at the end of October (part of the Sell in May Effect) and investors may be anticipating this by increasing their weighting in equities during October.