Those of you who don’t know the “sell in May and go away” strategy may recognize it by its other name: The Halloween Indicator.
Regardless, the pattern refers to the tendency for the stock market to post its best returns between Halloween and May Day (the “winter” months) and to record mediocre performance, at best, between May Day and Halloween (the “summer” months.)
So should you sell in May and go away? While I can’t advise, I’ll share my thoughts. When I started Jason Bond Picks I built it on a swing trading theme. As a swing trader, I’m moving in and out of trades in 1 – 4 days looking for 5 – 10% returns. This allows me to move in and out of stocks regardless of macro trends.
Last year the S&P 500 was +2.08% in May. Last year Jason Bond Picks was +5.39% +$25,392. So again, while I can’t advise you, I can assure you I will not be selling in May and going away this year either. My goal for May is to make +$20,000 swing trading 3 – 5 stocks each week, just like in 2013.
Here’s the trades I took in May of 2013 leading to my +5.39% that month or +$25,392.
| Stock | Trade Type | Shares | Buy Date | Buy Price | $ In | Sell Date | Sell Price | $ Out | P/L Per Share | P/L Total | % Win/Loss |
| JRCC | Long stock | 30000 | 1-May | $1.86 | $55,800 | 1-May | $2.14 | $64,050 | $0.28 | $8,250 | 14.78% |
| LQMT | Long stock | 100000 | 29-Apr | $0.09 | $8,600 | 3-May | $0.08 | $8,400 | $0.00 | ($200) | -2.33% |
| ZNGA | Long stock | 20000 | 2-May | $3.23 | $64,600 | 3-May | $3.20 | $64,000 | ($0.03) | ($600) | -0.93% |
| SKUL | Long stock | 13600 | 3-May | $5.17 | $70,285 | 3-May | $5.17 | $70,353 | $0.00 | $68 | 0.10% |
| MCP | Long stock | 25000 | 30-Apr | $5.79 | $144,825 | 3-May | $5.87 | $146,625 | $0.07 | $1,800 | 1.24% |
| OCZ | Long stock | 30000 | 24-Apr | $1.27 | $38,100 | 3-May | $1.30 | $39,000 | $0.03 | $900 | 2.36% |
| ANR | Short stock | 20000 | 8-May | $7.23 | $144,600 | 8-May | $6.99 | $139,800 | ($0.24) | ($4,800) | -3.32% |
| UVXY | Long stock | 10000 | 7-May | $5.79 | $57,900 | 8-May | $6.05 | $60,500 | $0.26 | $2,600 | 4.49% |
| OCZ | Long stock | 30000 | 8-May | $1.39 | $41,610 | 8-May | $1.49 | $44,550 | $0.10 | $2,940 | 7.07% |
| RENN | Long stock | 20000 | 9-May | $3.17 | $63,400 | 13-May | $3.00 | $60,000 | ($0.17) | ($3,400) | -5.36% |
| ZAGG | Long stock | 10000 | 10-May | $5.15 | $51,500 | 13-May | $5.02 | $50,200 | ($0.13) | ($1,300) | -2.52% |
| LEDS | Long stock | 30000 | 13-May | $1.39 | $41,700 | 14-May | $1.53 | $45,900 | $0.14 | $4,200 | 10.07% |
| RMBS | Short stock | 10000 | 14-May | $7.97 | $79,700 | 17-May | $7.98 | $79,800 | $0.01 | $100 | 0.13% |
| RMBS | Short stock | 10000 | 21-May | $8.06 | $80,600 | 21-May | $8.01 | $80,100 | ($0.05) | ($500) | -0.62% |
| UVXY | Long stock | 30000 | 14-May | $5.81 | $174,180 | 21-May | $5.82 | $174,690 | $0.02 | $510 | 0.29% |
| ZAGG | Long stock | 15000 | 22-May | $5.11 | $76,650 | 23-May | $5.35 | $80,250 | $0.24 | $3,600 | 4.70% |
| NNVC | Long stock | 20000 | 23-May | $0.63 | $12,600 | 23-May | $0.73 | $14,688 | $0.10 | $2,088 | 16.57% |
| ACI | Long stock | 20000 | 28-May | $5.41 | $108,100 | 28-May | $5.31 | $106,200 | ($0.10) | ($1,900) | -1.76% |
| RSOL | Long stock | 20000 | 28-May | $3.84 | $76,760 | 28-May | $4.19 | $83,800 | $0.35 | $7,040 | 9.17% |
| NNVC | Long stock | 20000 | 23-May | $0.72 | $14,400 | 28-May | $0.71 | $14,176 | ($0.01) | ($224) | -1.56% |
| OCZ | Long stock | 30000 | 23-May | $1.38 | $41,280 | 28-May | $1.42 | $42,600 | $0.04 | $1,320 | 3.20% |
| OCZ | Long stock | 20000 | 30-May | $1.44 | $28,800 | 31-May | $1.59 | $31,700 | $0.15 | $2,900 | 10.07% |
These are very large investments of money…..sometimes in excess of 100k…a smaller investor able to invest 5-10k would not have these returns due to paying commission costs on both buys and sells.
Hi, the purpose of the website is to teach trading, not a mirroring service.
Hello Jason
I have joined you from the Wealth Vault Penny stock pro.I am a founding member .
I feel your teaching and video training is a breath of fresh air. I know you realize people will try and mirror you for your picks.I know I am it is one of the reasons I joined you are doing most of the DD ,but to answer Mr. Capriola if I may simply put $ 50,000.00 in at 5 to 10% or $2000 in is just that 5 to 10% per successful trade.Personaly from Jan 2014 I am up close to 6 figures substantiality on Pot stocks alone this year tradeing 5 to 10% on bounces daily. Most trades 5%. I only trade $2000.00 to $3000.00 per trade $12000.00 only in the market daily.I look forward to speaking with you sometime soon .