Election Year Rally Following Historic Pattern

This chart from Bespoke made the rounds a few weeks ago, and it is interesting to note that it continues to work as a predictor of this year’s election rally. We have continued higher, and now may be in the final blow-off stage into early September.

It is mildly interesting to note that late August/early Sept tops happen in big turns years (1929, 1987 etc.); and also happen in relatively normal years. It is just that in an election year, the summer rally seems to last longer. The correction in Sept usually denotes uncertainty over the election. When it becomes clear who will win, the market rallies again. In 2008, the post-correction rally waited until the end; of course a lot was going on in Sept 2008.

The normal seasonal pattern is a rally commences in mid Oct to early November, and continues into late April or early May, with a mild correctiion in late Jan/early Feb. The market then has a June Swoon and Summer Rally, but essentially meanders sideways into Oct, until the seasonal rally takes off again.

The Election Year pattern shifts the swoon to later, usually after the Conventions, and starts the seasonal rally earlier, unless the election is a cliff-hanger (1980, 2000, 2008).

Of course, this is an average of many different years and circumstances, so don’t take it to the bank. Just note that almost every election is said to be critical, that the country is in crisis, that This Time It’s Different, and then it isn’t.

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About Duncan Davidson 228 Articles

Affiliation: NetService Ventures

Duncan is an advisor to NetService Ventures, where he focuses on digital media and the mobile Internet.

Previously he was at four start-ups: Xumii, a mobile social service based on a Social Addressbook; SkyPilot Networks, the performance leader of wireless mesh systems for last-mile access, where he was the founding CEO; Covad Communications (Amex: DVW, $9B market cap at the peak), the leading independent DSL access provider, where he was the founding Chairman; InterTrust Technologies ($9B market cap at the peak), the pioneer in digital rights management technologies, now owned by Sony and Philips, where he was SVP Business Development and the pitchman for the IPO.

Before these ventures, Duncan was a partner at Cambridge Venture Partners, an early-stage venture firm, and managing partner of Gemini McKenna, a joint venture between Regis McKenna's marketing firm and Gemini Consulting, the global management consulting arm of Cap Gemini.

He serves on the board or is an adviser to Aggregate Knowledge (content discovery), Livescribe (digital pen), AllVoices (citizen journalism), Xumii (mobile social addressbook), Verismo (Internet settop box), and Widevine (DRM for IPTV).

Visit: Duncan Davidson's Blogs

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