Summer is here once again with its ubiquitous combinations like mosquitoes and barbeques, lightning and thunder, swimming pools and sunshine. One exciting pairing for 2019 that has been far less common, in fact it hasn’t happened since the early 1990s, is an American League-leading Minnesota Twins and equity market all-time highs.

As a lifelong Minnesota sports fan, and having experienced what felt like greatness coming up short one too many times, it’s easy to be conditioned to feel that the only place to go when you’re on top is straight down. What’s amazing is that more often than not, when markets are at their peak, they typically climb higher.

Granted, they’re not immune from loss like the proverbial wide right field goal or the future impact that can be felt when a franchise player is traded, but it’s important to note that the S&P 500 has held up its end of the bargain in reaching new highs more than 500 times since the last confluence of the aforementioned milestones. The data in the chart below shows that markets reward investors for remaining invested, regardless of where they start.

In US dollars. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. New market highs are defined as months ending with the market above all previous levels for the sample period. Annualized compound returns are computed for the relevant time periods subsequent to new market highs and averaged across all new market high observations. There were 1,115 observation months in the sample. January 1990–present: S&P 500 Total Returns Index. S&P data © 2019 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved. January 1926–December 1989; S&P 500 Total Return Index, Stocks, Bonds, Bills and Inflation Yearbook™, Ibbotson Associates, Chicago. For illustrative purposes only. Index is not available for direct investment; therefore, its performance does not reflect the expenses associated with the management of an actual portfolio.

NOTE: The information provided in this article is intended for clients of Carlson Capital Management. We recommend that individuals consult with a professional adviser familiar with their particular situation for advice concerning specific investment, accounting, tax, and legal matters before taking any action.

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