Amid a 4% rally this month that’s propelled the index’s 2023 advance to 24%, they’ve been pouring money into plain-vanilla stock funds. Equity ETFs have taken in nearly US$69 billion so far in December, the best month of inflows in two years, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence. They have added more than US$42 billion to the largest fund tracking the S&P 500 — the US$494 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY) — putting it on track for the biggest month on record in data going back to 1998.
Handpicking sectors, sheltering in trendy options strategies, going all-in on dividends — none of it has worked as well this year as simply owning the S&P 500.
As 2023 winds down, investors are taking the year’s keep-it-simple lesson to heart.
