July is the best month of the year to be invested in shares

The second half of the year usually kicks off with a bang as investment managers deploy capital from profits taken off the table in late June. This is what makes July traditionally one of the best months for equity returns for US and Aussie shares.

In fact, over the last 20 years, the best performance is seen in July, with the S&P 500 gaining 2.6% on average, while the ASX 200 has generated the best return in July as well, with an average return of 1.95%. Zooming out, over the last 30 years, July has been the 3rd best month, with an average 1.34% return for the S&P 500, and a 1.4% return for the ASX 200.