English

Alternative forms

• buy when it snows and sell when it goes

Proverb

buy when it snows, sell when it goes

1. (business, stock market, chiefly northern US and Canada) Stock market securities can be expected to increase in value to a greater degree in the cold winter months from November through April than in the warm months from May through October, and profit-minded investors should manage their portfolios accordingly.
   • 2007 May 10, Peter McKenzie-Brown, "Sell in May and Stay Away!," Language Matters (retrieved 13 Oct 2015):

     There is a phenomenon in stock market investment known as "seasonality." In Canada we sometimes summarize it with the epithet "Buy when it snows, sell when it goes."

   • 2010 Oct. 21, Paul Marshman, "Buy when it snows, sell when it goes!," Toronto Star (Canada) (retrieved 13 Oct 2015):

     Most years, he says, investors can make money by simply holding broad indices, such as the S&P 500 and Canada's S&P/TSX Composite, from Oct. 28 to May 5, when they tend to make most of their gains, and then selling. If that's too hard to remember, Vialoux has a handy catch phrase: “Buy when it snows! Sell when it goes!”

   • 2012 Nov. 3, Robin Goodwin Blumenthal, "Season for Stocks: Let It Snow, Let It Snow?," Barron's (retrieved 13 Oct 2015):

     According to Carlo R. Besenius, CEO of Creative Global Investments in Luxembourg, the trade, known as "buy when it snows, sell when it goes," was profitable in 53 of the past 61 periods. In a recent note, he pointed out that Munich, Geneva, Luxembourg, and Calgary had their first snowfall on Sunday, Oct. 28. He credits annual recurring events such as transactions for tax purposes and the holidays, among others.

Synonyms

• sell in May and go away

See also

• buy low, sell high