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Finaxion Research · “Sell in May and go away” · single stocks · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does “Sell in May and go away” work on IRM?

“Sell in May and go away” does not beat buy-and-hold on IRM: -9.5 points a year over 31 years.

Total return
631.2%
Buy and hold
×100
CAGR
6.7%
Sharpe
0.40
Max drawdown
-53.9%
Trades
61
Out of sample
—
Years
31
1×10×100×112×1997200020032006200920122015201820212024
StrategyIRM

Findings

  1. “Sell in May and go away” does not beat buy-and-hold on IRM: -9.5 points a year over 31 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -3.6 points a year.
  3. Total return +631.2% versus ×100 for buy-and-hold, with 61 trades.
  4. Maximum drawdown -53.9%.
  5. It beats in neither half of the history (split at 2011).
  6. It ranks #142 of 232 markets for this strategy by annual excess over the S&P 500.

Findings derived from the full panel. Each carries its number and its denominator; the computations are reproducible with artifact 0b534dd04389.

Exactly what was tested

Long from the first trading day of November to the last of April; cash from May to October. Calendar rules: simulated with our seasonal engine, same costs as everything else.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding IRM over the same window, with round-trip costs per asset class. “Out of sample” is walk-forward: the rule is fit on one stretch and judged on the next. A result that beats in the full sample but not out of it is overfit. Full methodology in the protocol. How we test.

Open this backtest with its trades   Trades (CSV)

Every strategy on IRM → · Full page for “Sell in May and go away” →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does “Sell in May and go away” work on IRM?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 0b534dd04389. https://finaxion.app/en/research/sell-in-may/irm

Not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.