US Markets

Sell in May, go away is flawed: Experts

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Cyclical investment strategies are not all that strange in the market and some statistics prove these approaches sound, but according to these experts, investors no longer have to sell in May and leave the market for six months.

"I think this sell in May and go away adage is an interesting historical calendar anomaly," Bob Landry, portfolio manager at USAA investment, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Friday. He said his firm does not adhere to this strategy.

"We're more focused on where the market is going in terms of corporate earnings, interest rates, Fed policies," Landry said.

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S&P Global Market Intelligence recently released a counterstrategy that suggests that investors bet on defensive stocks during the months of May and October. The financial information provider recommended that market watchers invest in consumer staples and health care. Then, from November to April, investors should buy stocks.

Similarly, Nick Colas, chief market strategist at Convergex, told "Power Lunch" on Friday that while the above strategy "makes a lot of sense," there are other long-term market trends that are also playing into the market. Colas said that a notable trend in the past decade is growth stocks outperforming value names, by what he considers a "very wide margin."

"You can look for reversion to the mean on that trend as well; looking for value names like energy that's working so well," he said. "So you could play something that'll make money, even when the overall market might stand still."

— CNBC's Bob Pisani contributed to this report.