Sam Stovall

Sam Stovall is Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, where he applies extensive historical market data — covering over 60 years of US stock market history — to identify seasonal patterns, sector rotation trends, and cyclical influences on equity returns. He popularized the concept of the "sell in May and go away" seasonal pattern and has done extensive work on the "presidential cycle" in stock markets. He is a prolific market commentator who regularly appears in financial media to provide historical context for current market conditions. His research on how sectors and styles perform at different points in economic and market cycles helps institutional and retail investors understand the historical base rates for their investment theses. His work on sector performance across business cycle phases — identifying which sectors historically lead and lag at cycle peaks, troughs, and mid-cycle inflection points — has become a widely used framework for tactical asset allocation decisions among both professional and individual investors.