The takeaway
iShares Select Dividend ETF shows a moderate seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in November (+4.1%) and softest in September (−0.8%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 80% of years, averaging +2.1% — essentially in line with the S&P 500.
The full picture
iShares Select Dividend ETF's most dependable month has been November, higher in 9 of 10 years; September has been its least reliable, up just 50% of the time.
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Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in November (+1.8 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−1.1 pts).
“vs S&P” is iShares Select Dividend ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating iShares Select Dividend ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, November has closed higher 80% of the time versus 90% across the last 10 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) November return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. November stands out, higher in 9 of 10 Novembers, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+4.1%) and median (+4.7%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. Crucially, the gain is the fund's own rather than a rising tide's: November has cleared the S&P 500 by +1.8 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages November only about 62% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — October–May forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. At the other end of the calendar, September has been the soft spot — the only month to average an outright loss (−0.8%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March, December, and September. Its roughest month on record was a −22.6% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
Reassuringly, the tendency has held its shape: the recent five years still track the years behind them.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: November aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt.
Short answers on the fund's best month (November), its worst (September), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a moderate degree. Since 2016 its best month (November, +4.1%) has run well ahead of its worst (September, −0.8%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
November has been the strongest, averaging +4.1% and closing higher in 9 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −0.8% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade