The takeaway
iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF shows a slight seasonal lean over 10 years of data — strongest in December (+1.4%) and softest in February (−1.5%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 60% of years, averaging +1.2%, roughly 0.9 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF's most dependable month has been December, higher in 9 of 10 years; February has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+1.6 pts); it has trailed the market most in October (−1.9 pts).
“vs S&P” is iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating iShares J.P. Morgan EM Local Currency Bond ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, December has closed higher 80% of the time versus 90% across the last 10 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) December 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
The seasonal story is really one month's story — December. It has closed higher in 9 of 10 Decembers, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+1.4%) and median (+1.4%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. No month is steadier: December's returns vary by just 1.3% year to year, and even its worst December in 10 years lost only 1.2% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Set against the S&P 500, mind, December is close to a wash — the gain mirrors the market more than it beats it. Few peers keep such company in December — the typical stock clears it just 58% of the time.
December anchors a run, too: the November-through-January window has been the fund's reliable season. At the other end of the calendar, February has been the soft spot — the weakest of 4 months that average a loss (−1.5%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in October, November, and March. Its roughest month on record was a −12.2% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
At its steadiest, December strung together 8 straight positive years. Reassuringly, the tendency has held its shape: the recent five years still track the years behind them.
For a fund this dependable in December, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on.
Short answers on the fund's best month (December), its worst (February), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — December is the firmest (+1.4%) and February the softest (−1.5%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
December has been the strongest, averaging +1.4% and closing higher in 9 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −1.5% — 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.
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