The takeaway
PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity shows a slight seasonal lean over 9 years of data — strongest in June (+1.4%) and softest in October (+0.4%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 75% of years, averaging +2.3% — essentially in line with the S&P 500.
The full picture
PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity 's most dependable month has been June, higher in 7 of 8 years; October has been its least reliable, up just 44% of the time.
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| 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+2.7 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−2.4 pts).
“vs S&P” is PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, June has closed higher 80% of the time versus 88% across the last 9 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) June return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 9(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 9-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. June stands out, higher in 7 of 8 Junes, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+1.4%) and median (+1.6%) 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: June has cleared the S&P 500 by +1.1 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages June only about 52% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — May–August forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. The weaker half of the year is plainer: October is the year's quietest corner, essentially flat on average, and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in March, December, and February. Its roughest month on record was a −18.7% 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: June aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt. With a short 9-year record, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the fund's best month (June), its worst (October), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — June is the firmest (+1.4%) and October the softest (+0.4%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
June has been the strongest, averaging +1.4% and closing higher in 7 of 8 years since 2017.
It's the weakest month, but it has still averaged a small gain (+0.4%) — quiet rather than genuinely bad.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade