The market was great for stock pickers in Q3. Don't get used to it. 😭

Most S&P 500 stocks beat the index, which is a rare occurrence 🙃

Most S&P 500 stocks beat the index last quarter, and beat it by a healthy amount. (Source: The Compound Media)

Most of the constituents of the S&P 500 outperformed the index in the third quarter.

The broad-based rally is good news to anyone who’s been concerned that returns in the market had gotten too concentrated in a few “magnificent” names.

From a fundamental perspective, this is not too surprising of a development. For much of the year, analysts have been expecting earnings growth prospects to broaden across the S&P sectors. And they continue to do so.

“We see a narrowing gap in earnings growth between U.S. tech companies and the rest of the market – even if tech still leads the way – suggesting U.S. equity returns can broaden,” BlackRock analysts said in a September research note.

For those of you picking stocks in an attempt to outperform the S&P, these stats suggest many of you were successful in the recent quarter. And that’s great!

BUT don’t get used to it. What we just experienced is incredibly rare.