- Missing One Day Can Wreck a Year: The market's strongest days often arrive after periods of fear and volatility. This chart shows how emotional, short-term decisions like panic selling can cause lasting damage to long-term performance.

- A Look at the Data: Through October 8, 2025, the S&P 500 has gained 16.0% year-to-date. But when you remove April 9th, this year's best day so far, returns fall off a cliff, dropping to 5.9% just by missing the one best day. That's a meaningful chunk of progress lost, showing how dangerous it is to try and time the market.

- Investment Implications: Missing just one large up day in any given year can have a large impact on returns.