" Sell at Rosh Hashana Buy at Yom Kippour "
So you need to Sell today and Buy on the 24th of September...means no position for the Fed long awaited 17th meeting...
Rosh Hashanah also kicks off what is known as the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of intense reflection that culminates on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
In order to concentrate on their prayers instead of their portfolios, there was a time when many Jews would sell their holdings ahead of the Days of Awe, or "Sell on Rosh Hashanah and buy on Yom Kippur."
"The saying goes back to the 1920s, when it was said that this was the strategy of the Loebs and other prominent Jewish financiers, but it has not really been relevant since," says Larry Wachtel of Wachovia securities.
Another possibility, speculates Rabbi Michael Katz of Temple Beth Torah in Jericho, N.Y., is that it makes good financial sense.
"On Rosh Hashanah, things are good, upbeat and positive. We gather together, wish each other a Happy New Year and we feast. That is the perfect time to sell, when times are high. On the other hand, investors like to buy when the market is low, and Yom Kippur is a downer. We worry about being sealed for death, and we fast."