SP 500 emerging fund managers seed capital Monthly Return is at -2.61%, compared to 6.18% last month and -3.14% last year. This is lower than the long term average of 0.48%. The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. The average monthly SP500 stock market returns from 1980 to 2019 were: Of course, this does not guarantee that returns at the end of 2019 are going to be good. The annual trend is just based on averages. What's a person to do? Buy high-quality stocks, ideally regularly across every market condition, and hold those investments for many years. The evidence is overwhelming that investors who try to trade their way to higher returns with short-term moves or buy and sell based on projections of short-term peaks and bottoms generally earn below-average returns. Moreover, those strategies require substantially more time and effort. They can also result in higher fees and taxes that further reduce gains.