There’s a Time and a Place for Everything

Most investors get comfortable chasing what’s hot — like large-cap tech. But leadership changes.

In this quick video, JC Parets walks through a simple quilt chart that shows how different asset classes rotate in and out of favor over time. It’s a powerful reminder that there’s a time and a place for everything… and knowing that is key to growing and protecting your capital.

This clip comes straight from one of our TrendLabs Friday Lab sessions, where JC breaks down essential lessons and live market insights for members each week.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to click here to watch JC’s lesson on why it’s not just about stocks and bonds — and the three key asset classes every serious investor needs to pay attention to.

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We want to remember that there are times when commodities are outperforming, times when stocks are leading, sometimes it’s international stocks, sometimes gold, sometimes small caps.

This quilt, if you will, of different asset classes — broken down into various types of stocks, whether international or mid caps — shows all different quarters, going back about half a decade.

These are simply the returns for each quarter. You can see, for example, the white boxes represent bonds. Sometimes they’re right in the middle. Sometimes they’re the best performers. Other times, the worst.

It’s the same story with emerging market stocks or gold. Sometimes they’re near the top, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the bottom.

What about EAFE? That’s the MSCI EAFE Index — developed markets outside of North America. Think Europe, Japan, Australia. Notice how they’ve been leaders in some quarters, laggards in others, and often somewhere in between.

It’s just a good reminder that there’s a time and a place for everything — and that’s perfectly normal.

You’ll hear people say, “JC, I’m only a large-cap tech investor. Only large-cap tech for me.”

Why is that? Because large-cap tech has been such an outperformer for so long. But what they often forget is that there were plenty of periods — especially early in my career — when large-cap tech was actually the worst place to be.

So again, there’s a time and a place for everything. This is a great reminder of that.

Don’t worry so much about which asset class returned what in which quarter. The point is, there are colors everywhere on this chart — because leadership is always rotating. Sometimes it’s one area outperforming, sometimes another.

Stay sharp,

JC Parets, CMT
Founder, TrendLabs
June 2025