Here is a comparative chart study of Largecap, Midcap and Smallcap U.S. stocks, using Vanguard Vipers for illustrative purposes. This chart is for the past month. It shows that Smallcap has moderately outperformed Midcap stocks, which have significantly outperformed Largecap stocks.

Note that the Vanguard Vipers track closely the Dow 30, which obviously are U.S. largecap stocks.

This next chart is the same as above except that I took the study over just the past two weeks, which shows that the outperformance has become even moreso.

In my career, I have noted (without the data here to prove my case) that late in a bear market, it is the U.S. Largecap stocks that Talking Heads promote the most, by far. In fact, I say that the Dow 30 is a tool they use to focus the attention and interest of buyers who are hopeful that a bear cycle would end and a bull cycle start.

Then, in the same vein, late in a bull market, the opposite phenomenon occurs; the U.S. Smallcap stocks get hyped most.

Why is that? Well, I believe, quite seriously, that Wall Street thinks that late in a bull market, when Mom & Pop have made a fair buck on their equity portfolios, they are more likely to buy less-than-top-quality securities, and Wall Street has a lot of proprietary trading positions in these stocks. And so too do their friends and family.

So, what better time to promote their own?

Old-timers would have a difficult time finding a previous market period that was not considered frothy" when the Smallcap stocks were the market leaders. I remember 1969, 1973, 1981, and 1987 in particular. But how about 1999-2000, at the top of the Internet Bubblemania period? I think you all have to recognize that one.

So, if I'm right on this perspective, the U.S. Smallcap stocks will outperform here until the bull market flames out.

This is really the time to avoid stories" from Wall Street, and stick to quality.

Here is an interactive chart on the Vanguard Vipers for U.S. Largecap, Midcap and Smallcap stocks, which you can follow day by day. There are also several other index funds from BGI, and others, that show the same picture.

US Large-mid-smallcap Stocks Index Funds -Comparison