Past Performance Is Not an Indicator of Future Performance

Every year, billions of dollars flow into investments simply because those investments performed well last year. Every year, many of those investors are disappointed.
The pattern is so consistent, so well-documented, and so financially damaging that regulators around the world require investment companies to print a warning directly on their marketing materials. You have almost certainly seen it: "Past performance is not a guarantee of future results."
And yet, despite that warning, despite the research, despite the history, investors continue to make the same mistake. They chase last year's winners. They trust recent headlines. They assume that what went up will keep going up.