Wall Street learns that this year, nothing beat owning the S&P 500

Traders work on the floor at the opening bell of the Dow Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. - Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP

HANDPICKING sectors, sheltering in trendy options strategies, going all-in on dividends – none of it has worked as well this year as simply owning the S&P 500.

As 2023 winds down, investors are taking the year’s keep-it-simple lesson to heart. Amid a 4% rally this month that’s propelled the index’s 2023 advance to 24%, they’ve been pouring money into plain-vanilla stock funds.