The Russell 2000 is a small cap index and it had been lagging for quite awhile….until 2016. This year the Russell 2000 is wildly outperforming the S&P 500 and now we’re heading into December, its most bullish calendar month of the year by far. Since 1987, the Russell 2000 has produced annualized returns of 38.49% during the upcoming month and December has risen 25 times while declining just 4 times. Clearly, December is the sweet spot for small cap stocks. Here’s a look at the relative strength of small caps vs. the benchmark S&P 500 ($RUT:$SPX):