The stock market was all over the map last month, with several big dips and surges. The fluctuations have left many New Jersey investors wondering what happens next.

Stock market
(Spencer Platt, Getty Images)
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It turns out November is frequently a very productive month on Wall Street.

"It's really difficult to pinpoint why this is so, but I think what happens is the summer is typically a very slow period for stocks, people are away, they're on vacation. October tends to be a very weak period for stocks because people come back from vacation, they sort of reassess things, but then by November investors get re-focused," said Chris Cordaro, the chief investment officer for Regent Atlantic Capital.

The bottom line, Cordaro said, is that the last months of the year tend to be stronger for the stock market.

"November, December and January end up typically being fairly strong months for stocks, but the big caveat here is it's not a guarantee in any given year," Cordaro said. "So the past two Novembers have been positive, but the two Novembers before that were negative."

He said no one knows for sure, but another reason why November may tend to be a stronger growth period for stocks is because after the election "people feel good, they feel optimistic, because generally more than half of the people had to vote somebody in. We feel hopeful and optimistic."

Despite the trend, he said, nothing is ever certain.

"You can't pinpoint this and say it's going to happen all of the time. You can't say just because it's November, it's likely going to be a good month," Cordaro said. "What you really want to do is focus on a long-term strategy, realize there's going to be some seasonality fluctuations to the market, and just realize you just deal with that. Just like we know...it's probably going to be rainy in April, and it's going to be hot in August."

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