The market is on a tear this month, despite billions rushing into money markets yielding over 4%. What gives?

Sure- you can lock in 4-5% for a year or two as we wait for the craziness of the world to pass. Maybe we'll all feel better about stocks a year from now. You can just invest when this current storm passes, right?

Yet, the S&P 500 is up over 15% from its October lows (over 7% YTD)... despite rates rising that whole time and tempting more people to take the "free bet" on money markets.

I get it- It's been 15 years since we've seen risk-free rates this high.

For short-term money, there's no reason to take on market risk.

But for long-term money, going against the herd tends to be more profitable. Stock prices recover long before sentiment does, which is why bull markets are *always* born during times of mass pessimism.

Professor Jeremy Siegel nailed this during his appearance on the popular Barry Ritholtz’ "Masters in Business" pod last October; They were discussing stocks vs treasuries, and he said:

"It’s interesting. We’re talking today, and they say, “Lock (treasuries) at 4%, I can lock that in...” I said, “Yes, you can lock that in.”

"But you know, after two years, I mean, the stock market is going to be 20% to 30% higher than it is today."

If you went to cash last year, this is an important (and possibly expensive) reminder that, when assessing current markets, prices always change long before the headlines do.

Having a plan based on 100 years of market history is (for most people) far, far more effective than trying to outguess the current investment environment.