US Small and Value Opened Strong in 2026

After a tough 2025, US small-cap and value stocks roared back to start 2026, while large-cap growth lagged — one of the widest two-month gaps between large value and growth in more than four decades.

The useful lesson isn’t “small and value are back.” It’s how fast these premiums can flip, often in a matter of months — which is exactly why trying to time them is so hard, and why we hold the exposure consistently instead.