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Your portfolio probably isn’t getting much attention these days as vacation planning, holiday parties, Christmas shopping and year-end reports dominate the calendar. But investors who neglect the last month of the year often miss out on some pretty attractive opportunities.

Seasonal trends, tax-loss selling and even the general goodwill associated with this time of year can all have a significant impact on the market. Pay attention and you can strengthen your portfolio or make some extra cash to pay off those January bills.

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The period from U.S. Thanksgiving to year-end is typically strong, and December is historically the best month of the year for 18 of the world’s 30 largest markets, notes Jordan Kotick, head of cross asset strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

Importantly for Canadian investors, the list of winning markets includes the S&P/TSX composite index, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as well as the FTSE 100, ASX 200, Eurostoxx 50 and Nikkei 225.