Too often, in the financial world, there's a misguided obsession with beating benchmarks like the S&P 500 within arbitrary time frames, such as the calendar year. Remember the legendary fund manager Bill Miller and his Legg Mason Value Trust fund's remarkable streak? He outperformed the S&P 500 for 15 consecutive years. Impressive, right? But here's a reality check: it was more about the quirks of the calendar than a consistent, year-round performance.