InsiderFlow › Glossary › What is a bull market?
A bull market is a prolonged phase of rising prices, conventionally +20% from the lows: optimism feeding on itself.
The bull symbolizes rising markets because it attacks thrusting upward. Bull markets last longer than bear markets on average — even 5–10 years — and produce most of long-term equity returns. The 2009–2020 run was the longest in US history.
The paradox: bull markets make everyone feel like a great investor. It's in the late stages, when euphoria rules and "this time is different", that the costliest mistakes are made.
On InsiderFlow these concepts come alive on real data: what big funds and insiders are buying, explained every day.
On average 4–6 years, with huge variation: statistics describe the past, they don't predict the future.
With certainty only in hindsight: widespread euphoria, extreme valuations and record leverage are the classic warning signs.