Clinging tightly to powerful bull market

Lack of roller coaster trend belies history

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The second-longest running bull market in American history has been fattening wallets and retirement accounts for almost nine years.

New record highs have been a regular occurrence for so long some investors fear stock prices have gotten too high and the market may be due for a significant correction. But returns are so low on bonds right now that investors are willing to accept more risk in stocks.

Stocks pushed forward to new highs Tuesday as tech — the market’s top sector this year — led the way. The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at 2,599.03, up 16.89 from the previous day.

Pittsburgh-area investment advisers are well aware of the dilemma — and the nerves.

“There are some who have voiced concerns about valuations in the stock market, which are at the higher end of where they have been historically. But by no means do we think they are excessive,” said Bernard Carter, managing director of investments at Hapanowiczs & Associates, Downtown.

Perhaps even more remarkable than the length of the current bull market has been the lack of any roller coaster rides in recent memory. The S&P 500 hasn’t suffered a downturn of 5 percent or more since June 26, 2016. It is the calmest stock market since 1996.

“We’ve had very little zigging and zagging in the market indices,” said Mr. Carter. “The market today is almost like a body of water in an area where there is no wind. It’s just a mirror surface when you compare it to the history of the market.”

A bull market is defined by steadily rising share prices, which encourages more buying. In this bull market stocks have more than tripled since the lowest point of the financial crisis. From March 9, 2009, through Nov. 15, the S&P 500 has climbed a massive 351 percent.

That eclipses the 267 percent gain achieved from June 1949 to August 1956, a post-World War II boom

The market from October 1990 to March 2000 remains in the No. 1 spot for the greatest bull market of all time — a gain of 513 percent. That 1990s stock market was driven largely by technology companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and other companies that revolutionized how information is transmitted and stored. It ended with the catastrophic bursting