How much longer can the good times last?

Last year saw the S&P 500 index in the US generate a return of 32.4% - its best performance since 1997. We are now well over five years into the recovery following the global financial crisis and, with the S&P 500 having returned 203% since bottoming in March 2009, it is perfectly legitimate to question how much longer the good times can last. We have already surpassed the average bull market return over the past 47 years of 179%, while, at 57 months, the duration of this bull market is slightly less than the average 67 months witnessed over the same time period. However, while histor...