top of page

Bearish vs bullish investors - an overview



Based on internal and external factors, the stock and equity indices fluctuate over time. Investors are excited by performance like that, but usually in contrasting ways. Those who consistently make money tend to anticipate more of the same. Others fear the good times are undoubtedly coming to an end. While the latter is referred to as "bearish," the former is often referred to as "bullish." As mentioned in our last article, any investor's primary objective is to reduce risk and increase return. So, whether you have a bullish or bearish outlook, working with a financial advisor is one way to manage your investment portfolio.


Who is a bullish investor?


Rather than expressing a general feeling of optimism about prices and trend lines, the name "bull" initially referred to speculative purchases. The phrase originally described the act of buying a stock in anticipation of a price increase. Later, as the years passed and usage changed, the phrase began to refer to the person making the investment. It subsequently spread to the idea that prices will increase in general.


Simply speaking, being "bullish" indicates that the investor expects the price of a company or the market as a whole to rise.


An investor who is bullish would occasionally predict that the market will rise as a whole and anticipate gains. Other times, they could speculate on a particular stock, bond, commodity, or collection with the expectation of making money.


Someone who is bullish anticipates price increases over a specific timeframe. However, the term "bullish" can signify different things for both short-term and long-term traders


Who is a bearish investor?


The phrase "bear market" possibly originated from a parable and a practice. Generally speaking, it has to do with the 18th century trade in bear skins. Occasionally during this time period, fur dealers would offer for sale the skin of an uncaught bear. By dealing in a commodity they did not possess, in the anticipation that the market price would decline, they were engaging in an early form of short selling. The trader would go out and purchase a bearskin for less than the initial sale price and profit from the transaction when it came time to deliver on the bearskin.


This gave rise to popular phrases that were in use at the time which include "sell the bearskin," "bearskin jobber," and "don't sell the bear's skin before catching the bear." All of these expressions were essentially warnings against speculating and making unreliable commitments, whereas a bearskin jobber was a slang term for a fraud and liar. The modern phrases would be "snake oil salesman" and "don't count your chickens before they hatch."


However, among stock traders and investors who knew the technique of speculating on an impending decline, the terms took on a more precise connotation. Investors began to refer to those who traded stocks in the same way as shady fur dealers traded pelts as "bearskin traders" and finally "bear traders" because a "bear" engaged in what is known as a short sale, selling a stock that they did not yet possess in a manner similar to how bear pelts were historically sold by bear hunters who had not yet captured the animal.


The term "bear" is used to describe an investor who anticipates a decline in stock prices that will enable them to profit. When it comes to a particular market situation, bears are typically thought to be negative.


Simply speaking, "bearish" refers to investors who predict a stock will lose value or perform poorly.


Bearish behaviour by an investor is prevalent in the stock, bond, and commodities markets. Being bearish means anticipating that prices would decline over time. This phrase may be used to characterise the forecast for any financial asset, whether specific equities or the market as a whole. Think of a bear clawing down on its prey to help you recall that "bearish" refers to declining pricing.


Bull market vs bear market


The stock, bond, and commodities market is made up of transactions between bears, who believe prices will go down and their counterparts, bulls who are confident about price rises. Bulls and bears are both necessary for a market to operate. Nobody would sell their shares if everyone was bullish all the time.


Bulls strive to purchase stocks because they believe their value will rise while bears seek to sell part or all of their assets because they believe they may find higher returns elsewhere.


A bull market is an extended period of rising prices that is typically anticipated to continue for some time. A bull market is often considered to have started when prices have increased by at least 20% from their most recent low. A bull market may extend for years, as it did with stock, bond, and commodities from the financial crisis's lowest point in 2009 to the onset of the worldwide pandemic in March 2020.


A bear market is a protracted period of declining prices, and it is essentially the reverse of a bull market. A bear market typically starts when prices have fallen at least 20% from their most recent peak. In the past, bull periods in the stock, bond, and commodities market have often outlasted bear ones.


In summary, an attitude or belief about the stock, bond, and commodities market is the key distinction between bullish and bearish. When investing, a bullish individual believes that prices will increase, whereas bearish investors believe that prices will decline. Major stock, bond, and commodities market index patterns and trends are frequently categorised as bullish or bearish.


Email us at: enquiries@ovacgroup.com for a free consultation with our team specialists.

Comments


bottom of page