According to Keith Wade, Chief Economist at Schroders, equity markets have experienced a setback recently and this has led many strategists to question the longer term case for the asset class. However, he remains positive on shares and believes that equities can still generate an attractive premium for investors.

After seven consecutive weeks of outflows from high-yield credit funds, last week EPFR data revealed that outflows have stopped and flows have been broadly flat. Flows have remained strong in high-grade credit and government bond funds highlighting the reach for perceived safety in a world of zero growth...

This year however, it is not credit fundamentals that matter. It is all about central bank policy. As a rising tide lifts all boats, central bank liquidity injections are supporting all financial assets, from risk-free Treasuries to stocks.

There has been a substantial increase in volatility over recent weeks caused by a number of different factors which have significantly impacted investor sentiment. European equities have declined by almost 15% since mid-September and we would like to highlight this setback as a buying opportunity.

Global risk assets have had a testing week last tweek; at the time of writing, the S&P 500 is more than 8.5% below the record high it achieved just a month ago. So why are markets rattled?