A two and half year low in the VIX, otherwise known as the fear index, should only be seen by investors as a temporary lull in markets, according to Brooks Macdonald.
The VIX, which measures the pricing of S&P 500 options, reveals the market's expectations of 30-day volatility.
Edward Park, an investment director at Brooks Macdonald, said the two and a half year low belied the downside risk from expected geo-political events.
"While there are no major elections or political events expected in the next month, we believe we are in a far more volatile world than the current contentment in markets suggests," he said.
Chief among his fears is the uncertainty of Trump's ability to deliver on fiscal policy pledges and the result of the French presidential election.
Park believes too much uncertainty remains for markets to be so complacent.
"We expect volatility to be a recurring theme of 2017 given the political calendar and the emergence of populism as a factor in geopolitics," he said.
"With markets also hitting all-time highs, we are maintaining a balanced approach to portfolio construction and staying close to our neutral weightings in terms of equity market risk."
St. James's Place Wealth Management has also noted the contrasting signals on its review of investment market indicators.
Andrew Humphries, marketing and communications director at St. James's Place Wealth Management, said the unanimous decision of the Federal Reserve last week to leave interest rates unchanged looks odd, given that growth, jobs and inflation are all on the rise.
"Orthodoxy would imply a rate rise," he said. "But these are unorthodox times in the US, and the Fed may be waiting on the president’s tax, spending and protectionism decisions."
