We are in a multi-year bull market for equities, especially emerging market equities, said panelists at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s 2011 outlook event Wednesday.

Over half of advisors surveyed by Putnam Investments said they were at least somewhat likely to recommend absolute return funds to their clients, while assets in absolute return funds have grown 10 percent in the past month alone.

The stock market is now in a “historical sweet spot” following the mid-term elections, Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist told financial advisors at the IMCA Advanced Wealth Management Conference in San Francisco...