One of the most stunning attributes of this least loved bull market is that there have been no new net inflows into equity mutual funds or ETFs ‹for seven years. That is unprecedented for a bull market as long and strong as the current one.

It was one of several reasons why Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab's chief investment strategist, thinks the current bull market still has legs. Speaking at Schwab's annual Impact conference in Boston on Tuesday, she continues to expect returns to moderate and volatility to remain a fact of investing life.

So far this year, the S&P 500 has crossed its 50-day moving average more than 35 times, an all-time record. With the exception of August, most of the moves have been ones of 5 percent or so, much smaller than those experienced earlier in this bull market, particularly in 2011 and 2013.

How can stocks keep rising if individual investors aren't putting money into the market? Trillions in stock buybacks is the primary reason. Wealthy domestic and international investors may be buying some individual shares but the buying power isn't coming from hedge funds, which have been closing their doors at a fast pace.

One development that Sonders views as optimistic is the Fed's signaling that this will be a slow, moderate tightening interest rate cycle. She produced a historical chart showing that a year after the Fed initiates a slow tightening cycle, the S&P 500 is on average 17.4 percent higher. When the central bank starts a fast tightening cycle, the S&P rises only 2.4 percent on average.

Investor angst also remains a positive factor. Sonders and Jeffrey Kleintop, Schwab's chief international equity strategist, both reported that in talks to investors this year, all they have is questions expressing fear and concern. There is nowhere near the "excessive optimism signaling the end of a bull market," Sonders noted.

A recession risk remains low, in her view. The leading economic indicators are all strong or fair, but not all have taken out their 2006 highs. Typically, the economy continues to expand for several years after all the indicators exceed their highs from the previous cycle.

Wages are finally showing signs of turning up and this is likely to give the Fed cover to raise rates. Companies are starting to say they are finding it difficult to find quality employees and Sonders said she thinks a skills gap may be emerging.

Since the economy lost 8.5 million jobs in the Great Recession, it has added 13.5 million, another reason the Fed should feel more confident about raising rates.

Some have voiced concern about a profits recession. However, a close examination of the numbers reveals that the current profit problems in this cycle are concentrated in the energy industry. Moreover, some multinational companies are seeing the strong dollar hurt their earnings. Both trends are likely to end or reverse themselves in the next few years.