The FTSE 100 was lifted to its record closing high this week by a continuation of the stories that have helped equity markets start 2015 with a bang.

Both the heavyweight US S&P 500 and German DAX had achieved new heights already this year, while markets such as Japan had hit cycle highs in recent weeks.

The main reasons for this latest enthusiasm across global asset markets are that Greece's likely departure from the eurozone has been put off to another day and all sides have backed down from their grandstanding poses in Europe. Whilst the latest "resolution" for Greece is yet another case of booting the can down l'autoroute, a gentle reduction in political risk is undoubtedly welcome. However, this is a case of putting off challenges to the future(again) rather than tackling the problem head-on and solving it.

Markets have also been helped by a commitment from central bankers to further support for their economies, with low interest rates and quantitative easing. While the policies of Europe and Japan are well forecast, there is greater uncertainty over the UK and US, but the omnipotent Federal Reserve seemed to commit yesterday to being patient and flexible with interest rates, providing comfort to investors in all asset classes. We do not know the date of the exact first rate hikes in the US and the UK (we are forecasting Q3 2015 in the US and Q1 2016 in the UK) but we can decipher from masters of the financial universe's rhetoric that medium term rates will be lower than in history.

The UK market was helped by strong earnings from mining heavyweight BHP Billiton and a stabilisation in commodity prices, which has helped sentiment towards the hated resources sector. The temporary end to the falls in commodity prices has helped stabilise sentiment throughout global asset markets. We do not expect commodity prices to soar from current levels, but we feel strongly that most of the pain in prices is in the past.

A final factor that has helped the UK FTSE 100 hit its new peak is that the sterling rally has slowed and the gains in the dollar will support the huge swathes of UK listed dollar-earning companies' profits. The inverse of this situation ensures that we remain sceptical of the US equity market's potential, as the effects of a strong dollar will hit US companies' earning power in global markets. This stance has been well rewarded so far in 2015.

In short, the FTSE 100 has deserved to hit a new record high and in the medium term we feel that 7000 and beyond is absolutely possible. We also believe that we will see further progress in our favoured equity markets of Europe, Japan and Asia this year, although we fully expect returns from active managers to be more impressive than headline indices themselves. However, following a great start to the year investors should probably book some profits and reassess the potential for corporate profits in the year ahead. Equity indices are suggesting that the world has become less risky in the last few months, but a lack of a decisive resolution in Europe, ongoing issues in eastern Ukraine and full valuations of many asset classes hint that 2015 is likely to remain volatile, but ultimately should be rewarding for investors. However, our view from the start of the year that investors will have to be nimble and extremely selective absolutely remains the case

Tom Becket is chief investment officer at Psigma Investment Management