Edward Park | Source | Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Brooks Macdonald

One of the greatest risks to European equities is that the weak manufacturing data is not enough to encourage a fiscal response from Germany.

It could also get "trickier and more costly" for investors who do not have direct access to the Swiss exchange.

Any investment with a substantial fixed rate of return can appear attractive. The devil is, of course, in the detail. What are the assets? This is key — the assets could be prime property, but it’s more likely to be warehouses, machinery or other assets that are closely linked to the business and may depreciate over time. If the value of the asset is likely to go down at the same time as the business struggles, the company may not be able to pay the interest or the capital back.