The best investment opportunities may be thousands of miles away, according to a major Wall Street firm.

That is, the upside potential is larger in Europe and Asia than in the United States, Medley Global Advisors' Ben Emons told CNBC.

That assessment is not coming because he sees the American economy barreling toward trouble as a sluggish earnings season gets underway. Rather, Emons said he's worried an improving economic picture may prompt the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates — shocking Wall Street in the process.

"The biggest risk is that people have a very benign view that there will be no rate hikes from here," the firm's managing director said Thursday on "Futures Now. "Although the Fed will hold and will continue to communicate that, doesn't mean that they cannot hike in the future given where the economy is today. It shows strength. It continues to have an upward trend in GDP. There is no risk of recession."

A dovish Fed is widely viewed as one of the market's biggest drivers since stocks' December lows.