Investors need not fear a major correction in the stock market, says Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust.

Last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index suffered a 2 percent drop in two days, but it has since regained all that lost ground.

“I don’t think it is going to be a deep correction,” Smith tells Yahoo.

Editor's Note: Billionaires Dump Stocks. Prepare for the Unthinkable.

“If we do have a pullback or correction, it won’t take away the case that we are in a long-term bull market. We are not in a cyclical bull that's part of a secular bear market.”

And why does Smith hold that belief?

“The anxiety has shifted in this market from fear to missing opportunity,” he explains. “There’s still a lot of anxiety, there’s still a lot of skepticism, but now, because the Dow is near 15,000, investors feel it’s safe to enter the market.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 14,703 Wednesday morning.

The market isn’t anywhere near a euphoric state, Smith notes.

“We are still in the skeptical and anxiety phase of the market in terms of psychology, plus we think the fundamentals look reasonable in here. So we’re still buying.”

And Smith recommends that other investors do the same. “You can’t just keep sitting on the sideline earning nothing,” he adds.

Much of the market’s focus now is on first-quarter earnings reports. Those reports are providing an ambiguous message, some experts say.

“First-quarter earnings have generally exceeded expectations and looked good, but second-quarter guidance seems to be ratcheting lower,” Eric Teal, chief investment officer at First Citizens BancShares, tells Bloomberg.

“So it’s a bit of a mixed bag, and the market has been volatile.”

Editor's Note: Billionaires Dump Stocks. Prepare for the Unthinkable.