Newsmax Finance Insider Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, said investors should look for opportunities in emerging markets, which have become "unhinged."

"Look at sectors that have been completely unhinged. Emerging markets have been completely unhinged, they’re broken in terms of markets," El-Erian told CNBC.

He noted that all emerging market economies were slowing, and that weakness in those economies could lead to slower U.S. economic growth but not a U.S. recession.

El-Erian also said there was a "high" probability that the European Central Bank would expand its stimulus program.

"I suspect if we talk in January, we'll find that the ECB has pressed even harder on the stimulus accelerator, while the Fed has taken its foot a little bit off the accelerator," he said.

ECB President Mario Draghi said Sept. 23 that the central bank needed more time before deciding on further stimulus. He said, however, that the ECB was ready to beef up its 1 trillion euro plus asset buying program if needed.

The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Sept. 17 in a bow to worries about the global economy, financial market volatility and sluggish inflation at home, but left open the possibility of a modest policy tightening later this year.

El-Erian also said activist investor Carl Icahn was "right" with regard to his recent view on market risks. Icahn recently ramped up criticism of the Fed, warning about the unintended consequences of ultra low interest rates on the economy and financial markets.

"He’s right ... the balance of risk is starting to tilt because policymakers are not responding," El-Erian said.