Strategist: How to Play This Volatile Market

Volatility is your friend -- if you know how to play it.

That's what Jason Trennert, managing partner and chief investment strategist at Strategas Research Partners, said on "Closing Bell."

Speaking from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Trennert told CNBC's Dylan Ratigan and Maria Bartiromo that the "rational investor" understands that "very little has changed" -- despite this week's global market hysteria.

Trennert underscored that the outlook for earnings is the "same as it was a week ago," and corporate credit spreads have not widened out. "We were due for a correction and we got one," he explained, conceding, "It's not pleasant -- but the fundamental underpinnings have not changed." He declared himself "still bullish on this market," between now and the end of the year.

Trennert pressed his point by showing that the U.S. market drop -- "2% to 3% here" -- was dwarfed by the "double-digit" Shanghai plunge. But he said savvy players can still invest in China, India and other more volatile emerging markets, via large-cap U.S. firms.

The strategist noted that some 40% of profits made by Standard and Poor's companies were earned outside the U.S. -- yet the American firms enjoy "less volatility and more liquidity" than their overseas counterparts.