It’s true to say that, whichever way you voted, In or Out, most of us were surprised by the EU referendum result, especially after the final opinion polls (as well as the bookmakers) suggested that Remain would be victorious.
However, the reality was of course a victory for the Leave campaign.
A few days later, as politicians try to navigate unchartered waters, Sterling weakens and stock markets fall, you can be forgiven if your thoughts turn your own personal finances. The next few weeks will be characterised by a huge amount of uncertainty, we can expect to see continued stock market and currency volatility, whilst falling Gilt yields will bring other issues, indeed we may even see interest rates cut further.
Irrespective of whether you are a twentysomething looking to get on the housing ladder, a fifty or sixtysomething near retirement, or have long since given up work, you will naturally be concerned about the effect of the referendum on your pensions, investments and your long term financial future.
Keep calm and carry on
Whatever your financial goals, now is the time to remain calm, take a deep breath and remember some key fundamentals:
- Stock market investments are by their very nature long term, volatility is to be expected and from time to time large falls will occur
- Investors should remember that they are in general rewarded for sitting tight and riding out falls in the stock market
- You are investing to help meet long-term objectives, unless these have changed over the past few days, making immediate changes to your investments based on the referendum result is unlikely to make sense
- Selling investments, immediately following a fall in value, crystallises the loss
- Remember, in all likelihood you are invested in a diversified portfolio which will includes other types of investments, often called asset classes, and not just shares
Unless your financial goals have changed as a result of the referendum, and we suspect this is rare, then taking no immediate action is probably the right thing to do.
We are here to help
Of course, we recognise that, despite our reassurances, the next few days, weeks and months will be a worrying time and we are therefore here to help.
If you would like to discuss your finance or have concerns, we are here to help.
Call Bev or Sarah on 0115 933 8433 or email info@investmentsense.co.uk
