First they said it couldn’t possibly happen, then that it probably wouldn’t happen, then that it might happen and until finally today it did happen. Yesterday Britain voted to leave the European Union and although the vote is not binding it seems inconceivable that it won’t be followed through.
David Cameron’s gamble has spectacularly backfired, leaving not only considerable uncertainty for him but also for the UK and the wider EU. Those of us who have investments in pensions, ISAs or other savings accounts will on paper inevitably be poorer at the end of today than we were at the start of the day.
However, we should do well to remember that a loss is not a loss until it is crystalised. The next few days, weeks and months are likely to see significant volatility causing values to fluctuate yet further. The question is therefore what should investors do?
Although markets will fall, they will recover eventually, every financial crisis backs that up, from the Wall Street Crash of 1929, to the bursting of the Dot-Com bubble at the turn of the millennium through to the financial crisis of less than a decade ago.
Here at Clifford Osborne we are a big believer in that timing markets over the short term is impossible and the important thing is time in the market. So for now we will continue to monitor our portfolios during the inevitable volatility whilst we wait for the dust to settle.
The governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney has said that the bank is prepared to inject up to £250 billion to stabilise financial markets if required. Carney added the Bank expects “both market and economic volatility” as new relationships are struck.
As ever, we will do everything in our power to help our clients understand the current market conditions and investment decisions required made with careful consideration.
Clifford Osborne are Independent Financial Advisors (IFA) based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, offering pension planning advice,mortgage advice and more. You can read our VoucherFor reviews here. Our clients often come from Uckfield, Lewes, Brighton, Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Bexhill, Newhaven, Seaford, Crowborough and further afield.
