Speculation about UK’s future within The European Union (EU) has gained momentum as we start the official campaigns for the referendum.
One demonstration of how the uncertainty has impacted the financial world is the Sterlings slide in value compared to the US Dollar and the Euro.
Since the new year there has been a significant reduction in exchange rates, as many holiday makers would have noticed. Obviously this has a knock on effect to financial markets, yet the effect hasn’t been as dramatic as many feared.
In general equity markets, particularly the UK, have demonstrated their resilience and started to recover a little since the start of 2016.
Despite the continual stream of headlines declaring it is bad for the UK economy whether we are in or out of Europe, investors have shown they are looking longer term.
It is likely that the UK will see some continued volatility as we approach June, but there is now a very strong case for investing and looking beyond the next few months.
Investments which are based upon sound foundations and use sensible strategies, in what is often described as value investing, will continue to gereate steady returns.
2016 as a whole is unlikely to be a ‘Boom’ year for financial markets as there is still too many unknown and unpredictable global issues. But it does look as though it could be a year of steady growth for those willing to take on a balanced portfolio of investments, using all the common assets classes ranging from corporate bonds and property, through to equities and absolute return strategy funds.
As always please get in touch with Platinum if you would like to discuss your investment strategy or if you have any concerns.