Brexit & Bedtimes
Most of us went to bed Thursday night reasonably confident that the country had voted to stay in the European Union. I got so far as 11.30pm but even I need my beauty sleep.
The reality, a few short hours later, is a victory for the Leave campaign. The country is divided as are offices and families. Our Prime Minister is stepping down and we are now faced with the thing no one wanted – an uncertain future.
I have total respect for everyone’s right to vote for whatever they truly believe in and so now we must take this result and move forward.
You will naturally be concerned about the effect of the referendum on your mortgages, house prices, pensions, investments and, indeed, your whole long term financial future.
We are already seeing large falls on the UK stock markets, the pound is holed below the water line and there is concern in credit markets as well. It may be hard to believe but we are now not considered as credit worthy as we once were.
I suppose the message here is now is the time to remain calm, take a deep breath and remember some key fundamentals.
- .You buy a home to live in not to make money from or use as a hedge against other investments. It will still be there when you get home tonight ( weather permitting)
- .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 and home owners should remember that they are in general rewarded for sitting tight and riding out volatility…..and, most importantly, life goes on.
Sometimes it is the simple things that give us the most pleasure. With that in mind I will leave it to my 7 year old to put all of this in to perspective:
“ Daddy, this doesn’t affect the rules around bedtime does it ? “
No Albert, it doesn’t.