Brexit: How it Could Impact Your Investment Portfolio

We are approaching a rather important period of our history, with the set Brexit deadline of the 31^st October fast approaching. Political biases aside, this has implications for all of us. From an investment perspective, this may present opportunities, although it does pose risks we can’t avoid.


As you are likely aware, we are currently positioned on the cusp of three possible broad scenarios, with various offshoots to each:

1. Striking a deal that appeases both our MPs and their European counterparts, something which has been described as “practically impossible”.
2. Pushing back the deadline, whether via an extension of Article 50 or by cancelling Brexit, at least temporarily. This could buy time, but is something Boris Johnson is adamant we’ll avoid
3. Pushing forward under a “no deal”.

Royal approval has been recently granted to suspend parliament next month for a period of time ahead of the Brexit deadline, but this has been met with some controversy. Boris Johnson has said a Queen’s Speech will take place after the suspension to outline his “very exciting agenda”.
Depending on the outcome, your investment portfolio may be impacted (positively or negatively), hence the purpose of this message. We want to send our assurances that while we can’t control the Brexit outcome, we do think your portfolio composition is appropriate ahead of the important impending events. The Burton & Fisher Model Investment Portfolios are global in nature and exposure to UK assets is monitored on a regular basis. Furthermore, current asset allocations have been stress tested to ensure they are fit for purpose based on your investment risk tolerance.
Other geopolitical risks are prevalent also, in particular the trade war rhetoric between the USA and China and the impact it is having on global growth, so it is not just the Brexit outcome that the stock markets are facing. We remain confident that our selection of fund managers will be able to manage these risks within their portfolios and any heightened market volatility in the short term may well provide some opportunities for them to buy quality assets at cheaper prices.
There is no doubt that political uncertainty has clouded the outlook for the UK economy, but our key message is to keep calm and remain invested for your longer term goals. With regular reviews of your investment portfolio, we can assess your investments and plan accordingly with the main aim to keep your plans on track.
Please contact us should you have any queries with the above or if you are a new investor, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss our model investment portfolio services with you.