Topic: Uncategorised
Should I De-Risk My Portfolio?
It is fair to say that the past few weeks have been pretty choppy for markets.
We have seen some reasonably significant falls in both the US and the UK in recent days as the markets digest forecasts of inflation being higher for longer, economic growth slowing (and some countries now forecasting a mild recession) and supply chains continuing to be disrupted.
Given this outlook, we have been asked by a few clients in recent weeks whether they should look to de-risk their portfolio to prepare for what’s to come.
As sensible as this might sound, we actually think it could prove very damaging for your portfolio over the long term for all kinds of reasons.
Matthew’s Monthly Vlog
Climbing The Wall Of Worry
During times like these, it can be helpful to remind ourselves of some of the past events that we have lived through and how the stock market crashed (and then duly recovered) during what at the time probably seemed like unprecedented crises.
It is often said that markets climb a wall of worry, referring to the fact that markets seem to constantly be worrying about something, however they still march on upwards over significant periods of time.
If you will indulge me for just a moment and set aside the first 4 months of 2022 and take yourself back to 31st December 2021.
The Folly of Leaving Cash in the Bank
The markets are a slightly scary place right now. Indeed, I commented in my recent blog that we are seeing signs of people ‘abandoning their plan’ by, for example, not paying into ISAs this year because they perceive it as ‘too risky’.
If anything the opposite is true, equities are almost universally cheaper today than they were at the beginning of 2022 and surely this presents a more attractive opportunity to buy, yet people seem nervous given that markets have fallen.
Equally, inflation rates have rocketed across the globe, so the risk of holding cash and seeing its purchasing power eroded by inflation is greater now than it has been for many decades.
The below article from our partners at Square Mile urges investors to think again about holding cash. I think it is an excellent read during times like these.
Don’t Abandon The Plan
The month of April was somewhat unusual in several ways.
First of all, we saw the conflict in Ukraine drag on far longer than anyone would have liked and it now seems to be somewhat likely that it will continue for many months (or even years) yet.
Second, it seems we are still not ‘done’ with Covid with it causing problems here at home in the form of yet more staff absence within businesses and all of the associated challenges that that brings. Not to mention the far more serious and significant measures being introduced in other parts of the world.
Monthly Vlog – April 2022
Some Light Relief
It would have been hard to miss the headlines around the Spring Statement over the past few days. Clearly, the cost of living crisis is gaining in speed and severity both here in the UK and in many other economies around the world.
Happy International Women’s Day!
‘As of 2021, there were 516 thousand full-time male employees in the financial and insurance activities sector in the United Kingdom, whereas there were 344 thousand female employees.’
In a male dominant industry, Buckingham Gate is breaking the mould with women currently outnumbering men in the Buckingham Gate office. Now, of course, that is not on purpose, Matthew’s philosophy when hiring new staff has always been the same – if he feels the candidate will fit into the team and will contribute to the success of the business as everyone else does, then they are hired!
Markets in the Red
I awoke this morning to what will be described by the media as a ‘Sea of Red’ – which is significant falls on the vast majority of major markets that had already started trading and predictions of the same for the FTSE here in the UK and on the European exchanges.
