We have a lot of uncertainty about at the moment with global events, tensions and politics. Early news on Radio 4 this morning said that oil price initially was up 20% and then fell back to only being 10% up on the back of the attack on the Saudi oil plants this weekend.
In addition, we have a lot of media coverage on Brexit and we are waiting for Trump/the USA to do a deal with China and move global trade forward.
From my point of view, I’ve been to a range of seminars and webinars over the last couple of weeks to get current views on the markets. I’ve listened to input from the following:
- Orbis Investments
- Janus Henderson
- Columbia Threadneedle
- Tatton IM
- Aberdeen Standard Capital
- BNY Mellon
- Investec
- Blackfinch Investments
- Prudential
- J P Morgan
The key messages are still as follows:
- Over the long term the majority of your returns come from equities
- Be a long-term investor
- Remain in the market
- Don’t try and time the markets
This is basic investment input but valid now when people look at what is happening. I would also add the following:
- You need to be invested in line with your objectives and risk profile
- Diversification helps you reduce volatility generally
- Keep calm and carry on!
Sometimes you need to ignore the noise and just maintain your position.
Steve Speed
16/09/2019