Sam Kelly
I’m sure as you all read this, you’ll be sat in the safety of your homes, the cleanest they’ve ever been, surrounded by toilet roll and hand sanitiser!
So here we are living in what is beginning to feel like some bizarre dystopian future, a world that feels like it has ground to a halt. But in reality, as best we can, the world continues to spin, many businesses are open with staff working from home, and the financial markets remain open.
But what does this mean for investors? Well, there’s no sugar-coating it. If you are currently invested, whether via a personal investment or through your pension, you will have inevitably suffered losses over the last few weeks. In fact, this is the quickest market sell-off we’ve seen in history.
I put the speed of the sell-off mostly down to globalisation and technology. We have never lived in an era where people have had such instant access to information, trading technology etc so decisions are being made much quicker than we have seen before.
Myself and Senior Partner Tracy Storer have been personally reaching out to our clients for the last couple of weeks, ensuring everyone is kept up to date, and I think also importantly, ensuring our clients know that we are taking this very seriously and not forgetting about them.
Our overriding message is to ride through. Chorus use incredibly well diversified portfolios, and our client portfolios are managed by the top fund managers in the world. History has always proven that no matter how dramatically a market falls, high quality, low-cost portfolios will not only shelter you from the worst of the fall, as our portfolios very much have, but also take great advantage when the markets recover.
We would expect a high-quality portfolio not only to recover, but to recover to a higher place than before the sell-off due to the opportunities these markets are creating.
It’s a fool’s errand to attempt to trade through, to guess the bottom, time the recovery. You’re more likely to end up cementing losses and mistiming your re-entry into the markets.
But what about new investors? Well, arguably there has never been a better opportunity to invest. Global markets have reduced in value between 25-35% in a matter of weeks, and we’re already being contacted by people who want to understand how to take advantage of these discounts.
One thing I would add is that if you are planning a new investment, yes indeed, you will be buying into the markets at a substantial discount, but you also have to consider the real possibility that these markets could fall lower in the short term.
Most importantly I want to wish you all well. Try not to go too mad during the confinement! Read a book, use the opportunity to finally learn Spanish, or take up meditation! Keep yourselves fit and healthy, and I look forward to seeing you all on the other side!
Chorus remain open and fully able to help new and existing clients, although we are working from home, so meetings will be via telephone, video call or email. You can contact me direct on 664 398 702 or s.kelly@chorusfinancial.es.
