Financial advisers around the world react to a Trump presidency
By International Adviser, 9 Nov 16
Following Donald Trump’s historic win in the US elections, International Adviser asked IFAs across the globe to give their views on the next president.
Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group
“Buckle up for a bumpy ride in the global markets. Whether president Trump will do what he has said he will do throughout his campaign, or whether it was just soaring rhetoric to whip up his support base, for now, Trump winning is sending shockwaves across the world. As such, enormous volatility can be expected in the markets.
“The Brexit result was a real shock and created instability in the UK. But this is a far bigger deal as this creates instability on a much wider, international scale.
“The markets’ main concerns include Trump’s protectionist policies, focusing on potential trade wars with China – America’s largest trading partner – and with Mexico, it’s third largest.
“In addition, with Trump having said certain countries are ‘cheating’ due to their undervalued currencies, currency tensions should also be expected.”
He continues: “Whilst some people are put-off investing because of volatility, many of the most successful investors welcome it. This is because major buying opportunities are always found where there are fluctuations.
“Fluctuations can cause panic-selling and mis-pricing. High quality equities can then, for example, become cheaper, meaning investors can top up their portfolios and/or take advantage of lower entry points. This all, in turn, means greater potential returns.”
David Norton, chief investment officer at AES International
“After months of sometimes very ugly campaigning, the people of the United States of America have voted to elect Donald Trump as the next President of the free world. This is a seismic event in the political world, but long term investor aspirations remain unchanged.
Our response is to reassure investors and reinforce our core investment philosophy, which is to maintain investor discipline, invest for long term returns and not react to economic or political short-term market noise.
Markets may be more volatile for a time, then again they may not. There will be many experts with varying and forthright opinions as to what the impact will be. Very few will end up being correct.
If nothing else, the result of the election is proof that trying to second guess major global events is a fool’s errand, much like forecasting exactly what will happen to the market.
“We urge you not to panic sell, and view the coming weeks as an opportunity to review and possibly rebalance portfolios to their original asset allocation. Over the long-term rebalancing has been empirically proven to add value to portfolio returns.”
Tags: Donald Trump | US
