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For UK investors, Brexit marked more than just a political and economic shift — it fundamentally changed how investment portfolios interact with the global economy. Since the UK officially left the EU in 2020, the UK investment landscape has been fraught with trade frictions, currency volatility and fragmented regulations. This has had a lasting impact on how UK investors build their portfolios, especially where global diversification is concerned. This article will explore the impact of Brexit on UK portfolios, and how investors can adapt their strategy — and their portfolio tracking — to thrive in a post-Brexit world. In interview after interview, investors told Fortune they were jolted by Brexit’s long-term implications. “You had 15 to 25 years of increased globalization, and the equity markets and global economy benefited from that,” says Matt Kadnar, a portfolio strategist at investing ­giant GMO.

European Stocks to Buy Now

Vote won’t impact T-Mobile’s recent market share gains in the U.S. The Brexit vote has underscored Europe’s general economic dysfunction, but investors still see some promise in these European markets. That trend has left the multinationals less attractive and made the consumer-­oriented ones look enticing, say Peak and Bill Kennedy, manager of the Fidelity International Discovery Fund. Both managers plan to hunt for bargains in the latter category, or potentially add to their current positions in such stocks, once the post-Brexit dust settles. “There are high-quality domestic-sensitive companies that have been beaten up,” says Kennedy.

  • By comparison, the CAPE on the S&P 500––even after the upheaval from Brexit––is a lofty 25.
  • Still, the Brexit vote has encouraged the Federal Reserve to put interest rate increases on hold.
  • In less than three months, the U.S. stock market went from a decidedly bullish outlook to fears of a bear market and recession in 2025.
  • Arnott highlights a mostly-overlooked phenomenon in the market’s meltdown.
  • Ireland offers low taxes and a lower cost of living than the U.K., and since it’s small, “all you need is a handful of companies to move … to have a big impact,” Kennedy notes.

Paris-based Sanofi is a pharmaceutical leader that focuses on treating immune disorders, inflammation conditions, cancer and hepatitis. Size-wise, it’s comparable to familiar domestic names like Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) and Amgen Inc. (AMGN). Like the U.S., Europe faces a similar demographics tailwind that is boosting demand for health care services from an aging population. While a significant share of SNY revenue is booked in the U.S. from its treatments, its European headquarters link it to more favorable market sentiment and insulate it from potential U.S. dollar currency volatility. As a result, shares of this European stock are up an impressive 20% this year while many other U.S. health care stocks have lagged. Founded in 1866 and one of the biggest consumer staples stocks on the planet, Switzerland-based Nestle is a reliable and profitable company and thus worthy of attention.

US invests more in rare-earth firms to reduce China dependence

Europe, of course, is where fears of Brexit’s economic impact are most acute, as investors agonize over what Britain’s departure could do not only to its own economy, but also to the rest of the EU. Some sectors of the UK economy have fared better than others post-Brexit. Financial services, for example, have seen a portion of business shift to continental Europe, while sectors like energy, mining, and healthcare have shown more resilience.

Why global diversification is more important than ever

  • In tandem, Sharesight’s exposure report offers a clear view of how your portfolio is distributed across sectors, asset types, and geographies — even drilling down into the underlying holdings within ETFs.
  • Only time will tell if this recent contraction for domestic markets turns into a prolonged downturn for U.S. stocks.
  • The results have been tremendously successful, with SPOT posting year-over-year revenue growth of 16% for the fourth quarter, and gross margin and free cash flow both hitting records.
  • Equities were cheap well before the big selloff made them even more alluring.

In tandem, Sharesight’s exposure report offers a clear view of how your portfolio is distributed across sectors, asset types, and geographies — even drilling down into the underlying holdings within ETFs. This makes it easier to spot overlaps, concentration risks or unintentional gaps in your diversification strategy. Stock markets around the world rallied on Monday as polls showed support swinging in favor of the U.K.

Such stocks are also fundamentally solid as they boast a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Additionally, we have narrowed down our search with a VGM score of ‘A’ or ‘B.’ Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. May lose other essential benefits including free movement of goods, services, capital and people. Will be able to negotiate better trade deals if it isn’t a part of the single market.

Asian markets pull back from all-time peaks as investors cash in on gains

The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. “We believe the post-vote weakness created an opportunity to add to positions,” Morgan Stanley wrote in a research report. The Brexit vote sent investors scrambling to buy the security of government bonds—driving up their prices and depressing their yields when both were already near historic extremes. Rates on government bonds in Germany and Switzerland fell further into negative territory after Brexit, while yields on 10-year Treasuries dropped below 1.5% and touched record lows.

That means telecom hardware from Nokia has been increasingly in demand, as has its expertise in network infrastructure, cloud services and related technology services. The stock is up an impressive 42% over the last 12 months as a result of better performance, and improving sentiment in the region makes NOK a top pick. In less than three months, the U.S. stock market went from a decidedly bullish outlook to fears of a bear market and recession in 2025. The S&P 500 is down about 5% since Jan. 1, and it has given up all of its post-Election Day gains to plumb its lowest levels since September. Brexit didn’t put an end to global what stocks to buy after brexit diversification, but it has made it more complicated. For UK investors facing new challenges in global investing, Sharesight gives you the full picture of your portfolio, plus the insights you need to make smarter, more informed decisions.

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An exit will push Britain’s economy into a recession, resulting in a drop of 3.6% in GDP and around 500,000 job cuts. Financial services will largely be affected as it accounts for almost 10% of the U.K’s economic activity. Equities were cheap well before the big selloff made them even more alluring. A reliable yardstick for measuring whether valuations are rich or modest is the “cyclically adjusted price earnings ratio,” or CAPE, developed by Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Shiller. The CAPE eliminates distortions caused by spikes and valleys in earnings by smoothing profits to arrive at a long-term average.

What to watch: Sectors and regions post-Brexit

As a result, UK investors need to be more intentional than ever when building globally diversified portfolios. Shawn Tully is a senior editor-at-large at Fortune, covering the biggest trends in business, aviation, politics, and leadership. Protect client data with these five essential cybersecurity questions every financial adviser should ask their technology providers.

Stocks across the globe climbed as investors piled into riskier assets and abandoned safe havens such as government bonds and gold. The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 3.6%, its largest gain since August, with bank shares in the index gaining 4.5%. Investors had shunned European bank shares earlier as a leave could have adversely affected banks’ funding costs and profits. Among the other European exchanges, Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 leaped 2.9%, 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively, yesterday. Arnott highlights a mostly-overlooked phenomenon in the market’s meltdown. Since shares crested on June 23 on optimism that “remain” would prevail, the FTSE 100 had slid 5.6%.

Investing after Brexit: Managing risk through diversification

Subsequently, the quality of trade that Britain has with the rest of the world and its entrepreneurship will not stand to lose as the prospect of a British exit from the EU looks to be on the wane. This calls for investing in British firms that have a considerable exposure globally including the EU. Such firms also saw their share price move north following pro-Bremain polls. To access this content, you must have prior permission and a valid contract. One of the top-performing stocks in Europe lately, if not the entire the world, is streaming music leader Spotify. In the years after its 2018 IPO, Spotify struggled to turn a profit despite its massive user base.