US Federal Reserve rate rises, ECB decisions on quantitative easing and the Chinese economy are all higher up the list of concerns for many wealth managers who have opted not to alter their asset allocation.
Markets rode higher in early trading on Friday and sterling fell on news the Conservative party failed to secure the 326 commons’ seats needed to form a majority government.
Jim Wood-Smith, CIO of Hawksmoor Investment Managers, said he was not surprised by the result and was not going to alter his already-cautious investment approach.
He said: “The UK election is a little local issue in the grand scheme of things.
“What matters is how wages rise in the US and the US Federal Reserve rate rises. What the ECB will do with QE, the growth of the Chinese economy.
“That’s why we are being cautious. There’s nothing in the result of the election that would stop us being cautious.”
AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould was similarly dismissive of any threat to markets.
“Does what happened overnight mean it’s any harder for a company to sell? Probably not. You have to look at whether the result fundamentally alters its ability to sell its product,” Mould argued.
Theresa May, who saw her party secure 318 seats, was set to approach the Queen to ask permission to form a minority government at the time of writing on Friday.
