May I start today by thanking you for your kind comments yesterday, if I ever needed a reminder as to why I do what I do, that was it!
Monday saw a very good day in terms of investment market recovery globally and the early signs this morning in the UK are also very positive. This is largely on the back of a slowdown in the ‘increase’ of new cases of Covid19 coronavirus (I might need to read that back!) and also due to a scaling down in terms of the overall impact of the virus on UK lives. There was also the news that Johnson and Johnson have joined the chase to produce a vaccine, although it will not be available to market until the middle of next year.
Whilst we are still in relatively unchartered territory, the expectation seems to be, that Covid19 coronavirus cases will spike during the Easter weekend if not slightly before this, so the need to continue with our isolation programme is ever more important.
I have been asked by some clients whether or not they should stop taking regular income payments from their investments during these uncertain times and, whilst doing so would indeed preserve the value of any investment, it is worth remembering that, in times like these cash is King and my view is that, if the current situation is only likely to remain with us for the duration of one or maybe two months/payments, then there seems little point in going without, although I do appreciate that it is more difficult to spend money at present. However, it is certainly something to keep under review, should we find ourselves in a longer period of containment.
As promised, I will keep these updates brief but hopefully relevant and you may find the links below very helpful, especially the article from Architas Investments, outlining the reasons why we should not seek to panic, in investor terms, during uncertain markets (easier said than done I know!)
While investment markets seem to be rising, it is interesting to see that the price of oil is falling like a stone, with some US companies not even able to give their crude oil away. As many airlines remain grounded and cars parked up, the planet is receiving a healthy reprieve from air pollution, but I am sure it will be short-lived as our lives hopefully return to normal and we will soon be back to paying £1.20+ a litre at the pumps.
I hope that you all enjoy this gloriously sunny start to the day and stay healthy in whatever you do.
https://uk.architas.com/professional-clients/insights/podcast/our-response-to-volatile-markets/
https://www.pruadviser.co.uk/funds/tio/tio-market-updates/
This is similar for many providers, but demonstrates the measures that investment companies are taking for their customers during these times