Brexit abates UK investors’ risk appetite

BREXIT-GENERATED uncertainty and snap national elections have struck a strong blow to UK investors’ appetite for risk, pushing almost one in three towards safer assets such as property, new research has claimed.

Last year’s landmark referendum and Theresa May’s announcement of a snap election have warranted investment cautiousness, according to a survey of 1,100 investors commissioned by specialist lender Kuflink. Nearly 40 per cent of respondents said they were rushing to safe haven asset classes and 30 per cent of them are likely to focus on property investment over the course of the 2017/18 financial year.

38 per cent admitted they were less inclined to pursue newer or lesser-known assets amidst political and economic uncertainty, a number that, if projected on a national scale, would equate to about 11 million of investors across the country, the property peer-to-peer lending firm said.

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The same portion said they would hold back from any investment decision until after 8 June, the date of the General Election.

Overall, more than one third of investors drastically re-assessed their investment strategy following Britain’s decision to leave the EU, with the figure spiking to 71 per cent of respondents in the early thirties age bracket.

“The EU referendum has set in motion a number of political and economic shifts that are inevitably impacting the way the UK’s investors think and act,” said Kuflink’s chief executive Tarlochan Garcha.

Read more: Investment firms call for clarity in case of a ‘hard Brexit

“Today’s research has underlined the faith people place in property as an investment vehicle, with a huge number of investors gravitating towards this safe haven asset amidst the uncertainty caused by Brexit and the approaching general election.

“There is undeniable investment value in retrospective data and historical evidence to support the strength of any investment class. For this reason, I have great faith in the resilience and strength of the UK property market and take confidence in the fact that UK investors agree.”

Read more: Kuflink gains FCA approval