It's great to report that April 2017 was a busy month as ever. Indeed, April turned out to be something of a vintage 'end of tax year/ beginning of tax year' month, despite the way Easter (and the school holidays) fell.
But April and May of this year both have much 'noise' within them to distract and this can naturally (and from my past experience) make clients and companies defer decisions for their financial planning that they may otherwise sanction. Apart from Trump’s interesting first 100 days in the White House, we have a UK snap General Election to endure and, of course, the French General Election that will focus many minds, both on the continent and further afield. All fascinating in their own right for some, but consuming for others.
Delays in new UK legislation are an issue, but in this case, much that has been deferred is likely to reappear post-election if the current incumbents remain in power, although this is not guaranteed.
This brings into focus the long term nature of the services that all investment managers and financial planners normally offer their clients. Although individual moves, switches and trades might be transactional, our individual and corporate views are invariably for a long term, agreed strategy that evolves over time and is aimed at meeting client needs, such as income production, capital growth or both. I always argue that ‘customers’ generally buy only once, but ‘clients’ are for the long term.
So, is the noise of the recent and coming weeks important in making investment decisions? Yes. But is it enough to stop a long term investment strategy? I think not.
Keith Churchouse FPFS
Chapters Financial Limited