We won’t know if the Brexit deal is good, bad or ugly for another 10 years.  And if you’re serious about creating, building and safeguarding wealth in the next decade, you need to consider global opportunities. This is the warning from the CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

 

deVere Group’s Nigel Green spoke out as Downing Street confirmed that a “draft agreement” had been reached in Brussels after 19 months of negotiations to end the UK’s four decades of EU membership, and that the British cabinet would meet at 2pm on Wednesday. 

 

If the cabinet approves the draft, it would mean a special European Council summit could be arranged to sign it off before the end of November, giving the UK’s Parliament the chance to vote on it before Christmas. 

 

“Theresa May now has to sell the agreement to her cabinet and Parliament – this could be an uphill struggle,” Mr Green remarks. “However, I believe that it will ultimately go through – largely due to the enormous pressure put on Parliament by the markets and business, which are craving more certainty. Once approved, we can expect markets and the pound to rally on relief – but this is likely to be only temporary.”

 

“Certainty is likely to be short-lived”

 

Yet Mr Green was keen to stress that even such an outcome would not signify the end but rather the beginning of the Brexit process. “We will not know if the deal is good, bad or ugly for another 10 years. It will be affected considerably by events still to happen,” he cautioned. 

 

“The ‘certainty’ that’s craved by the markets and business is likely to be short-lived, as huge swathes of voters – fuelled by Eurosceptic politicians and other influencers – will not accept the deal, seeing it as politically unsustainable, which will have a destabilising effect and potentially lead to an ongoing constitutional crisis.”

 

“Precautions must be taken”

 

deVere Group’s boss went on to say: “In this environment of short, medium and long-term uncertainty, if you’re serious about creating, building and safeguarding wealth in the next decade, you need to think about global opportunities.

 

“Precautions must be taken against a fall in UK assets by increasing exposure to international options, including global stocks, bonds and perhaps property,” he added.

 

In a media statement yesterday, the deVere CEO stated:  “In terms of investment strategy, if investors are already invested broadly across asset classes, sectors and regions – for instance by having a global multi-asset portfolio – they should sit tight. There is too much uncertainty around Brexit to be able to take strong bets on a region, asset class or even a currency.”