Coronavirus – Many Losing Money from High Risk Investments
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Coronavirus is causing significant disruption across the globe – and not just with regards to health. The virus is also impacting on the world’s financial markets, which in turn, is adversely affecting personal investments.
The FTSE 100 has plummeted, and in mid-March, saw its largest tumble in a 24-hour period since the 1980s. Understandably, you might be concerned about your investments and financial future. There’s also a chance that you were mis-sold to, especially if the risks weren’t conveyed clearly.
The impact of coronavirus
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted almost every kind of business, which has had a knock-on effect. One senior analyst comments: “This will have affected the vast majority of people who hold stock market investments via their pension or ISA.” (1)
Nobody knows how coronavirus will behave in the future, and this has created significant market volatility. This means it’s difficult to predict how investments will be impacted over the next few months, or even years.
For most long-term investors, this is simply a storm to be weathered. Eventually, the financial market is likely to recalibrate, and losses will be recouped. However, those with higher risk investments may not be so lucky.
Responding to the situation
While it may be tempting to sell your shares (before the situation gets worse), experts advise against this course of action. Although the situation looks bleak at present, the market will almost certainly recover over time.
It’s also important to remember that usually, pension funds are made up of not only shares, but also government bonds, corporate bonds, and property. Share prices may have fallen, but government bonds have typically risen, which reduces the losses somewhat.
Given that there’s no certainty at present, it’s wiser to stick with the shares you have, rather than try to guess what will happen in the future.
Higher risk investments
If you’ve got a high-risk portfolio, then your investment is more likely to be badly affected than others. Now’s the time to assess your investments, and to make sure that they aren’t higher risk than you thought they were. If this is the case, you may be eligible to seek compensation for mis-selling.
Signs of mis-selling
When you were sold the investments, did the advisor:
- Thoroughly assess your attitude to risk?
- Explain what level of risk you were, and why you were rated in this way?
- Give some idea of what you would stand to lose in a worst-case scenario (as well as gain if things went well)?
- Explain exactly what you would be investing in?
If not, this is a sign that you may have been mis-sold your investment product.
What to do if you think you’ve been mis-sold to?
If coronavirus has negatively impacted your investments, and you’ve discovered that you had a higher-risk product than you thought, it’s time to start seeking compensation.
The Goodwin Barrett team are experts in this area, and we’ll fight your case on your behalf. If you think you’ve been mis-sold to, get in touch with us today on 0808 163 1659 or email enquiries@goodwinbarrett.co.uk.
References
1) https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/03/coronavirus-how-to-protect-your-investment-portfolio/