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Wealth Management: Quarterly Letter – Saying goodbye: Foreword

Edited
Published date


Every family has its own Christmas rules: presents in the morning or after lunch, always turkey or always goose. This Christmas, my family added another commandment to our list of festive dos and don'ts - no talking about Brexit. 

For the sake of family harmony, I am happy to report that Christmas Day and Boxing Day passed without a single mention of the 'B' word. That said, with the deadline to exit the EU getting ever closer, even if Brexit didn't cross my lips it was never far from my mind. Now, with the festivities over and my family's ban lifted, I just wanted to mention two things about this pivotal issue. 

The first is that we expect continued uncertainty over Brexit to be one of the factors that could make investment markets volatile over the coming year. Secondly, I want to reassure you that as a business we are fully prepared for wherever the Brexit process may lead. 

With our focus on long-term wealth preservation, we believe we are well positioned from an investment point of view. Volatile markets often throw up opportunities. Indeed, we were adding to positions during the market sell-off in the final quarter of 2018. We believe that remaining focused and ready to grasp any opportunities that arise is the best way to prosper in these uncertain conditions. 

Saying goodbye to the EU was never going to be easy, nor is saying goodbye to our investments. As well as adding to positions during 2018, we also completed the sale of some holdings that have been in our portfolios for a long time. Taking the decision to sell long-held positions can be difficult, and it is this element of our process that we set out to explore in this Quarterly Letter. 

I hope you find what follows enlightening. I would also like to wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous 2019.

Helen Watson
CEO, UK Wealth Management 

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