Hartlepool-born Harrison Smith is a financial adviser based in his hometown’s Greenbank
business centre and is associated with Emerald Associates. Harrison offers an insight into
money matters in an exclusive monthly column for North East Connected.
The general election is fast approaching with the impeding question of who will be running the country beyond July 4 on everyone’s mind. There will be readers of this column wondering how the result will impact their own financial planning.
At a time of uncertainty, the biggest fear in the world is change. No one likes the unknown.
We all like certainty and that is the way the world works and I’m no different.
We always have to go through change. That’s life. It’s how you face into times of change that build your resilience.
In the remaining months of this year alone, not only is there the outcome of the general election to think about in the UK, but there are also elections in the USA and other countries coming up.
There are also ongoing conflicts too and these may be events that give you concern when it comes down to financial planning.
You could have questions like what the impact will be from these events on your day-to-day plan, your everyday life? But while you could be nervous about such things, let’s remember what you have already encountered.
Even if we go back as far as 2016, and the outcome of the Brexit referendum, and I remember that because I was postal voting from Alabama where I was at university. The results came in and it was only the evening over there because of the time difference.
There was a big sweeping change from that result, and we have had the best part of eight years of uncertainty since. We faced into the COVID-19 pandemic when the world changed forever in 2020. Two years later Russia and Ukraine went to war and since October 7 the
global markets again were influenced by the Israel-Hamas crisis – and still are.
All of these have caused significant disruption to the investment markets and caused concern for many. Keen followers of investment markets will know that such figures fluctuate on a day-to-day basis regardless of enormous world-changing events.
You must make sure you do not have a knee jerk reaction. It is so easy to feel like you must have that instant reaction in a bid to try to alter a course you are expecting to end up in negativity.
Rash decisions cause people to make sweeping changes to their financial investment strategy because it is a natural human reaction to go into fight or flight mode.
The point of all of this is that when it comes down to financial planning, you need to try to remember to stay cool and remember why you set a plan up in the first place.
If you have built your financial plan around retirement at 60, or putting your child through university, will those goals be affected by short term events described above? The answer is probably not. If you still have the same ambitions and goals, then nothing should change.
Financial plans are supposed to be fluid and adaptable, based on what you want to achieve, not on the external pressures you put on those plans. The only concern you should have is whether or not you think your current plan will get you to where you want to be in the end – regardless of external pressures.
On July 4 we have a decisive general election, which will likely cause some kind of volatility in the markets regardless of the result.
If you have a look at the political party manifestos, all parties will have different paths for the UK moving forward. What I am saying is to stay focused on what your plan is. Don’t be too hasty when it comes to what comes next.
Financial plans are built for longer term goals so do not be overly concerned about the winners of the election, or bogged down by events that happen over the shorter term.
Everyone has a unique cause, so it is important to focus on your cause rather than the grander scheme of things.
We have all got enough to worry about at home, so do not worry too much about what impact events around the world will have your own situation.
Your plan is unique to you, we are all different.
*For further information or to book an appointment with Harrison check out his adviser
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