Need for planning never been clearer

Remain balanced and keep financial plans under review, says Allan Gardner, financial services director at law firm Aberdein Considine

We are now around six months into the C ovid -19 health crisis, and at this stage there appears to be very little sign that we are nearing the end, or even the beginning of the end.

Very few people would have predicted in March that by October we would be talking about lockdown restrictions which may affect the Christmas celebrations.

There was broad public support for the initial national lockdown, and public health was rightly the highest priority.

The health of the economy, not just in the UK, but around the world, took a bit of a back seat, albeit most countries introduced some muchneeded financial stimulus to support jobs and businesses.

Disruption to the world economy did, of course, cause incredible volatility across global markets, and at a level not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.

Many people saw the value of their portfolios hit hard, resulting in understandable anxiety. With markets falling sharply, it was tempting for investors to sell.

Over the past few months we have seen markets gradually stabilise after the initial shock as investors around the world began to adapt to a new normal.

It is fair to say there has been some movement in an upward direction, albeit punctuated by daily ups and downs.

This has delivered positive news for those who held on but a not-so-good outcome for those who sold early, soon after the onset of the Covid- 19 crisis, merely crystallising their losses.

What the past few months have done is bring into sharp focus the need to have a balanced portfolio, and for robust financial planning.

Designing an investment portfolio will never be a perfect science, even for the most experienced investor, and there will always be some domestic or global issues for the markets to contend with.

We are definitely not out of the woods yet, with Covid still a major issue, and we also have Brexit and a potential no- deal scenario to deal with.

Global issues, not least the upcoming US presidential election, will have an influence over the direction of the markets.

Despite all of this, and indeed because of it, it remains critical that everyone puts together a considered and wellthought-through financial plan for the short, medium and longer term.

For those already in possession of such a plan and/ or an investment portfolio, now would be as good a time as any to review these.

Ultimately, it is impossible to anticipate with any confidence what the next few months and years will bring.

But taking professional advice on your future financial plans can help provide a degree of insulation from some of the most damaging aspects of what we all know is an unpredictable world.

FINANCIAL TIGHTROPE: Recent months have shown the value of taking a balanced approach to investments.