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Such was the sense of panic that even the most fervent pro-Brexiteer may have wondered whether they had made the right call by voting to flee the EU. However, Britons should ignore Friday’s

knee-jerk panic by traders and politicians, as it tells us little about the long-term impact on your personal finances. 

Markets do not like uncertainty and Britain now finds itself in a highly uncertain situation. The FTSE 100 plunged 8 per cent in its opening minutes, but recovered well to end the day 3.15

per cent lower at 6,138.7.

Sheridan Admans, investment research manager at The Share Centre, says calm should be restored in the weeks ahead: “Just cast your mind back to the stock market crash of 2008, the dot.com

crash of 2000 and the Asian crisis of 1997, which all passed. Investors must not panic. They should quickly make good any losses once the dust has settled.”

Managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, Darius McDermott says some investors will be tempted to buy into the market dips and tips three lower-risk investment funds to withstand the

volatility: BlackRock Gold & General, Premier Defensive Growth and Evenlode Income.

We were warned that the pound would plunge if Britain voted to leave the EU and inevitably it has, tumbling more than 10 per cent overnight as the results came in, hitting $1.33 before

recovering to end Friday at $1.36. Chris Towner, chief economist at currency specialists HiFX, says: “We have not seen such huge swings in foreign exchange markets since the height of the

financial crisis in 2008.”

However, losses against the euro were smaller, with the pound falling around six per cent to end the day at €1.22. Towner says: “The euro has suffered too as the implications run beyond the

UK borders into the heartland of Europe.” This should offer some relief to British holidaymakers heading to EU hotspots such as Spain, France and Italy.

Once the initial shock has subsided sterling is likely to recover some of its losses, so do not panic-buy all of your spending money now. Guy Stephens, managing director at advisers Rowan

Dartington Signature, points out that sterling also plunged in 1992 when the UK crashed out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

“It took just a couple of days for investors to realise this was great news for the UK economy, which had been struggling with an overvalued currency.”

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Anybody who reckons house prices will plummet has not been paying attention to the UK property market. The main factors driving the relentless increase in prices are the rising population,

shortage of supply and record low mortgage rates. Simon Tyler, of brokers Tyler Mortgage Management, sees little chance of a house price crash.

“Britain is still a relatively small island with a chronic shortage of housing and that will drive price growth for many years to come.” Mortgage rates can hardly get much cheaper but with

interest rates now likely to stay lower for longer, Tyler says while a tracker may offer better value “a fix will give peace of mind during what could be a turbulent time”.

While some property experts warn London prices could fall as overseas buyers avoid the capital, others say interest could actually rise as sterling’s drop gives foreign buyers up to 10 per

cent more for their money. 

Although billions of pounds were immediately wiped off the nation’s pensions, they could quickly recover when stock markets stabilise. One benefit of leaving the EU is that our pensions

industry will now avoid the wall of EU red tape that was heading its way, which Professor David Blake, director of the Pensions Institute at the Cass Business School, warned could cost an

astonishing £500billion.

While British governments have worked hard to combat the financial burden of our ageing population by hiking the state pension age, few EU countries have done the same. If the UK had stayed

in the EU, it may have been on the hook for unfunded pension obligations in countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and France.

Andrew Tully, pensions technical director at Retirement Advantage, says retirees in income drawdown will see the value of their pot slide amid market uncertainty, while annuity rates could

also dip. “The most important thing is to sit tight and ride out the storm.”

There will be no immediate relief for savers, with the Bank of England even considering a cut in the base rate. Saker Nusseibeh, chief executive at fund manager Hermes, says: “We are now in

for an even more prolonged low interest rate environment, with the US likely to delay its decision to hike rates.”

Friday’s extreme volatility should be short-lived and even though the aftershocks will rumble on for some time, many Britons will see the upheaval as a small price to pay for the long-term

rewards of taking their country back.

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