InvestNow News – 12th June – QuayStreet – In stormy conditions experience counts
17 April 2020
‘Don’t panic’ has been the Government’s catch-cry when it comes to supermarket shopping, and the same motto should apply to investment despite the havoc being wreaked on financial markets by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investment Manager for QuayStreet Asset Management, Andrew South says that if investors are in a fund with the right level of risk for the long haul, then switching in a panic could mean that they act at the wrong time.
However, Andrew says the decline in sharemarkets may have prompted investors to reflect on whether they are in the ‘right product’ or ‘right fund’ and whether their risk tolerance was appropriate in the first place. All of which highlights the need for good advice. “Always seek advice if you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s the golden rule of investing.”
QuayStreet’s Investment Manager for International Equities, James Ring has been through five major market meltdown events in his long career and says “this would be the biggest” because of its reach into every aspect of the global economy.
Despite the turmoil, James says that the banking system “is fine” thanks to concerted efforts by the world’s central banks and governments to quickly understand the magnitude of the problem and provide immediate monetary and fiscal stimulus.
Indeed, James points out that the US Government’s US$2 trillion dollar stimulus package was “way bigger” than President Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ package in the 1930s, and he gives the Federal Reserve “ten out of ten” for the understanding and speed of its response.