Brexit not even close to the top spot in list of investors’ top concerns
Retail investors are shrugging off concerns about the EU referendum, as they turn their attention to bigger events on the horizon.
More than nine in ten investors said they could think of an issue which was more worrying than the possibility of Brexit, in new research from The Share Centre.
Top of investors' minds was the Chinese slowdown, with one in four people citing this as their top concern. Another one in five pointed to geopolitical tensions in the middle east, and 20 per cent said low interest rates were the biggest fear for their portfolios.
Read more: Why investors shouldn't fear Brexit
In total, just 9.5 per cent of investors said there was either nothing more worrying than the referendum or that they couldn't think of anything.
Investors' top concerns
The Share Centre asked more than 1,800 investors what was more worrying than the EU referendum.
| Top concern | |
| Slowing Chinese growth | 24 per cent |
| Tensions in the middle east | 21 per cent |
| Continued low interest rates | 20 per cent |
| Nothing more concerning than EU referendum | 10 per cent |
| Low oil prices | Nine per cent |
| US Presidential Election | Eight per cent |
| Other issues | Eight per cent |
Markets are often moved by short term political set pieces. Investors are right to be concerned about some of the larger global long term influences, in particular the potential impact that slowing growth in China or tension in the middle east may have on the global economy as a whole. This is particularly the case as it is now eight years since the global financial crisis of 2008 and yet global economic growth remains subdued.
– Richard Stone, chief executive, The Share Centre