Thursday 09 February 2017 1:55 pm

Retail investors welcome Brexit for their portfolios but think Trump will harm their investments

By: Jasper Jolly

Almost half of the UK’s retail investors think Brexit will have a positive effect on their investment portfolios, a new survey says.

The poll also found the same proportion, 44 per cent, of retail investors thought the Presidency of Donald Trump would benefit their investments, according to the poll by IW Capital.

While many economists expect the process of leaving the EU to prompt a slowdown in the UK economy, the post-referendum devaluation of the pound has helped UK investors with exposure to overseas assets, which have become more valuable in sterling terms.

Read more: Hargreaves Lansdown profits jump as retail investors love the Brexit trade

FTSE 100 companies have taken significant strength from the fall in the pound’s value, reflecting the international nature of London’s blue chip index.

However, despite the positive view of Brexit the poll also finds opinion on the government less glowing. Only 27 per cent of the 958 British people surveyed with between £10,000 and £250,000 of non-property investments thought Theresa May would “promote investment value for UK investors” – although 42 per cent thought her appointment was a good thing for their portfolios.

Source: IW Capital survey of 958 people, all of whom have at least £10,000 worth of investments (excluding property, pensions and SIPPs).

The policies already announced by the government in the Autumn Statement were greeted as a good thing by only 26 per cent of investors. Philip Hammond had used his first Autumn Statement to launch a new focus on productivity improvements, although economists were not convinced the measures would be enough to noticeably improve growth.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s policies were only welcomed by a quarter of UK retail investors, despite his election sparking a massive rally of US equities to record levels, including the widely followed S&P 500 benchmark index.