What impact will the election period have on my pension and ISAs?

The market reaction to Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election to take place on 8th June was, thankfully, relatively minor. After reaching a record high in March 2017, the FTSE 100 dropped by 3% following the Prime Minister’s surprise announcement last month. Compared to the negative reactions experienced following both the 2012 eurozone crisis and the Chinese economy concerns at the start of 2016, this was reasonably slight.

Whilst the election period brings uncertainty, almost every general election in the last two decades has not caused the FTSE 100 to become more volatile in the weeks either side of election day. It’s therefore more than likely that the markets will continue without any major disruption, even if a new government comes into power. It’s usually only genuinely unexpected results which cause markets to rise or fall considerably, with the most recent example being the referendum vote for Brexit last year.

There are, however, still things you can do to minimise any impact of the election on your pension pot or savings accounts.

A well-diversified investment portfolio – a mixture of bonds, shares, property and cash across different sectors and countries – means you’ll be spreading risk and making it more likely that a rise in one sector will soften the blow of a fall in another. It’s likely that you’ll have a particular outcome in mind for your investments, whether that’s securing your retirement in the future or reaching a particular financial goal by a certain time, so sticking to this is the right thing to do rather than becoming distracted by any short-term ups and downs in the markets.

Look out for any investment perks that are brought in soon after the election result as in order to raise revenue, most new governments will introduce policies to help you grow your finances. Don’t forget about the benefits already available to you either, such as ISA and pension allowances, as these can also be a good way to protect your savings from any market volatility. Lastly, drip feeding your investments month by month can be a good way to combat uncertain markets – you might not capitalise fully on a market high, but you’ll avoid losing out during any sudden lows.