Baptist Press
LONDON — Though the United Kingdom’s vote June 23 to leave the European Union took many political observers by surprise, leaders at GuideStone Financial Resources and the Southern Baptist Foundation say they’ve had the referendum in view for months and have taken steps to protect Southern Baptist investors from the resultant market volatility.
Meanwhile, Christian commentators on both sides of the Atlantic have weighed in on the “Brexit” — as Britain’s E.U. exit has been dubbed — with opinions divided and calls for believers to help bring unity to the U.K.
Thursday’s referendum yielded a 52-percent majority favoring an E.U. exit, various media outlets reported. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who argued strongly the U.K. should remain in the E.U., resigned June 24.
The election results led the world’s stock markets to lose a combined $2 trillion in value Friday, Reuters reported.
David Spika, GuideStone Capital Management global investment strategist, told Baptist Press Southern Baptist retirement investors should not adjust their portfolios in response to the market drops.
“Right now the absolute best thing to do is just be patient and let the dust settle,” Spika said.
“There are too many things that are unknown. You never want to react to short-term volatility as a result of uncertainty. That’s the worst course of action.” Markets “weakened somewhat” in early June, Spika explained, “on fears that the leave vote would prevail” and Europe’s economy would experience added instability.
Long-term economic results of the Brexit vote are uncertain, Spika said, and diversification of GuideStone’s funds minimizes the effect any long-term downturn would have on retirement accounts.
