The World stock markets are extremely volatile at the moment and the UK FTSE 100 index is showing swings of 100 or more points on a daily basis, with it now falling below the 6,000 level today. Our research is telling us that the problems are being caused by Private Equity firms and Hedge funds who are having difficulty borrowing money to meet their liabilities.

There are no signs that the basic economies of the industrialized world are in any trouble at all but clearly we cannot ignore these events and the concerns they bring to us all.

You will be aware that the Argyle approach to investment involves you having a balanced portfolio containing a range of asset classes. This type of asset allocation should produce a situation in which the poor performance of one asset will be balanced by the good performance of another – in this case the fixed interest part of your portfolio is benefiting from the downturn in the equity markets.

In the last few days we have looked at a number of client portfolios to test their resilience in these tough trading conditions and are pleased to report that our approach is working as planned. The FTSE 100 has suffered around a 10% fall but our sampled clients portfolios are only showing on average a 4% drop in value. Looking back over the longer term (since the start of the year) these sample portfolios are showing positive numbers, which is good news.

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed of any changes. Please remember that you can access your portfolio 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep in touch with your investments.

www.argylefinancialgroup.co.uk