There's a lot of proverbial financial blood in European streets—does that mean it's time to buy?

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union shocked markets and left observers wondering what Europe’s future will be. Many asset managers were braced for the “Brexit” vote, yet they were still surprised by it since it countered the predictions of oddsmakers and pollsters and exit polls suggesting the U.K. would remain in the EU.

“The surprise is relative,” says Doug Cote, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management. “It was not telegraphed as if it was a democratic vote. The consensus was that the status quo usually prevails in close popular votes—but we knew that there was always a possibility in a free election, with democratic forces being what they are, that the leave vote would win. That shouldn’t have been totally unforeseen.”

Yet many investors decided to wager on the oddsmakers’ predictions and ignore the close polling—generally the two sides were within a handful of percentage points of each other—and the large number of undecided voters moving into Thursday’s votes.

Philippe Brugere-Trelat, an executive vice president with Franklin Mutual Series, says that investors were more confident in the predictions because the oddsmakers had successfully called the outcomes on the referendum on Scotland’s independence and the most recent parliamentary election in the U.K.

“Investors decided to go with the bookmakers because their recent track record was better,” Brugere-Trelat says. “With the outcome, not only are they going to be hit financially, but their credibility has taken a hit.”

As a result, the markets have slumped over the past two trading days as investors have unwound their bad bets, says Chris Semenuk, a managing director with TIAA Global Asset Management.

“The market reaction is a righting by the people who were on the wrong side of the trade ahead of the vote,” Semenuk says. “In subsequent days and weeks, there will be a better reflection of what trends have been put into place.”

The prevailing opinion among asset managers contacted by Financial Advisor on Friday was that the market downturn will be temporary.

Cote rejected comments by some that the vote represents a major inflection point for equity markets.

“Britain is part of the euro zone, but not part of the euro currency, so the ‘Brexit’ is not as disruptive as it might otherwise be,” Cote says. “They’re part of trade agreements and regulations and other important things, but their currency, which is critical, is their own. So this is not a Lehman Brothers moment. It’s more like the U.S. credit rating downgrade in 2011 where markets were volatile for many weeks, but then the bull resumed because people absorbed this and priced it in.”

Some value-oriented managers, such as Mark Travis, a CIO and portfolio manager at Intrepid Capital, say they remain on the sidelines. But others have used the Brexit drawdowns as a buying opportunity.

Ron Saba, the senior managing director of investment management at Horizon Investments, says that European financials are taking the biggest hit due to the Brexit, so he is looking closely at firms with cheap valuation and strong business models.

“We’re looking into the European financials,” he says. “That’s the ground zero, the epicenter of where this takes effect and where the most serious impacts could be. Barclays has been trading at 50 percent of book value, and maybe that’s justified. There are going to be some issues, but if you liquidate Barclays right now, people are still going to get as much money back as they paid for their shares. We believe that we’re not finished yet, and that there will be some opportunities because of the people just panicking.”

Travis and Cote, on the other hand, believe that equities in general are still too overpriced.

“The tactical sign that informs my outlook of the global economy is based on the S&P 500 corporate earnings,” Cote says. “They’ve been a red flag to me for the past four quarters, and now they’re negative for the fourth quarter in a row. I’m waiting to see corporate earnings growth year over year before I position more offensively.”

Travis says he is adding to a few positions, and he singles out the Royal Mail Group (a British postal, package delivery and logistics company) as one dividend-paying opportunity with enough ballast to survive any Brexit turmoil. Royal Mail, a privatized public service, has significant real estate holdings in central London.

Semenuk, on the other hand, says he sees more attractive valuations in European industrials and consumer discretionary stocks. But he needs more clarity from the U.K. before he considers British companies, which he says are still overvalued.

After mounting an unsuccessful effort to persuade voters to remain in the EU, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he would resign his post in three months—creating an unattractive leadership void, says Semenuk.

“We’re looking for political leadership within the U.K.,” Semenuk says. “Everyone is looking around to see who is driving the car in Great Britain, and the truth is nobody is. Cameron has said he will stick around for three months, but this whole notion that we’ll have to wait three months for a new government doesn’t work for the markets. Waiting for a new Conservative prime minister introduces short-term uncertainty.”

Saba says that the short-term uncertainty is itself overstated, as the U.K. remains part of the EU and will undergo exit negotiations that are expected to take at least two years.

In the meantime, markets should stabilize and potentially resume their run upward, says Semenuk, who believes that central bank policy will soften any negative financial effects from the Brexit.

But Travis cautions that attempts to soften the Brexit’s impact with lower interest rates and further quantitative easing could exasperate political discontent in Europe and the U.S.

“There’s already a global frustration with political mechanisms and central banks indirectly, and times are going to have to change,” Travis says. “Two hundred years ago, doctors used to bleed their patients. Now we have central banks that keep doing stupid things based on similar interpretations.

“In the meantime, people need to use the volatility to their advantage,” says Travis. “Look at your shopping list and add to your holdings when the valuations become attractive.”