However, Brexit might also make some investments more attractive especially off the back of the fall in sterling. For example, high-end student accommodation targeting international students may well receive a boost as Britain may see more rather than fewer foreign students in the wake of Brexit. Their cost of living in the country will be lower because of the fall in sterling; the UK government may welcome them with redoubled enthusiasm if immigration policy becomes more focused on skills, as many Conservative politicians who voted for Brexit want. This would increase the demand for relatively scarce high quality student accommodation, supporting rental growth in the sector.
We do not yet know whether 2016 marks the beginning of the end of the long period of economic neo-liberalism that began in the 1980s; until we do know this for sure one way or the other, we should expect volatility. When markets are volatile, the case for a diversified approach is all the greater.
Mike Brooks is senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.