Experienced investors feel more nervous today than they did during Covid 

The Iran conflict is making investors feel more nervous than either Covid or Liz Truss’s Mini-Budget, according to new market data recorded by Boring Money over the long Bank Holiday weekend.

7 in 10 (68%) investors with more than five years’ experience rate their current anxiety levels at 3 or more out of 5 (where 5 is extremely nervous).  In contrast, 51% of these investors rated their anxiety at 3 or more out of 5 when Liz Truss delivered her 2022 Budget, and 60% rated their anxiety at 3 or more out of 5 during Covid. 

Investors with less than one year of experience are most likely to report higher anxiety levels: nearly 1 in 2 (46%) report anxiety levels today of 4 or 5 out of 5. 

Most investors are planning a passive response – 72% say they will monitor and wait and see. Of those who plan to make changes, a quarter report increasing exposure to commodities, while 23% plan to move to more defensive assets such as bonds. 

Just 10% of those planning changes are planning to sell or to move into cash. Newer investors are nearly twice as likely as experienced investors to reduce their equity exposure. 

14% of newer investors (who have invested for 1-5 years) are planning to reduce their equity exposure over the next 1-3 months compared to 7% of more experienced investors (who have invested for over 5 years). 

Holly Mackey, founder & CEO of Boring Money: ‘I’m not surprised that anxiety levels are high. We all hate uncertainty and the seesaw nature of markets reacting to Trump’s every tweet makes each next phase of this conflict hard to predict. 

‘More surprising to me is that investors with medium experience levels of 1-5 years are the least nervous group. They have started their investing journey in a time of huge geopolitical uncertainty and seem to be taking things in their stride. As always the newest investors are the most nervous and most vulnerable group.

‘What is encouraging is that the message of investing for the long-term seems to be taking hold. Only a small minority are planning to sell or move into cash, with most investors holding their nerve and not trying to time these most unpredictable of markets.’