July 2016 Client Letter
In a surprise vote on June 23, the British decided by a 52% to 48% margin to leave the European Union (EU). The vote caught many investors and pundits off-guard. Financial markets cratered on the news, with U.K. stocks falling 16%, euro-area shares dropping 13%, and stocks in the U.S. slipping 5.3%. The British pound fell over 13%, and government bond yields hit new lows. In the U.S., 10-year Treasury yields dropped to 1.36%—the lowest level in history.