Brexit: Hardly 1776 - Jay L. Gershman

With the surprise that British voters chose to leave the European Union, the world is trying to digest the ramifications. Unfortunately, no playbook exists of this decision of how the break- up will be done and how it will affect the British European economies. Unfortunately, economic conditions in both regions have already been slow and this decision will only cast doubt on future progress.

Fortunately, this exit does not involve currency directly, since Britain never joined the European Union's currency, the euro. Nor does this vote to free itself from another governing body, resemble the decision of our territory to leave the constraints of the British in 1776. However, Britain did join for the sake of better trading and commerce with Europe and how the change will affect companies doing business in either region is in question at this point. The biggest question looming today is what will the break-up will look like?

After a period of volatility in all markets worldwide, we expect things to settle down. However, we will continue to assess risk and make changes to portfolios if we feel downside risk outweighs the benefit of being patient which is generally the best strategy. As this drama unfolds, feel free to contact myself or Jason Hand for our latest thoughts.