Back in 1987, the sudden huge stock market falls felt like the end of the world for those owning shares and those like us who were working with investment clients. With the benefit of hindsight we can see that it was just a big blip and stock markets rebounded throughout the 1990s. We still really don’t know what caused it and people naturally worry that it might happen again. However, procedures are now in place to prevent stock markets falling as quickly and severely.

We know that there will always be peaks and troughs in the markets and that we must expect a roller coaster ride but nothing changes our view that over the long term, holding a diversified portfolio of shares, with other asset classes held in there to tailor the risk, is the way to preserve the real value of your money.