24 June 2016: Britain votes for Brexit and markets panic
As results came in on June 24, 2016, Britain had voted to leave the European Union, defying polls and betting markets. The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, and stock markets around the world sold off. The FTSE 100 recovered quickly, helped by the weak pound boosting overseas earnings, but the currency stayed lower for years.
The lesson: Political shocks hit currencies hardest; global companies can benefit when their home currency falls.
What it meant for investors
$1,000 in FTSE 100 at the start of 2018 → $1,260 today, vs $2,519 in the S&P 500.
We start the clock at the start of 2018, the first year in our price data after the event. That is 1.3 times the money, but $1,259 less than a plain index fund made over the same years.
What FTSE 100 teaches: When an index pays high dividends, its price chart tells only half the story, and comparing price indices across countries can mislead badly.
| Bought in | Price then | Worth today | S&P 500 would be |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $6,500 | $1,492 | $3,301 |
| 2018 | $7,700 | $1,260 | $2,519 |
| 2020 | $7,500 | $1,293 | $2,092 |
green = beat the S&P 500 · red = lost money
What if you bought FTSE 100? Every starting year and the full story →
More FTSE 100 history
- 7 July 2005: London bombings, and a market that held its nerve
- 14 September 2007: Northern Rock triggers Britain's first bank run in generations
- 21 September 1931: Britain leaves the gold standard
Could you have called it at the time? The wheel picks the year, you pick the position, ten seconds a pick.
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