Recently the majority of Great Britain’s people voted to leave the European Union. The outcome of the referendum caught many by surprise and set the stage for a market pullback that immediately injected uncertainty around the world. The future path for both the EU and Great Britain came into question, and most were caught off-guard. The impact of this vote and subsequent steps to leave the EU is complex, and will take some time to understand and implement. Many pundits have, and will continue to weigh in on the impact of Great Britain’s decision to leave and what is to follow. As we prepare for the already countless opinions and insights, and all the things we should be doing as investors because of this decision (which no one really knows at this point), I was left contemplating a question.
Why does someone choose to leave or stay? The question is fresh in my mind, because we decided to leave our previous situation and move onward, but it is not any easy decision to make.
On one hand you know, or think you know, what staying will look and feel like, and on the other hand, it’s the old adage that the “grass really is greener," and it is time to go… Both options can provide benefits and risks, and sometimes the decision to leave is emotional and rash. In either case, only one option provides a sense of safety, or a presumed sense of safety, and that’s staying. Unless of course, you have no choice but to leave..
How do you know which decision is best? Is there really any true way to know and measure if staying is better than leaving or vice-versa? In some cases sure, but in most, the uncertainties cause one to be paralyzed and remain in a bad, or less than favorable situation, for far longer than one should.
Choosing to leave is not the safe choice, and it certainly runs the risk of turning out disastrous if your expectations are not fulfilled. If you feel however, that the decision to leave was made in order to get more freedom and independence in how you control and operate your daily life, then I think there is a really good chance for success and satisfaction in due time. You are ultimately betting on yourself, and assuming more accountability for your future and direction.
There will be a lot of opinions and critiques on what the majority of Great Britain’s people voted to do, and markets will remain volatile for some amount of time as we digest what this all means; but like we once did as a people with Great Britain 240 years ago, they just decided to take a risk and trust, ironically, in their own independence. Unlike when our country started fresh however, they’ve actually done it before, so maybe not that much of a risk by comparison, but a decision to leave none-the-less. Sometimes leaving, while not easy, is the right choice. We’ll see how it plays out for Great Britain. For us, we could not be happier with leaving and becoming independent.