Although it has been two weeks since Britain voted to leave the European Union – the move dubbed Brexit – continues to rattle global equity markets. We mightn't have had any more 3.2% daily falls since then, but trading has still been volatile and that could well continue over the coming weeks and months.
While some shares have mostly recovered (or even risen) since that day, a number of companies remain deep in the red. Here are five in particular that have been impacted…
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group, or CYBG PLC CDI 1:1 (ASX: CYB), was spun out of National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) earlier in the year. It operates in England and Scotland and, like other European banks, its shares have been hammered since the Brexit vote. In fact, they have lost nearly a third of their market value since that day to trade at $3.71.
Henderson Group plc (ASX: HGG) has fared almost as badly, shedding 31.2% since 24 June. Henderson Group is a fund manager that has significant exposure to the United Kingdom, so investors are clearly concerned what that could mean for its returns. Meanwhile, the fund is also subject to swings in the value of the British pound which has crashed since the vote.
Fellow fund manager BT Investment Management Ltd (ASX: BTT) has also been hit for six, shedding 27.6% of its market value over the last two weeks. The company has exposure to the UK through its London-based J O Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM) business, although the company did remind investors that there will be no immediate changes to the business. It also said that JOHCM had £20.1 billion (roughly $34.7 billion based on the current exchange rate) in funds under management as at 31 March, 2016.
GBST Holdings Limited (ASX: GBT) is a company that provides software solutions to the financial services industry and generates nearly half of its revenues from European markets, which investors appear to be concerned about (even though much of that revenue is recurring). Nevertheless, the shares have plunged almost 15%. At $4.20, they're also trading 30% below their 52-week high of $6.
Finally, QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) has lost 11.8% since the Brexit vote. Not only does that insurer have significant exposure to the European market, it's likely that investors are also worried that Brexit could cause central banks to lower interest rates further. Indeed, insurers typically rely on higher interest rates so they can earn better returns when investing the float. Interest rates around the world have remained low for some time and that doesn't look set to change any time soon.
