A plunging US stock market will hit British investors – here’s how to fight back

A plunging US stock market will hit British investors – here’s how to fight back

Wall Street is on the brink of being in a “bear market”, where share prices are caught in a prolonged fall , which could wreak havoc on the Isas of British investors. The world’s most important stock market index, America’s S&P 500, is nearing a 20pc decline since the start of the year – regarded as the technical beginning of a bear market. British stocks have not suffered as much. The FTSE 100 index of the country’s largest listed companies has dropped by 3pc. Meanwhile, global shares have fallen by 7pc so far this year as investors worry about rampant inflation, rising interest rates and the impact of lockdowns in China on global growth. Even professional investors have grown nervous. Global fund managers have built up their cash positions to the highest levels since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a survey conducted by Bank of America. Professional investors are now holding more cash than during the global financial crisis or the pandemic. This means that they would rather see their money eroded by inflation than bet it on stocks . Julian Howard of the investment manager GAM warned that the fate of the stock market relied primarily on global