More nervous than Covid. But not running for the exit.

UK investors are more anxious about the US, Israel and Iran war than they were during Covid. 38.7% rated their current anxiety 4 or 5 out of 5, compared to 33.9% during Covid. Despite that, most (72%) are making no changes to their investments. Of those who wrote in with their plans, the most cited action was to buy more while prices are low.

There is a lot going on at the moment. The US, Israel and Iran war, rattled oil markets almost overnight. We’re in an era of political unpredictability on both sides of the Atlantic. Portfolios that looked fine in January are looking rather less so now.

In April 2026 we ran a pulse survey with 642 readers from our community — a mix of seasoned investors with decades of experience and newer ones still finding their feet. We asked how nervous they were, what they planned to do, and how this moment compares to the big scary moments of the recent past.

The results are interesting: more defiant, divided, and in some cases, revealing even more fear than during Covid.

Are UK investors really more nervous now than during Covid?

Yes. Our survey asked experienced investors to rate their anxiety during three events on a scale of 1 to 5. Nearly two in five (38.7%) gave the US, Israel and Iran war a score of 4 or 5, the most nervous end of the scale. That’s more than during Covid (33.9%), and significantly more than during Liz Truss’s mini-budget (22.9%).

At the other end of the scale, almost half of the respondents (48.8%) said they were barely nervous at all during the mini-budget. The markets bounced back. The memory faded.

The US, Israel and Iran war feels different. Perhaps because it’s harder to see how it ends. Perhaps because it’s compounding an already unsettled macro environment. Or perhaps because, unlike a domestic political crisis, it carries a risk of escalation, or perhaps because there is no tangible resolution in sight yet.

Though no one can promise a recovery, we can look at previous patterns. Historically, investors tend to be right when they sit tight.

What are UK investors doing with their money right now?

Mostly: nothing. The most common planned response in our survey, by a wide margin, was to monitor markets more closely and make no specific changes. That was 72% of respondents.

This is a good call. Doing nothing is genuinely hard. It takes more discipline than it sounds, especially when your phone is lighting up with alarming headlines and your portfolio is visibly shrinking.

Among those making active changes, adding defensive assets like bonds was most popular (around 23%), followed by increasing exposure to commodities

such as gold and oil (26%). Selling into cash was chosen by just 10%.

Should I buy shares while markets are down?

A lot of our investors clearly think so. We gave people an open text box to tell us anything else they were planning. Of the 188 people who wrote something in, the single biggest theme — at 41% — was some version of buying more while prices are low. People volunteered this unprompted, and the language was reasonably enthusiastic:

Nervousness and opportunism coexist comfortably. The same person who rated the war a 4 for anxiety can simultaneously be planning to use their new ISA allowance at a discount.

Only 17% of respondents mentioned selling or moving to cash. Whatever the headlines say, experienced investors aren’t running for the exit. Whether now is the right time to buy is a personal decision that depends on your timeline, your risk tolerance, and how much you can afford to leave invested. But the data suggests that experienced investors, as a group, are leaning in.

Are newer investors more anxious than experienced ones?

Yes, significantly. Our newer investors — those who started in the last five years or just this year — were asked how nervous they feel right now, today, on the same 1–5 scale. Their overall score (2.94) sits almost exactly in line with where experienced investors were during Covid. But within that group, brand-new investors are feeling it most acutely.

Almost half (46%) of those who started investing this year gave their current anxiety a score of 4 or 5. Compare that with 28% of those with 1–5 years’ experience. The difference is simply that newer investors haven’t lived through a recovery yet. They have no experiential anchor to say ‘this too shall pass’.

We're not just a new investor phenomenon - hindsight eventually will make it look obvious, but we really are living in very uncertain, volatile times. For every person who correctly sold before a drop and reinvested at the bottom, there are many more who sold, watched markets recover and bought back in at a higher price. They're just usually a bit quieter!

Frequently asked questions

Are UK investors panic-selling because of the war?

No. Our survey of 642 investors found that just 10% planned to sell assets or move money into cash. The vast majority (72%) said they’d make no specific changes — and of those who wrote in with additional plans, the biggest single theme was buying more while prices are low.

Is investor anxiety about the war worse than during Covid?

Based on our data, yes. Nearly two in five experienced investors (38.7%) gave the US, Israel and Iran war a nervousness score of 4 or 5 out of 5. During Covid, that figure was 33.9%. During the Liz Truss mini-budget, it was just 22.9%. Mean anxiety scores follow the same pattern: 3.07 for the current war, 2.89 for Covid, 2.54 for the mini-budget.

Should I sell my investments now?

That’s a personal decision that depends on your financial situation, time horizon, and what the money is for. What we can tell you is that the majority of experienced investors in our survey are not selling — and a significant minority are actively buying. If you’re within a few years of needing your money, it’s worth reviewing how much is invested versus held in cash. For personalised advice, a financial adviser can help.

Is now a good time to invest?

41% of investors who gave us a free-text response said they planned to buy more while prices are lower. Whether that’s right for you depends on your circumstances. Generally speaking, if you’re investing for the long term (10+ years) and have an emergency cash buffer in place, continuing to invest through market falls has historically worked out well. Drip-feeding money in over time — known as pound-cost averaging — is one way to reduce the risk of mistiming the market.

Why are newer investors more anxious than experienced ones?

Mostly because they haven’t lived through a recovery yet. Investors who have been in the markets for more than five years have seen 2008, 2020, and 2022 — and watched portfolios bounce back each time. That lived experience acts as an emotional anchor. Brand-new investors don’t have it yet, which is why 46% of those who started this year rated their current anxiety 4 or 5 out of 5, compared to 28% of those who’ve been investing for 1–5 years.

The bottom line

We're living in uncertain times, and it's ok to say so. The US, Israel and Iran war is worrying more people than Covid did — not because the economic consequences are necessarily worse, but because it feels harder to model how it ends.

But look at what investors are actually doing, and the picture is more reassuring. Most are holding. A meaningful chunk are buying. Very few are selling in panic. The experienced investors who’ve lived through 2008, 2020 and 2022 are doing what they’ve always done: keeping their nerve and looking for the opportunity inside the disruption.

If you’re newer to investing and finding this harder, that’s entirely understandable. You haven’t accumulated the scar tissue yet. The best thing we can tell you is that the investors who have been here before are, overwhelmingly, staying put. That’s worth something.