The majority of investors were expecting yesterday’s figures from the Office of National Statistics to mark the start of a recession and more than two in five think it will be worse than the financial crisis, according to a new survey.

Seven in ten (68%) UK investors surveyed by wealth manager Bancroft Wealth were expecting a recession to result from Covid-19. A quarter (24%) said this recession will be less harmful than that caused by the 2008 financial crash, more than two in five (44%) said that it will be worse.

Keir Ashman, pensions and investments specialist at Bancroft Wealth, said it is important for investors to remain calm and focus on sustainable growth.

He said: "There is a real risk facing investors at the moment, who could find themselves making one of two major, but simple, mistakes. Firstly, those who are overconfident may move all of their funds into equities, believing that the only way is up from here and that there are big gains to be made. But markets could fall again, and could fall further. There’s no reward without risk, but taking risk does not guarantee a reward.

“Secondly, nervous investors may hastily move their funds into cash, thinking that today's news will have a negative impact on markets in the longer term. But the markets have already taken the state of the economy into account, and this will be reflected in their performance. An investor acting in either way would be making a mistake that could cost them dearly.

"There has never been a more important time to diversify across different asset classes to match your true attitude to risk and capacity for loss. This is important for any investor, but of course the closer you are to retirement the less risk you'll want to take. It may seem difficult to navigate this at the moment, so seeking qualified advice is important.”

Bancroft Wealth surveyed 1,000 UK adults with more than £50,000 in investments. The survey was carried out between 3rd June and 11th June 2020 by OnePoll.