Andrew Morris: The surprising impact of currency

Having looked at portfolio rebalancing and the distortion of risk, I thought it prudent this month to consider an oft-forgotten driver of investment returns - currency. When picking up the KIID of a fund with overseas exposure, you will see the risk of ‘currency movements in the value of overseas assets may impact the value of the fund' often cited. But just how much of an impact do they have on the returns generated by a UK investor? At the most extreme, one only has to look at the example of Russia in 2014. Following the military incursion into Ukrainian territory and the ensuing sanct...