The British are leaving. The British are leaving.
World financial markets were rocked Friday by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, with stock markets and oil prices crashing and the pound hitting its lowest level in three decades.
The uncharted, unexpected path of a European Union without Britain sparked the sell-offs, with more jitters expected as global markets try to digest the shock result.
"The first thing you need to remember is the market was up 500 points leading into this," Michael Carlin from Wealth Management, LLC in Scottsdale said. "So we were up 500 points because there was a relative amount of relaxation thinking there wasn't going to be a British exit. So all those points we gained over the past few days, we're giving up, it makes absolute sense. What we really want to start looking at is if there's a real follow through on Monday."
Carlin said there are a lot of facets to the exit. Employees working in the U.S. at U.K.-owned companies could see changes as their employers regroup after the bombshell.
"It has an immediate impact on Wall Street, it has an immediate impact on people's portfolios all over the U.S," Carlin said. "It has an impact on people in the financial institutions, not just here, but worldwide. It creates cause and concern for all different kids of industries."
Carlin warned against any knee-jerk reactions and advises 401k holders to ride out the storm.
After the historic Brexit decision, U.S. futures took a dive. Dow futures fell 3.9 percent and S&P futures nosedived 5.1 percent.
The results sent the pound on a wild ride. It rose to its highest point for the year of $1.50 before tumbling more than 10 percent to a low of $1.3303, its lowest level in 31 years.
Gold, however, spiked to levels not seen since 2014. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the "Rich Dad" finance series said the commodity is always the safe bet, but it's not a final plan.
"It's insurance. Gold is not an investment. It's like buying insurance for your car in case (money) goes up in flames and it has before," Kiyosaki said.
Gold's spike in value followed five days of declines while investors hoped the stay camp would come out on top.
