Worries over Greece's increasingly inevitable exit from the eurozone has been the biggest driver of the falls, though imminent rate hikes in the US and the slowdown in China have certainly contributed to profit-taking.
Performance of indices since 27 April 2015
Source: FE Analytics
An 8 per cent correction is certainly not something to get too worried about if you're a long-term investor. A recent article by FE Trustnet showed just how insignificant the likes of Black Monday and the 2011 eurozone crisis appear when looking at long-term returns, which the graph below emphasises.
Performance of index since 1984
Source: FE Analytics
Nevertheless, a pull back in the market gives an investor the chance to put cash to work at a lower level than the day or week before. Yesterday I decided to bring forward my monthly savings plan and top up an existing holding in Alex Wright's Fidelity UK Smaller Companies fund, for example.
Are you using the recent soft-patch to buy into a fund or investment trust? Or even if you are biding your time in the expectation that markets will continue to wobble, do you have your eye on a potential investment to cash in on cheaper valuations?
If you’d like to get your picks analysed by experts including those in FE Research, leave the name of the funds and trusts and the reason why you’re backing them in the comments section below, or email us at editorial@financialexpress.net.