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Israeli air strikes across southern Lebanon have caused destruction and casualties, within a day of a ceasefire extension being agreed upon by the two countries for another 45 days.

Almost a decade after British voters chose to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016, the FTSE 100 has been hitting record highs.

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Yet beneath the headline, the financial scars of that vote remain unmistakable.

A new Morningstar analysis titled “The Brexit Decade” laid out the damage in numbers that are hard to dismiss.

Since the referendum, UK equity funds have bled roughly $160 billion in cumulative net outflows, six consecutive years of redemptions that have hardened into a structural loss of confidence rather than a passing cyclical drawdown.

How wide a performance gap has opened between UK stocks and comparable equity markets since the vote? And how has the pound fared?

UK FTSE 100 has trailed Wall Street and continental Europe

The numbers speak for themselves.

The FTSE 100, the benchmark tracking the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, has gained 62% since Brexit.

Over a 10-year window, that works out to a compounded annual growth rate of just under 5%.

Wall Street has run a different race. The S&P 500 has rallied 253% over the same stretch, a 13.4% annualised return — almost three times the pace of UK large-caps.

The gap is not just a transatlantic story.

Within Europe, the German DAX has returned 151% and the Euro STOXX 50 has gained 109%, suggesting Brexit has weighed more heavily on London than on the continental rivals it left behind.

Why UK markets lagged: A pre-existing weakness Brexit made worse

According to Morningstar, Brexit was a catalyst rather than the root cause of the UK market’s underperformance.

The UK equity market entered the 2016 referendum with pre-existing structural headwinds — declining domestic pension demand, capital rotating toward US growth markets, and an unfavourable sector mix tilted toward energy, banks and miners rather than the technology platforms that dominated the 2010s.

Brexit amplified and accelerated these trends, increasing the UK’s perceived risk premium and damaging confidence at a critical moment.

Investor behaviour has been unambiguous. UK allocations were systematically redeployed to the US, while passive strategies gained share as active UK equity economics deteriorated.

The UK’s footprint in global benchmarks has roughly halved over the past two decades, falling from nearly 10% of the MSCI ACWI to around 4% today.

In the most aggressive sterling-allocation fund category tracked by Morningstar, average UK equity weights have collapsed from 40% to 18%, with the freed-up capital systematically redeployed to US equities.

The asset management industry has felt the chill directly.

Around 380 UK equity strategies have closed since 2016 against just over 200 launches, and the share of total assets sitting in passive UK equity vehicles has climbed from 22% to 46% over the same period.

Active large-cap managers, including Columbia Threadneedle, Jupiter, Liontrust, Aviva and Schroders, have absorbed the heaviest outflows. Vanguard, iShares and Phoenix Group have absorbed the inflows.

The damage was then compounded by Covid-19, the global inflation shock, geopolitical conflict, falling foreign direct investment, weaker goods exports and domestic policy missteps — most notably the gilt market crisis of autumn 2022.

Isolating Brexit’s impact is difficult, Morningstar acknowledges, but there is no serious argument that it did not materially worsen outcomes.

Sterling: Weaker where it matters most

The currency market tells a parallel story. The pound is down about 10% versus the US dollar and 12% versus the euro since the Brexit vote.

Against the world’s two reserve currencies, sterling has lost ground.

On the eve of the Brexit referendum, one pound bought €1.31. Almost a decade later, it buys just €1.15 — a roughly 12% loss of purchasing power against the single currency that the United Kingdom voted to step away from.

The picture sharpens against central and eastern European peers.

Sterling has tumbled over 20% against the Czech koruna and 13% against the Polish zloty, both economies that have absorbed manufacturing capacity and foreign direct investment that might otherwise have flowed to the UK.

Notably, the pound has barely held its ground against the Hungarian forint, eking out a 1.8% gain against one of Europe’s most volatile currencies.

Is there a turning point for UK markets?

The narrative is no longer one-way.

Since 2022, UK equities have outperformed US and global markets, driven by a strong value rotation and resilient dividends — without meaningful multiple expansion, according to Morningstar.

Valuations still reflect pessimism, however.

The UK trades at a 30% to 35% price-to-earnings discount to the US, with small and mid-caps the most depressed relative to history and developed peers.

Elevated mergers and acquisitions activity and record share buybacks suggest corporate insiders and overseas acquirers see value where public investors remain sceptical.

Some fund managers see this as the entry point.

Natalie Bell, fund manager on the Liontrust Economic Advantage team, said in a recent note that “valuations remain significantly depressed versus long run averages and other comparable markets,” adding that her team sees a broad-based valuation reversion opportunity for UK equities, particularly in small and micro-caps, even if the timing and magnitude is difficult to predict.

Others remain more cautious. Mislav Matejka, head of global and European equity strategy at JP Morgan, has argued that British equities often do well when investors turn bearish on everything else, given the FTSE 100’s defensive, liquid profile.

He sees the UK index rising 5% to 10% in 2026 but does not hold an overweight, on the view that the UK lacks a clear growth catalyst comparable to those emerging in Germany or China.

Ten years on from the vote, the question for international investors is no longer whether Brexit hurt UK markets — it is whether the resulting discount has now become the opportunity.

Ohio State tight end Max Klare speaks during a new conference at the NFL scouting combine in February.

(Eric Gay / Associated Press)

6 feet 4, 246 pounds | Ohio State | Round 2, Pick 61

Notable: Klare began his career at Purdue and played three seasons for the Boilermakers before transferring to Ohio State.

Last season: Klare caught 43 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns for the Buckeyes, who finished 12-2.

Why the Rams drafted him: McVay at times used a tight-end heavy offense during the latter part of last season, so the Rams need reinforcements for a position group that includes veteran Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. Higbee is at the far end of his career and Parkinson is in the final year of his contract, and none of his salary is guaranteed, according to Overthecap.com.

Florida center Jake Slaughter gets set during a game against Kentucky in 2024.

(Gary McCullough / Associated Press)

6-4, 303 pounds | Florida | Round 2, Pick 63

Notable: Slaughter was a finalist for the 2025 Rimington Trophy, awarded to the top center in college football. He was a two-time All-American and three-year starter at Florida.

Last season: Slaughter, 23, ranked 18th among FBS centers in pass block grade (84.1) and third in run block grade (80.2) in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. Over 748 snaps last season, he allowed four total pressures, one sack and one hit on his way to earning All-Southeastern conference honors.

Why the Chargers drafted him: Despite Slaughter playing as a center in college, the Chargers are confident he can compete with Trevor Penning for a starting job at left guard. The Chargers like his versatility at both guard positions and center, offering them a potential starter at either position and much-needed depth. After last season’s struggles to protect quarterback Justin Herbert in the wake of injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, it makes perfect sense Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz would use a Day 2 pick to extend their flexibility on the offensive line.

Watching junior right-hander Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly High pitch for the first time, there was something strangely familiar about his windup.

When he turned his back to reveal he was wearing No. 32, everything made sense.

He had to be a fan of Sandy Koufax, the 1960s Hall of Fame left-hander for the Dodgers.

Two friends sitting next to me refused to believe it.

“No way,” one said.

“Kids today have never heard of Sandy Koufax,” another piped in.

Only after Bravo threw a three-hit shutout to beat North Hollywood 3-0 was my belief vindicated.

“I come into the back with my arms and it’s a little bit like a Sandy Koufax kind of thing,” he said. “I wear 32 too. He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and was good in the World Series.”

Koufax was perfect-game good on Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, striking out 14.

Bravo started learning about No. 32 when his parents would bring him to Dodger Stadium as a young boy.

“I always saw No. 32 retired on the wall,” he said. “Once I got to know him, I was able to see who he really was. I felt I could really copy him and get myself deeper into history.”

Bravo is no Koufax in terms of being a power pitcher. He’s 5 feet 10 and 140 pounds. Since last season, when he changed his windup to briefly emulate Koufax’s arms going above his head, he has a 12-3 record. This season he’s 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA.

“I saw his windup and he looked like he was calm and composed and I tried it. I felt more of a rhythm. I was able to calm down and pitch better,” he said.

After Bravo’s arms go up over his head in his windup, he also does a brief hesitation breathing in and out before throwing the ball toward home plate.

“My dad always taught me to breathe in, breathe out before I do anything,” he said.

Nowadays, teenagers seemingly don’t pay much attention to greats of the past, from old ballplayers to Hall of Fame coaches. Ask someone if they know John Wooden, kids today probably don’t. He did win 10 NCAA basketball titles coaching for UCLA. And who was Don Drysdale? Only a Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher alongside Koufax from Van Nuys High.

Bravo is fortunate he’s seen Dodger broadcasts mentioning Koufax at the stadium and on TV, motivating him to learn more, which led to seeing his windup on YouTube.

His older brother also wore No. 32, so no one was getting that uniform number other than a Bravo brother at Poly.

There is another Bravo set to arrive in the fall. Julian Bravo will be a freshman left-handed pitcher and wants No. 32.

“While I’m there he’s going to have to find a new number,” Fabian Bravo said.

Julian might also want to help his big brother gain a few pounds at the dinner table.

“My brother takes food from me,” he said.

As for recognizing Bravo’s Koufax connection, it was No. 32 that provided the clue. How many pitchers in the 1970s were choosing No. 32? A lot. And it’s great to see a 17-year-old in 2026 paying tribute to one of the greatest pitchers ever.

Emulating Koufax is hard, but forgetting him is unforgivable.