In the days leading up to the 23rd June date of the vote, the FTSE 100 dropped from 6,300 to nearly 5,900 as a range of opinion polls suggested Leave might win.
By 20th June, the polls were more mixed and one even put Remain ahead, correlating with a rise of the FTSE 100 up to 6,200. Following the announcement of the referendum result, many people were surprised and the index fell to below 6,000. Once it became clear, however, that the UK would not trigger Article 50 for some time, the FTSE 100 climbed higher than the 6,300 leading up to the vote.
During this period (and similar ones) it was tempting for many people to pull out of the markets, fearing an imminent economic shock. Yet those who would have tried to do so would have likely suffered financially as a result. Three years later, the FTSE 100 and other indexes have continued their long-term trajectory of climbing higher, despite numerous points of decline.
The essential point is this: whilst past performance cannot guarantee how future results will transpire with your investments, committing to a long-term strategy tends to offer greater rewards than trying to actively predict every short-term weather movement of the markets.