The funding position of insurers and pension schemes across Europe has been hit by plunging sovereign bond yields as anxious investors seek safe havens in the wake of the UK’s Brexit referendum.

Ten-year UK bonds have skidded below 1% for the first time. German 10-year bonds have hit a negative 0.11%. Real yields on longer-dated bonds have fallen to unprecedented levels, with the German, Dutch and Italian 30-year bonds on 0.38%, 0.54% and 2.39% respectively. Yields on French 50-year bonds have fallen by a fifth to 1.4% since March.