Lump Sum Investment Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Lifetime Financial Planning

Financial Broker Vs Bank Advisor Part 1: Tailoring vs Forcefitting

August 26, 2015/in Family Protection, Financial Broker, Financial Plan, Financial Planning, How to invest a lump sum, Income Protection, Investment, Life Assurance, Life Insurance, Lump Sum Investment /by Aidan Wall

If you have been offered a financial planning service or “wealth check-up” by your bank, you may be unaware that banks tend to ally themselves with a single provider or a very limited number of financial product providers, greatly restricting their ability to provide you with more choice.

This often results in your requirements being force fitted into an off-the-shelf financial product which is unsuitable to your needs, uncompetitive in terms of pricing and unrepresentative of the actual range of choices available to you. A service which initially appears to be “free” could therefore end up costing you more in the long run.

Impartial Financial Brokers, on the other hand, are not restricted to a limited number of product providers, and are therefore free to research a much larger number of providers to find the most appropriate solution for you with regard to price, suitability and terms.

This is known as a “fair analysis” of the market, as it gives you a much broader picture of the range of choices available to you, and when it comes to your personal finances it’s always better to have more choices.

If you have already availed of a free financial planning service or purchased a financial product which you wish to review, I would be happy to do it for you. Call me at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

Website: www.lifetimefinancial.ie

Aidan Wall Financial Services Ltd T/A Lifetime Financial Planning is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Exploring Your Investment Options

June 17, 2015/in Financial Planning, How to invest a lump sum, Investment Fund, Lump Sum Investment /by Aidan Wall

Keeping your money on deposit can be a good means of achieving short term objectives and access to instant cash but for longer term financial goals, however, you may want to consider other options. A good place to start in this is by taking these 5 steps: Step 1 What do you want to do with your investment – what are your goals? Step 2 What is your investment horizon – how long do you wish to invest your money for? Step 3 How much investment risk are you prepared to take or is appropriate for your financial profile? Step 4 How much ready access to your money do you need? In general you can assume that the longer your money is invested the better the return tends to be. Step 5 Consider your long term goals and don’t simply focus on the short term. By taking on board the message from these 5 steps you can discover the type of investor you are and find an investment that best balances all of the criteria. These can generally be found in a combination of the following options: Cash – money placed on deposit Bonds – government and corporate bonds or government and corporate loans Property – usually commercial property but can include residential Equities – company shares traded on stock markets Commodities – tracking the performance of the likes of oil, copper, gold and more Alternatives – this refers to investing in non-traditional assets or strategies Funds – these are collective instruments that invest in combinations of each of these and will often be referred to as Mixed/Managed Funds or Multi-Asset Funds Help Is At Hand At first glance the investment world can appear confusing and an uncomfortable place, complicated by charts, tables and strange language. While ultimately the decision about where and how to invest your money is yours, professional advice is particularly important when exploring the type of investor you are – ranging from conservative right through to Adventurous and a range of options in between. This advice will then follow on to helping you choose the right portfolio of investments to match your profile. It is also important that the person giving you advice is properly authorised and qualified who can guide you along your investment journey and offer one to one advice along the way. If you would like to explore your investment options please call Aidan Wall at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

Keeping your money on deposit can be a good means of achieving short term objectives and access to instant cash but for longer term financial goals, however, you may want to consider other options. A good place to start in this is by taking these 5 steps:

Step 1

What do you want to do with your investment – what are your goals?

Step 2

What is your investment horizon – how long do you wish to invest your money for?

Step 3

How much investment risk are you prepared to take or is appropriate for your financial profile?

Step 4

How much ready access to your money do you need? In general you can assume that the longer your money is invested the better the return tends to be.

Step 5

Consider your long term goals and don’t simply focus on the short term.

By taking on board the message from these 5 steps you can discover the type of investor you are and find an investment that best balances all of the criteria. These can generally be found in a combination of the following options:

Cash – money placed on deposit
Bonds – government and corporate bonds or government and corporate loans
Property – usually commercial property but can include residential
Equities – company shares traded on stock markets
Commodities – tracking the performance of the likes of oil, copper, gold and more
Alternatives – this refers to investing in non-traditional assets or strategies
Funds – these are collective instruments that invest in combinations of each of these and will often be referred to as Mixed/Managed Funds or Multi-Asset Funds

Help Is At Hand

At first glance the investment world can appear confusing and an uncomfortable place, complicated by charts, tables and strange language. While ultimately the decision about where and how to invest your money is yours, professional advice is particularly important when exploring the type of investor you are – ranging from conservative right through to Adventurous and a range of options in between. This advice will then follow on to helping you choose the right portfolio of investments to match your profile. It is also important that the person giving you advice is properly authorised and qualified who can guide you along your investment journey and offer one to one advice along the way.

If you would like to explore your investment options please call Aidan Wall at 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

Understanding Investment Risk

February 26, 2015/in How to invest a lump sum, Investment, Investment Fund, Lump Sum Investment /by Aidan Wall

During the last few years of the 2000’s we all saw the effect that stock market falls had on pension funds, investments and share prices. We all saw how the values of pensions and investments fell. If you were one of these people that has been affected by the stock market falls, it’s understandable that you might still think twice about investing in shares (non cash funds). However, we all know that leaving your money in cash for a long time may not necessarilty generate the best returns. As 2015 has begun with historically low interest rates, many people are now seeking alternatives to deposit accounts. However the levels of risk associated with alternative investment options and also the investors attitude and capability of taking on risk must be carefully assessed in considering suitable choices. It All Begins With A Plan…… Before you begin to choose a suitable investment you will want to consider what are your investment objectives. Setting these objectives correctly based on your current situation and knowing your investment profile will form the basis for choosing the correct options. Rating Funds It is important to note that most managers of Investment and Pension Funds are now broadly in line with guidelines received by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in the context of Risk Rating their Funds. The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7 meaning that you can now readily identify the level of “risk” pertaining with 1 being at the very lowest level and 7 the highest. Investor Attitude to Risk A very important piece of work that should be done as part of the decision making process is to take full account of an investors attitude to risk. There are many “Risk Attitude Questionnaires” that help to determine this and help to match the investors requirements with the huge range of investment fund options available in the market. Apart from recording the investors view it also takes account of really relevant matters such as: What is my knowledge of investments? When will I need access to my capital? Do I need to draw an income? Capacity to Bear Risk This is another very important factor to take into account when constructing your portfolio. It is one matter to say you can accept risk in order to achieve high returns but another key factor must be to match your profile with your capabilities.The real message in all of this is that while there is a myriad of options and choice it is vitally important to seek and have independent advice available to you. If you need any further information on this please don’t hesitate to contact us. Call Aidan Wall at: 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie

During the last few years of the 2000’s we all saw the effect that stock market falls had on pension funds, investments and share prices. We all saw how the values of pensions and investments fell. If you were one of these people that has been affected by the stock market falls, it’s understandable that you might still think twice about investing in shares (non cash funds). However, we all know that leaving your money in cash for a long time may not necessarilty generate the best returns.

As 2015 has begun with historically low interest rates, many people are now seeking alternatives to deposit accounts. However the levels of risk associated with alternative investment options and also the investors attitude and capability of taking on risk must be carefully assessed in considering suitable choices.

It All Begins With A Plan……

Before you begin to choose a suitable investment you will want to consider what are your investment objectives. Setting these objectives correctly based on your current situation and knowing your investment profile will form the basis for choosing the correct options.

Rating Funds

It is important to note that most managers of Investment and Pension Funds are now broadly in line with guidelines received by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in the context of Risk Rating their Funds. The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7 meaning that you can now readily identify the level of “risk” pertaining with 1 being at the very lowest level and 7 the highest.

Investor Attitude to Risk

A very important piece of work that should be done as part of the decision making process is to take full account of an investors attitude to risk. There are many “Risk Attitude Questionnaires” that help to determine this and help to match the investors requirements with the huge range of investment fund options available in the market. Apart from recording the investors view it also takes account of really relevant matters such as:

What is my knowledge of investments?
When will I need access to my capital?
Do I need to draw an income?

Capacity to Bear Risk

This is another very important factor to take into account when constructing your portfolio. It is one matter to say you can accept risk in order to achieve high returns but another key factor must be to match your profile with your capabilities.The real message in all of this is that while there is a myriad of options and choice it is vitally important to seek and have independent advice available to you. If you need any further information on this please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Call Aidan Wall at: 046 924 0961 or email: aidan@lifetimefinancial.ie