A few Clients have asked about the effect of the Brexit decision by the UK on Investments and Pensions. The main effect of such news would be on the Equities (shares) part of portfolios. The two main markets we use are the Standard & Poors 500, (the 500 largest companies in the US), and the […]
Education is the foundation to a successful and fulfilling future. The cost of your children’s third level education is an expense which your Lifetime Financial Plan should encompass. This is estimated to range between €11,838 and €13,917 per academic year, which equates to between €47,352 and €55,668 for the completion of a 4 year degree course. […]
Howard Marks, Chairman of the US based Oaktree Capital was recently asked a question by a Bloomberg reporter – ‘does the market’s decline worry you?’ – he answered the question by writing the following in a memo to clients which we believe is a far more useful answer than the current sensational media headlines. Does the market’s […]
Investors now have a much wider range of investment choice open to them than ever before, ranging from the US stock market to the value of the euro versus the Japanese yen, the price of commodities such as oil, German government bonds and a whole range of other securities. For the non-professional, attempting to devise an appropriate […]
How often does it happen that you bump into an old friend in the shopping centre or at a social gathering when, not long into the conversation, you learn of their suffering or that of someone close to them? Primarily your concerns are for their well being and that they make a full recovery, but […]
A recently published survey revealed that a significant amount of our population is suffering from high levels of stress due to concerns about their financial well being. Pension planning, for example, was a serious source of stress with over 51% of respondents saying they were not saving enough for their retirement. Not knowing how to […]
Many people now own shares in publicly listed companies such as Glanbia, Ryanair, Kerry, Vodafone etc, but some are unaware that a little care and attention in managing your stocks and shares can save you a considerable amount of money in tax. Tax Shares sold at a profit or Gain incur a Capital Gains Tax liability. The current rate is […]
HOW TO INVEST A LUMP SUM As someone who has advised clients on their investment options for over 30 years, people often contact me seeking impartial and unbiased advice on how to invest a lump sum. Whether you have recently received an inheritance, successfully completed the sale of an asset or even won the lottery […]
We’ve compiled a summary of how Budget 2016 will affect you in the areas of pensions, life protection, investments and inheritance tax. 1. Pensions It was not until the Finance Act last year that we saw pension changes introduced so we will wait until the Finance Bill is published in the coming weeks to see what further changes, […]
In Part 1 of this series of articles I explained that an advisor at your bank is often tied to a limited number of financial product providers, greatly restricting the amount of choice it can provide to you the customer. Impartial Financial Brokers are not tied in the same way, and are therefore free to […]
It can be difficult to cultivate any kind of meaningful relationship with a Financial Advisor at your bank, as they can often be more focused on hitting their quarterly sales targets than in your long term financial well-being. If you are deemed worthy enough to be called in for an annual review you might also […]
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 […]