Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Investing Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to do things differently and to actually help people make decisions that help them achieve the results (& life!) that they want to achieve.
This week we have a rather special guest, Mr. Guy Spier. Guy is the fonder of, and has been been the sole decision-makers of the Aquamarine Investment Fund for 2 decades. This is nothing outlandish however the fund has an impressive return rate for investors over that period of time.
He has recently launched a superbly insightful and honest book called 'The Education Of A Value Investor', aspects of which we discuss in some detail.
We are thrilled to chat with Guy and gain his insight on many aspects of both money and life. He tells us about his approach to work, investing, life and how the likes of Warren Buffett and Monish Pabrai have shaped him.
Be sure to drop us a mail if you have any ideas, suggestions or questions following this episode. You can mail me directly here.
Enjoy!
References:
The Education Of A Value Investor
In a meeting last week I was asked why my philosophy toward successful long term investing was so simplistic and boring. I was delighted! For context the people I was working with had understood me to have been in the financial planning profession for 13 years (correct) and that I was a 'finance expert' (marginally correct!). Based on these two bits of information they had concluded that I would have a very complex, very elaborate, and dare I say it, very confusing approach when it comes to investing. This is what most of us have been conditioned to believe. That is most likely as a result of the unnecessarily complex products and layers that are rife in the Financial Services Industry.
When I explained my (very non-complex) belief on how one can achieve long term success they essentially scoffed at it, as if disappointed that I had not unleased a bout of verbal financial terminology and nonsense on them! It really got me thinking, it challenged me, and for that I am so grateful. As a result of that interaction this week I am sharing a short (true) story about long term results when one investor took a complex approach and when another took a very very simplistic and boring approach....and let you decide which might work best!
Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated and non-smoke&mirrors Blog and Podcast on a mission to help people make better decisions and ultimately to live the life that they want to live. All we ask in return is that you tell a friend and if you are feeling really enthused that you drop me a mail to say Hi, offer feedback that could help us improve this site, or indeed ask a question!
As a young boy growing up many years ago a million euros (or pounds as it was!) always sounded like an inexorably large amount of money. If you had €1m you were officially a millionaire and were in our eyes elevated to a stratospheric status.......The same can't be said anymore though! While it no doubt is still a significant amount of money by anyone's standards the sheen of being a millionaire has dampened thanks to inflation mostly! Nevertheless we are are today going to explore how and if €1m in an Irish Pension is enough, and specifically explore if it would be enough on which to retire at say 60 years of age.
Welcome to Ireland's only dedicate Financial Planning where we are on a mission to help you get the financial outcomes you want and to avoid mistakes when it comes to planning, investing and decisions with your money. If you find the information that we create of use then all we ask is that you help us spread the word and tell a friend! All our blogs can be found here. If you have a question or indeed a suggestion on how we can make this site more useful to you I'd be delighted to hear from you, please do send me a mail here.
Impact Of Inflation On Your €1m:
In order to elaborate on the comments about impact of inflation on your €1m lets just look at that for a moment. It was 25 years ago when I was 13 years of age. When I was 13 years of age €1m seemed like a crazy amount of money. Indeed it was, and still is however if you had €1m 25 years ago (1993) and you put it under the mattress, it would today have approximately 40% less purchasing power, due solely to inflation.
According to data from Central Statistics Office you would need to have €1.61m today to be able to buy what €1m would have bought in July 1993! The price of goods and services here have increased by over 60% in those 25 years. If on the other hand you had invested that €1m in the S&P 500 Index in 1993 it would now be worth approx €12m!
Bottom line is that if you decide to invest your funds under the mattress you will lose every time! If you want to retain and indeed potentially grow your funds above inflation you may need to consider this. If you are a long-time listener you will know our views on that whole topic very well by now however!
Let's look at how you would be set if you retired right now with €1m, as a couple at 60 years of age......
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. Last year we won the award of 'Ireland's Best Finance Blog'......we have re-entered that same competition again this year, and will hear how we get on over the coming couple of months.....this might just be akin to the 'difficult second album'!! As we approach our 100th Podcast we have really tried to focus on the areas that our readers and listeners get in touch with us about and who come to us for help on an individual basis.....we are on a mission to help people to achieve what is important to them, and stay authentic and true to our values in the process. If you have any questions or have suggestions on how we can make this site the best possible resource it can be please do drop me a mail directly here.
Speaking of Financial Planning there is one short story which, for me, sums up exactly what Financial Planning is all about, and the part it plays (or not!) in people's lives. I first read it about 3 years ago and have often thought about sharing it here, but perhaps felt it wasn't 'financy' enough. That view changed when I was working with a really motivated and hard-working person recently, who was really consumed and motivated by growing her business (which she loved in fairness!) and making sure she made the most of the financial situation she finds herself in. I shared this story with her, and it really resonated with her. I am not going to pretend that it changed her life dramatically over-night but she did say that it gave her a little perspective on what is real importance to her both now and into the future....I hope you enjoy it!
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Welcome back to Ireland's award winning Finance Blog & Podcast. Delighted you have joined us! Our mission is to help people avoid mistakes and help themselves to live successful financial lives. Our big aim is to ultimately change how financial advice is done here in Ireland, to put the focus back on what you want to achieve, not the products that only really serve as the tools to enable you to do it!
This week we are exploring a much-covered topic. It has not been much-covered by us but if you google 'Director's Pensions Ireland' you will see 3.9million results, and every single one of them is trying to flog you one! However we are not talking about the pensions themselves here today, we are talking about the much more important aspect of all of this and focusing on the 'planning' aspect, the bit is (or at least should be) central and should come before the 'product' (pension!). We will compare the stories of 2 fictitious brothers, who have very different approaches to life, and who go about planning in 2 very different ways...............full blog here.
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
There was a large scale research study done by Gallup Consulting Group (a hugely credible global research company) this year which shows that the majority of people under 35 years of age do not own any form of shares/equities through investments, pensions or savings. This is in comparison to 2007 when the majority of people under 35 did own some for of equities. The research also demonstrated that the majority of people over 35 years of age held them in 2007 and that today the majority of people over 35 still hold them! It got me thinking!
I remember vividly cycling my bike on my way from school when I was about 7 years of age and living in Skerries (yes I originally hale from 'enemy territory!). I was cycling along a quiet street and was passing a row of parked cars on my left. I was probably imagining I was Sean Kelly in the Tour De France and so getting a buzz from cycling past the cars a little too close, and mistakenly clipped one of the rear view mirrors of what I think was a Renault 11! Now i barely clipped it on my little peddler, i didn't even move it or damage it in any way. However that didn't stop what I can only assume was the owner of the car, who happened to be standing on the path beside the car, from letting an almighty roar at me, followed by some sort of fist-waving expression and a brief chase. It all seemed a huge over-reaction and a deliberate attempt to scare a young boy on his bike!
Needless to say the harmless young Paddy was terrified and with increased motivation cycled home at a truly speedy pace! Not sure why this was so ingrained in my memory however I do know that for the remainder of that school year I avoided that street altogether for fear of encountering the 'Reno Man' again! I ended up cycling a very long way to and from school and cost myself lot of unnecessary time and concern. That was the first time I experienced being bitten, and then being twice shy about repeating the experience. However I happened to pass the 'scene of the crime' as a teenager and it reminded of that day, but to say the least there was zero fear about encountering the 'Reno Man' again, if anything I was keen to see him so I could tell him what I should have told him that day! On reflection it was OK to feel the fear but it was foolish to act upon it and to then pay the price and the inconvenience for the rest of the year!
You might wonder what this has to do with investing in equities (quite rightly!). My take is that when it comes to pensions, investments, savings and all that boring stuff the truth is that many of us got quiet a fright 10 years ago (seems much more recent than that!) when the Global Financial Crisis hit. Anyone that owned equities/investments/pensions during that period felt the fear, the concern and either made a decision to act upon that fear or to do nothing!
A typical portfolio fund in an investment, personal or Director's Pension with 80% Equities and 20% Bonds fell by 35% from January 2008 to December 2008. A portfolio with 100% equities fell by 40% in the same period. Forgetting about the fact (yes the FACT!) that they both rebounded by 55 and 70% respectively in the following 12 months, this was a genuinely scary time for investors. Many people made the mistake of getting out of Equities during these temporary declines. They panicked. Some may have been forced to, as in they needed to get their hands on the money for some genuine emergency, but the vast majority who sold their equities during the temporary decline did so out of fear and panic.
In order to relive it let's picture a scenario. In 2006 everything is rosy. The Irish economy is booming, the good times are here. Bertie and his merry men are saying that this will last forever, that we're a mighty little country and that we should keep spending and lapping it up! Investments have delivered double-digit growth for past few years (since the tech bubble) and there is no reason to doubt that it will continue. You see your investment or pension pot grow in value from €200,000 to €250,00 over the course of 2005-2006. You are happy, you buy a few more houses, you buy a new car, install a new en-suite, a hot tub Jacuzzi out the back garden. The new decking is looking fabulous and your neighbours are all envious! All is well in the world!!
And then WHACK! The global economy collapses, we lose jobs, Joe Duffy is telling us the world is coming to an end, Lehmans Brothers and a few 'big hitters' (non prudent ones obviously!) go bust. Your property empire starts to crumble. Your decking goes mouldy and your hot-tub doesn't get used anymore because you're too busy worrying about things! Your investment/pension pot falls in value by 40%, from €250,000 to €150,000, and continues to fall. You fear for your life savings. What is going On? What Sort Of A Fund Is This? Will I lose It All? These are questions you ask yourself or indeed ask your broker or advisor. They probably don't have an answer that assures you in any meaningful way.
What happens next defines whether this investor achieves financial success or not. Full Blog at www.informeddecisions.ie
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Growth and Value Investing are both around a long time as an 'investment strategy', and there are compelling rationale for investing in either, there are many fans of both, yet there is also quite a lot of regular investors that have no real familiarity with either. We aim to fix that even if ever-so-slightly in this episode. We will endeavor to explain a few key things about this 'earth-moving' topic......!
1) What is Value Investing?
2) What is Growth Investing?
3) Who does either or both?
4) Which has given greatest level of return? (that's all anyone really cares about right!?)
5) Which one should I do??
Before we get into the nitty-gritty however I wish to let you know that I am thrilled that you are reading this, you obviously have an interest in your own finances and in making some good decisions when it comes to your money, which I admire greatly. I would personally be very thankful if you would tell a friend about what we are trying to do here at Informed Decisions, who knows, it might help them help themselves! Thanks.
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Nobody likes to be suffering from something that they aren't aware of, particularly if it is a nasty and invasive something that has a long term impact on their well-being, & that could do so in a pretty significant way.......so this week we are going to explore and try to diagnose if anyone here is suffering from a nasty dose of Bid-Offer Spread on their investment or pension planning.
Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Money Podcast/Blog. We are on a mission to help you to achieve the things that are important to you, to achieve the life that you want to achieve, and to avoid costly costly mistakes! We are not doing any advertising, we are shipping our 'art', loving it, and hoping that it has the impact we intend it does (feedback so far suggests it is!). If you value what we are doing and feel it of worth to others then please do tell a friend, thanks!
Check Out Full Blog Here...
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Drop us an email here....
Thanks for joining us here on Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to help you get what you want, and to help you make decisions which will help you lead a successful financial life, and to avoid costly mistakes.
This week we are joined by Hugh Murray, founder of Dolmen Recruitment in Dublin. Hugh has many years experience working with individuals and firms in Financial Services here in Ireland. He is well placed to share the latest trends and opportunities for people, be that Funds, Compliance, Sales, Accounts or Fintech!
Hugh tells us about trends in Financial Services, where there are opportunities for people who are new to it, or indeed those with many years experience and are looking for a new challenge. He also shares some of his knowledge on shaping a cracking CV, if you need to sharpen yours up!
We are always keen to hear from our listeners so do drop us a line here, if you have any feedback, suggestions or questions, we'd love to hear from you!
Thanks,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Welcome to Ireland's dedicated investing and Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to enable our listeners to help themselves to a better financial life. Thanks for checking us out!
It is not every week we get to chat to one of the most successful investors of recent times, who has also founded a fintech firm (Rubicoin) that is changing how investors go about their investing!
In this 45-minute interview we explore Emmet's own back-story, the origins and successes of Rubicoin, and he also shares his own top-tips on how to achieve successful long term investing, which is both practical and based on his considerable experience.
For more investing and financial planning insight please do check out our website and blog here.
Thanks,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
For decades Bonds have been touted as the elixir to an investors' nervous tendencies when investments hit volatility. If you look hard enough it will become clear that the only rationale for having Bonds in your investment portfolio is to help you cope when the market tanks again. Whether it is an existing pension fund or a personal investment you have then you may already have a shed-load of Bonds in there, and you may be very wise in doing so, or not! We conduct a study of 3 very different Portfolios to determine the impact having Bonds in an investment portfolio has, whether times are good or whether times are bad!
We do not react to markets here, we do not run with the topical 'noise' that is flaunted on media, all of that is just noise, and you as an investor would be well advised to ignore it all and stick to your plan. The fact that market volatility has been mentioned in the past week is merely a coincidence, this episode was being created now, irrespective of the noise!
If you are new here then you are indeed most welcome to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog. We are not perfect by any means, but we are brutally honest and hopefully convey relatively complex stuff in a clear manner, which ultimately will hopefully help you make decisions which result in positive outcomes for you, and helps you avoid costly mistakes! To our returning readers, you know we love you!
If we were to take a close and honest look at it very many of us, I'm guessing, would admit that we have not given much if any consideration to where our journey in life might take us, or indeed where we WANT it to take us. For some reason we don't accept the fact that we actually do have some control over it, some.
Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. We are on a mission to help as many people here in Ireland to achieve what is important to them, whether that be life or money related......it's all tied into one! We create a weekly blog & podcast in the hope that it will help some people make decisions that will increase their chances of achieving or doing whatever is important to them; which is exactly what we are talking about here today actually!
There is a movement happening in the UK for the past 10 years or so, and we are slowly starting to see it happen here in Ireland. I was invited to speak at a Financial Planning conference (short video here) last week in DCU, which was lots of fun. But more importantly, the fact that over 200 Financial Advisors & Planners were present indicated a desire and a commitment to improve the service and benefit that you (the client) receive from financial advice. There is a definite realisation that there is more to advice than products! I have been beating the drum for the past 2 years and encouraging our readers and listeners to 'begin with the end in mind', but it's probably time to delve a little deeper in that, and explore the positive impact that doing that can have.
This week in Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast we take a look at what has been my worst investment ever, but also my greatest lesson as an investor. I am an open book, and happy to share this with you, in the hope it may help others avoid the same mistake! It revolves around a company share scheme that I was involved in 10 years ago, and a cheque which I received only last week for a grand sum of €0.26 (yes 26 cents!) which was what I got back, in total, having previously invested almost €10,000! Here's how it happens.......
Thanks for listening, please tell a friend!
You're a Legend,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
This week we are trying to share a simple message, an appeal to you, one which we hope will help move things forward for you in a positive direction. When we procrastinate about or delay committing to positive action we will always manage to rationalise it in our own heads, always! We are masters at it!
Some of us are more prone to this than others, personally it's one I regularly struggle with. No matter how blatant our delaying tactics are we will quickly come up with an excuse, a rationale as to why delaying it is the right thing to do. Even if we know deep-down that we are dragging our heels and jeopardising the thing that we really do want to do, achieve or get. That's what makes us human, and so very interesting beings!
Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. We are on a mission to help you get what you want in life, and you are truly welcome to our little website! We would be delighted to stay in touch, and to share with you a weekly update, just pop your email over here.
Thank You,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Welcome back to Informed Decisions, Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning Blog & Podcast. Hope you are winning! When it comes to investing in Ireland there are many folks that have no interest in what they are investing in, provided it makes them a decent return and it doesn't disappear over-night!
Others like to take a closer look at their options, to think about portfolios and what they should be doing. They might like to identify what will work for them as a suitable portfolio, to figure out if there is anything they could invest in that they had not previously heard of or been aware of much. This episode is for these types of people! (not to suggest that the 'other type' aren't welcome to keep listening!).
Is Small Cap one of the best things you can invest in? What are the risks of investing in Small Caps? How can you invest in Small Caps? These are some of the aspects we take a look at in this weeks episode.....thanks a mill for checking it out.
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
We don't ever go out of our way to be pessimistic on this blog, in fact we tend to be quite the opposite, having a firm belief that optimism is the only valid way when it comes to investing. However, when it comes to borrowing, which as we all know is essentially the reverse of investing, it pays, quite literally, to be even a little pessimistic!
If you are new to our website then you are truly welcome, thank you so much for giving us a chance to help create a positive financial future for you. We are on a mission to become THE place where people of Ireland turn to for practical and truthful information and ideas in regards their Financial Planning, Investing & Personal Finance. Thank you for playing a part in this mission. Be delighted if you joined our growing community here.
Buying a home, whether it is your first, second, third, fourth (well maybe the novelty wears off around now!) or whatever, is an exciting time. For many purchasing a home is a way out of a tough situation or indeed an opportunity to put down roots that they feel desperate to put down. We have no intention of talking anyone out of doing what they need to do, but invite you now to consider some aspects prior to committing..........
Thanks for tuning-in,
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
"Gold gets dug out of the ground in Africa or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around and guard it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head"
Those remarks about the logic of owning gold as an investment were made by someone far more experienced and accomplished in the world of investing than I, and who has been recognised over the past 4 or 5 decades as one of the single most successful investors of all time, Warren Buffett.
We have written about the fact that there is a significant fall in the value of markets on the horizon, there always is, it is merely a matter of when it will happen, not if! Whenever that happens there is usually a run to gold as it is seen by many as a 'safe-haven' for their funds when the equity markets are falling. Why people don't just do nothing, and leave their investments alone in order to benefit from the constant upward curve of growth that the equity market provides is another issue altogether! Aside from that the fact is that gold gets very popular when markets hit a downturn, so we are going to explore the pros and cons of owning gold for investment purposes.
If you are new here then you are most welcome to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning and Personal Finance blog and podcast......we are delighted that you have joined us! If you are a returning visitor you'll already know we love you!!
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning Podcast & Blog.
We have had a lot of enquiries about Peer 2 Peer Lending over the past few months, so we thought what better way to find out the detail than to interview a man that has been involved in it for many years. Oli Cavanagh is co-founder of an Irish Fintech 'Fender' which is focused on growing the Peer2Peer marker in Ireland.
We met with Oli to learn about P2P lending, how it works, what to watch-out for and to hear about the growth of their firm Flender.
Drop us an email here with any questions or suggestions you might have, would love to hear from you!
You're a legend,
Paddy Delaney,
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
In Blog 61 we mentioned Section 72 plans and said the following....These are creations of the Financial Services industry endorsed by the Revenue and are sold to people as a means to reduce or indeed eliminate a potential Inheritance or Gift Tax Bill down the road. They cost money and I am told are not as much fun nor rewarding as giving the money to loved-ones while you are alive! Having said that they can work very well for some people in building an effective Financial Plan and planning their inheritance in a tax effective manner, particularly if the estate is of a size and time is against them in gifting enough in the time left! We will devote full episodes to both these types of plans in the near future.
So, as promised a few weeks ago we now going to try explain what exactly a Section 72 is, and isn't, and how to ensure that, if this is something you are thinking is for you, how to ensure it does what you want it to do for you, to achieve the goal you have in mind.
Speaking of goals, that is what we are on a mission to do here at Informed Decisions, to help you achieve the goals that are important to you. I completely empathise that our industry doesn't always make it easy to see the wood from the trees but that is our mission, to help you get whatever it is that is important to you. You can join our community here, and please do share this with anyone you feel may benefit from it. Boom!
If you can't or don't want to spend the money or give it away before you die then a Section 72 plan may very well be a really useful and cost effective last resort to help cover the tax bill that inherently (no pun intended!) arises when someone dies with too much money. The very worst case scenario is that a vast swathe of the estate is handed over to the revenue, this might just be a means to protect against that fate.
Thanks.
Paddy Delaney
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Optimism is the madness of insisting all is well when we are miserable.
These words are reported to have come from Voltaire, the acclaimed French writer and philosopher. I am neither a Frenchman or a philosopher but I would like to put forward the suggestion that Optimism is actually the only way! When backed by concrete evidence it is the only rational belief to have, particularly so when it comes to investing your money over the long term.
This piece aims to convey the rationale for such a belief whether you are savings €100 per month into a savings or pension plan, or have €10 million invested in a well diversified equity portfolio. This is not a debate about the virtues of owning equities over commodities, or for indeed property. Developing and nurturing this belief is the single most important attribute to have in achieving long term investment success. We can't predict the future values of equities, nobody can. The future is always uncertain, however it is rational and human to base our expectations and beliefs on what has gone before.
Firstly please allow me to confirm that optimism does not equate to sentiment. The Consumer Sentiment Index hit a 17-year high in January of this year. This suggests that as a nation we feel confident about the outlook for the economy, right now. This sentiment is a fickle thing which changes constantly based on our environment, it is not an over-arching belief.
Optimism, in this instance is an over-arching belief. It is a belief based on evidence. This evidence shows long term growth of the 'equity market' is upward only in its trajectory. While our industry might like to mystify and complicate things the 'equity market' is nothing more than the value of the World's profit-generating companies.
The basis for this belief is supported by a vast ocean of evidence. One recent piece of credible and researched evidence to refer to is 'The Rate of Return on Everything, 1870 - 2015, produced by five economists including Oscar Jorda of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Katharina Knoll from the Deutsche Budesbank - examined the return on all asset classes in 16 developed countries over that 145-year period. It found equities returned 10.75% a year over that time. That is, more than 10% annual growth every year, on average, for almost a century & a half.
There were, of course, years where the return was negative 20-40% over that time period. Investors must learn to accept this fact, for it is these temporary declines in values that deliver such impressive returns for the investor who does stay the course. Those who cannot stay the course in the face of these temporary declines ultimately pay the price for their pessimism. Enabling you to stay the course is where a credible financial advisor can pay for themselves many time over, their value far exceeding their cost, but only if that relationship is build on mutual respect and trust! History has shown that over the long term a well diversified equity portfolio has delivered far in excess of inflation, which is ultimately the curve most investors strive to stay ahead of, otherwise they are losing money.
If the world's companies is your investment of choice then there is much to be optimistic about based on current trends. According to the World Bank 42% of the world's population was defined as living in extreme poverty in 1990. As of 2016 the World Bank suggest the percentage in extreme poverty has fallen to below 10%, meaning 90% of the ever growing population now have more disposable income, and can purchase the produce and services they desire. Who benefits from this expenditure? The companies of the world who provide them with goods and services. The same companies form the 'equity market' which investors can be owners of when they purchase a well diversified equity portfolio. In addition, research by Brookings suggest that 140 million people are exiting poverty and entering middle-class each and every year on this planet. That's nearly 3million people per week with ore disposable income.
There will be another equity market crash, the evidence has shown that volatility is part and parcel of the journey. A period of temporary market decline is never more than a few years away....but learn to accept that, to welcome it, to see beyond it, and recognise that the 'markets' reward those who believe that declines are temporary, nothing more and nothing less. The 10% returns mentioned earlier were achieved despite many global crises, many dark days, many wars, and many self confessed experts predicting that this time the world really was going to end!
Please excuse me if I conclude by contorting Voltaire ever so slightly and suggest that.......madness is insisting that all is miserable when all is well!!
Optimism is the way....
Andy Hart is one of the UK's highest profile Financial Planners. He hosts his own Podcast, runs a successful Financial Planning firm, and is the organiser of the what is rapidly becoming UK's premier Financial Advisor & Planner Conference (Humans Under Management). And to top it all off he has invited me to share some ideas at his upcoming Dublin Conference.....so I'm super excited about that......We chat with Andy Hart of UK Financial Planning firm Maven Advisers to discover what exactly Financial Planning is, how it benefits clients, and how he saves them from themselves!
As you will know we are on a mission here at Informed Decisions to help improve the financial futures of our listeners and readers. We have been voted Ireland's #1 Finance Bog & Podcast in Ireland, and are on a mission to keep the boot down and get the message out to as many people as we possibly can.....your help in sharing this with your friends, family & colleagues helps spread the word (and keeps me motivated!), so please do share the love! While you are at it we'd love to have you join our wee community here.
Drop me an email here with any questions or ideas for future episodes you would like covered.
You're a Legend!
Paddy Delaney
'Chief Informer'
QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach
Recently we had a few questions from people who were saving for deposits for their first homes. This week we had another, from Daniel (surname not shared for obvious reasons!), who having read our piece about the impact of inflation on deposit values over the medium term has been moved to get in touch and ask us what are the alternatives!
Did you partake in our 2 minute survey yet?? If not then please please do, we would really value your opinion and help us shape what we cover on the blog & podcast. It's just here.....thank you.
This is timely, seeing as this week we have also been contacted by Louise McBride, journalist with The Sunday Independent. Louise was seeking our take on what alternatives are available for people who are not content with deposit. While we will cover low volatility investing options in more detail soon I am keen to try to answer Daniel's question. If you are new here then please do check out our 'Why' and we'd be delighted to have you join our wee community of Informed-Decisioners here! We are on a mission to enable individuals to help themselves with their financial futures, and to help them get whatever they want.
In this episode we will explore specifically Daniel's question which was.....'I plan to save for 5 years then buy BUT if the purchasing power of my money could lose 10% (5 years * 2% inflation) am I better off investing in a ‘safe’ fund with some (almost) guaranteed level of return?'
Regular readers of the Blog and listeners of the Podcast will know that we are on somewhat of a vocation here at Informed Decisions! We are striving to help people get what they want, to take control of their own financial futures. We are not doing this for the applause (though that is nice to get it when it comes!). We are doing this to make a meaningful and positive difference in the lives of those we touch. We aim to connect meaningfully with you.
We could of course just blindly go and do whatever we think is the right thing to do here, but we feel it more worthwhile to seek your feedback, your input and your say on what would be of use to you. We are absolutely not the best in the world at all things financial, but we do try our best to create things of use to other people.............as Seth Godin might say 'we are shipping our art'! Some will benefit and some will not. We are hoping to be of benefit to as many as we can.
So this week we have something a little different, we are asking your opinion. Long term listeners will recall that we asked something similar of you in 2017 when we asked you to complete a short survey. Almost 200 of you beautiful people duly obliged! In turn we donated a few hundred euro to Irish Cancer Society.
This year we have created a short 2-minute feedback form that we would love you to complete. Whether you are read the blog/podcast religiously or checked it out one or twice we really would value your feedback. If you have never read or listened to our stuff then it's probably not relevant to complete the form!
So Whats In It For Me??
This year we are going to offer €100 One4All Voucher, and we will donate €100 to the charity of the winner's choice. Even if you do not wish to enter the draw we would really appreciate your feedback.
How To Enter?
In order to be entered in the draw when you complete the feedback form please leave your name in the comments section of the Facebook post on the Informed Decisions Facebook page.
This way we can keep the feedback anonymous but also be able to pick a winner! If you are not on Facebook just drop me a quick mail here to let me know you have completed it and I will add you to the wheel of fortune for the draw!
When Do I Win??
We will run the survey until 12th March, or until we reach 200 responses, whichever is sooner!
Thanks
We are always keen to have your input on what we create and do, and we definitely appreciate all our readers and listeners, and the support and encouragement we have received since we started this 'crusade' almost 2 years ago!!
You're a Legend!
Paddy Delaney.
It is fierce common lately to hear the financial industry give out about the rates of interest available through bank deposit accounts and to recommend that you should invest your money into XYZ Fund (which just so happens to generate a nice chunky commission for whoever is doing the recommending!). It's funny, they weren't saying the same when equity markets were falling 30% per year and deposit rates were up at near 5% per year! (although they should have been!)
We will explore in this episode whether deposit really is a good place or not to keep your funds over the long term.
Welcome to Ireland's #1 Financial Planning Blog & Podcast. We're on a mission to share straight-forward ideas and information to help you get whatever financial life you want to have. We rely on feedback to help us improve the impact we have on our readers and listeners, so drop us an email, leave an iTunes review, and share the article if you feel it's of use to others.
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This week we get to chat with a guy who is making quite a name for himself. He is advocating for greater investor education, in particular with regards to the long-running debate on the value of Active Fund Management versus Passive or Index investing.
This is the latest episode in Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Investing Podcast.....available on iTunes, Podcast Stitcher, Podcast Addict and all other podcast players. If you find our podcast or website of any use then we would really appreciate your support, ideally as a iTunes review!
We are on a mission to help our readers and listeners to get what they want in their financial lives. Why not subscribe to our community to get access to the latest information once it becomes available.
Robin Powell is an award-winning journalist, blogger and content marketing consultant, based in the UK, with specialist expertise in the investing industry.
He works primarily work with asset managers and advisory firms at improving outcomes for the end consumer. He also campaigns for better investor education and for greater transparency in global asset management. As well as The Evidence-Based Investor, he edits Adviser 2.0, a blog which explores the changes taking place within the financial advice profession.
He is the producer of two highly-acclaimed online documentaries about investing — How to Win the Loser’s Game and Index Funds: The 12-Step Recovery Program for Active Investors.