Thanks for tuning in to this weeks' Episode, our 52nd, and Informed Decisions' 1 year anniversary!!

We bring you something pretty special, interviewing one of Ireland's brightest talents in regards Investment Management, Will Sparks.

Will tells it like it is, so it was a pleasure to have him on the show, and in addition to that he knows how to manage investments....who better to help identify some insights for our listeners!

By all means please do visit our small website, and check out all our podcasts and blogs, and if you like what you see we'd be delighted to have you join our mailing group!

Thanks all.

Paddy Delaney

Creator & Dogsbody @ Informed Decisions!

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Hey!

In a recent blog we took a look at the big 6 risks which exist when it comes to managing ourselves and our money. We had everything from ostrich risk (sticking our head in the sand!) to longevity risk (living too long!).

This time around we are going to focus on practical tools we can apply to our money and savings, in order to ultimately have a more pleasant investment journey, the growth we expect, and the appropriate outcomes......please keep reading!

As we try do things slightly differently here at Informed Decisions we are going to attempt to explain all this using the metaphor of a plane journey to New York.....chocks away!

Before we fly off into the blue yonder, if you enjoy this blog, all we ask in return is to help us spread the word, share the article with the little icons at the bottom, check out the podcast, and in general just be a huge fan of our little site! We are on a mission to make Investing and Financial Planning here in Ireland a doddle! Be delighted if you checked out our why.

What is Investment Risk?

Some say (indeed the 'Economic Times') that it is the probability or likelihood of occurrence of losses relative to the expected return on any particular investment.

In plain english therefore we can take it as the risk of your investments not doing what you expected or indeed hoped. Comparing it to a flight it's like (I would use the work akin but it sounds horrid pretentious no!?) getting on a flight from Dublin heading for New York to do a huge shopping spree but ending up in Mexico! You expect one thing but get another, and you may not be that happy about it!

Hey all, in this 50th episode of the Informed Decisions Financial Planning Podcast we will aim to share insights on the very best mortgage that you can get here in Ireland; whether you are aiming for your first mortgage or have a collection of them we hope to share ideas which will save you a small fortune over your life-time. We also have a short guest appearance from Seamus & Conn (future Informed Decisioners!!)....

All we ask in return is to help us spread the word, share the article with the little icons at the bottom, check out the podcast, and in general just be a huge fan of our little site! Be delighted if you checked out our why.

We shared insights a number of months ago in what still remains one of our most popular blogs in the area of over-paying one's mortgage and the impact that has on the number of years you will be lumbered with it and also the lump of interest you would have paid.

Speaking of which, if I was to offer you €38,000 of a saving over the next 20 years, and all you had to do to earn it was about 8 hours of work, and an initial outlay of €1,000 to €1,500 for solicitor fees......what would you do? Many of us might fall into the most irrational behavioural finance phenomenon and not be able to see past the cost of €1,500, but on the face of it there surely is no doubt that we know it makes financial sense, right??

Take a listen to find out what we are talking about this week!

Thanks a mill.

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

We are joined by Professional Coach Niall English, to uncover exactly what coaching is, how it can be of benefit to us in achieving the things we want to achieve.

We also take a look at how it might be useful if you find yourself in need of making some changes to your finances. Here at the home of unbiased financial planning in Ireland we like to bring some fresh ideas.....this is our latest!

Plus, Niall shares some practical tools we can all use in order to make some real improvements in regards to our finances.

Hopefully you enjoy!

If you do then please share, join our community and spread the word!

Thanks a mill.

Paddy Delaney

QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Hey, welcome to the latest Episode......This week we follow-up on our promise to share with you guys how ETFs are taxed here in Ireland. Like a lot of stuff these days there is a lot of info floating around about this topic, and if any of you have gone looking to get definitive answers it can prove quite tricky. We aim to bring several years of research to you in this episode, to answer most of the common questions that arise (and accept that we will naturally miss some of the less common stuff - who doesn't!).

Now this may help some of you, and it may not help, but understanding how you are taxed on your investment, pensions, savings or nest egg in Ireland is fairly vital in making informed money decisions...speaking of which please do pop over here to find out why we exist, what our purpose is and why we are Ireland's first Financial Planning & Wealth Management Blog & Podcast. Also, if you have any questions or comments we'd love to hear from you, just drop a message to us here.

In Blog 39 we took a fairly deep look at ETFs, how they work, how to buy them and what to look out for. We also raised a rather large flag to warn potential investors of the way in which 'the revenue' here in Ireland tax any income or gains you make on profits from these investment types. We are gonna address that now. We are not encouraging people to invest based on the tax treatment of something, that's never an informed decision, but we do believe it an important factor. First lets summarise the benefits & limitations of ETFs for Irish Investors:

Perceived Benefits (see blog 39):

1. Offers a transparent means to invest in a broad range of companies with 1 'share'
2. Potentially lower fees in comparison to shares and other retail investments
3. Typically 'sellable' on the day you want to sell and get your cash back (liquid)
4. Access to invest in large geographical areas (e.g US/Europe/Asia/Global)
5. Easy means of diversifying your investment within shares/stocks

Perceived Limitations (see blog 39)

1. Typically only investing in equities and not other asset classes
2. Generally no volatility control in place - if it falls it falls - if it rises it rises
3. Confusion over how they are taxed here in Ireland
4. No physical proof of ownership - no share cert - all electronic/online
5. Some ETFs are 'synthetic' - opening them up partially to potential default (counter-party risk)
6. Lack of understanding of what they are and how easy they can be to own

Other Investments:

We have covered it before but if you were to buy shares directly in a company, such as Bank of Ireland or any other stock listed on the Irish Stock Exchange (ISEQ) then it is all fairly straightforward:

1. Buy the shares through share dealer/broker (e.g Davy/GoodBody/IG etc etc)
2. Pay Stamp Duty (1%) & all other expenses of dealer (dealer collects these)
3. Get Share Certificate - you now own the shares
4. Pay Annual Mgt Charge (typically 1-3% per annum) & 'other fees'
5. If you get dividends you declare this and pay your margin rate of tax on that income
6. When the time comes you sell the shares & pay your Capital Gains Tax of 33% on any growth you achieved (above €1,270 per annum)
7. Bit Messy!

If you were instead to go and invest your money into a retail investment product, which a lot of the banks/brokers/agents sell, you are buying what is officially an 'Irish Insured Investment Fund'. These products offer you the option to easily invest into a variety of assets, depending on the fund it could be equities/ property/ commodities/ cash/ bonds or a combination of these. In this instance:

1. Invest the money with advisor/broker/agent
2. Pay 1% (Government Levy) upfront on the way in (same as with shares)
3. Pay an annual management charge (typically 1.2%-2%)
4. Do not receive dividends (if apply will usually be absorbed by fund manager)
5. When you cash your policy in (sell) the growth is subject to a tax called 'Exit Tax' at 41% which is collected by the insurance company, you have no other returns to make
6. It's simple!

How about combining the very best of both of these investments; it might look a little like this:

1. Invest the money
2. Pay zero upfront Tax/Levy
3. Get paid Dividends and pay marginal rate of tax on them
4. Pay a one transparent & low annual management fee
5. When you sell your units you pay the lower tax rate of 33% Capital gains Tax

The great news is that this can sometimes be achieved with ETFs....check out full details on Blog 42