For the past 8 years, I’ve been making the case that most investors, particularly those who can tolerate volatility, should avoid Lifestyle investment strategies in pensions. It’s been a lonely stance, with little to no mainstream coverage, even though investor feedback on my analysis was consistently positive.
Back in early 2024, I shared updated research on Lifestyle and Default Investment strategies used by pension funds in Ireland. The results were clear: even after more than a decade of strong market performance, investors who took the ‘Do It For Me’ route, defaulting to cautious, de-risking strategies, ended up with significantly poorer outcomes than those who chose a more hands-on, equity-focused approach.
Was I mad? Or missing something? It appears not.
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This week I flashback to a podcast from 2021! While it is a few years old its a common and important question.
Key takeaways
I hope it helps!
In this week's podcast I chat with Dr. Daniel Crosby. He discusses the evolution of behavioral finance over the past eight years, reflecting on the growing acceptance and understanding of the field. He shares insights from his latest book, 'The Soul of Wealth,' emphasising the importance of health, happiness, and meaningful spending. The discussion also covers the role of community in financial behavior, the impact of delayed gratification, and the future of wealth management in an AI-driven world. Crosby highlights the necessity of practical applications in financial education and the importance of understanding one's relationship with money.
Dr. Daniel Crosby is a psychologist, author, behavioral finance expert and asset manager who applies his study of market psychology to everything from financial product design to security selection.
Key takeaways
I hope it helps!
The Soul of Wealth: 50 reflections on money and meaning
In this week's podcast #334 I take a look ARFs
If you google 'best ARF Fund in Ireland' today, you will get many results.
The first few are of course paid-for, sponsored adverts from firms who want your clicks (and are paying handsomely for them!). There are then quite a few other firms who have written about this 'best ARF fund in Ireland' topic.
This week I share a very short piece which shows the actual outcomes of a scenario where one invested in different funds, portfolios and companies over the past decade or more, and what we can learn from it.
And if anyone needs a reminder, an ARF is an Approved Retirement Fund. It is what happens to most of our personal pensions when we start drawing income from them, if we have not chosen an annuity pension. More on all this here if you want a refresh!
In this week's episode, I explore crucial financial planning lessons for Irish families, highlighting examples where small oversights led to significant tax bills.
Discover how one family's misunderstanding of Ireland's Dwelling House Exemption resulted in an unexpected €77,000 tax liability, and how another family's mismanagement of the Small Gift Exemption cost them over €65,000.
Learn essential strategies for gifting, saving, and inheritance planning, and understand why precise adherence to tax regulations, supported by expert advice, is key to safeguarding your family's financial legacy.
Good intentions aren’t enough - strict compliance with Irish tax law is essential.
Document and complete transactions properly - incomplete paperwork can lead to significant taxes.
The Small Gift Exemption (€3,000 annually) must involve actual yearly transfers - accumulating gifts without documentation won't satisfy Revenue.
Seek professional financial and legal advice early to avoid costly errors in wealth transfer and inheritance planning.
Understand clearly defined tax exemptions like the Dwelling House Exemption - missing even one condition can result in major unexpected taxes.
Hope it helps!
Hope it helps.
I hope it helps!
Gregg's book - EXIT FROM WORK: What Will The New You Look Like? eBook : Lunceford, Gregg: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Gregg's book recommendation - Loaded: Money, Psychology, and How to Get Ahead without Leaving Your Values Behind
In this week's podcast, 330, I take a look at Gillen Markets.
Gillen Markets have built a solid reputation as investment managers and advisors over the past decade and a half, led by founder Rory Gillen. They reportedly manage and advise on over €600m for c.500 families.
They made the headlines last week, having announced that they were selling their business to Quilter Cheviot, a UK and Irish based Discretionary fund manager, for an undisclosed sum.
As these things always do; it piqued interest in terms of the consolidation of yet another firm, but also in Gillen Markets own Gillen Market Fund (GM Fund).
So we are sharing a few thoughts on;
- Market consolidation going on in Ireland
- Analysis of the GM Fund itself (performance, allocation and fees)
I hope it helps.
Paddy
In this week's podcast I chat with Kevin Carter, founder and CIO of EMQQ, investors in the emerging market technology sector. A really interesting conversation, which I hope you find helpful
Back in 2020, I wrote a piece outlining the uncomfortable truth that active fund managers find it hard to wrestle with....that most of them consistently fail to outperform 'the market'.
Fast forward to 2025, and guess what? Nothing appears to have changed.
In this podcast, I'll share the following:
If you're a successful professional in your 50s, maybe eyeing the exit door at your company, or looking for an exit from your business, you're now facing a different kind of pressure: how to make sure your hard-earned wealth works for you over the (hopefully) several decades of your retirement!
You’re not alone, and the good news is, the data keeps making the case for a simpler, smarter approach.
Let’s dive off the top ropes and explore shall we!?
Oh, as a 'big treat' I took my lads to a WWE event in Belfast at the weekend - it was such an over-the-top show that it's imprinted on my brain, so you'll have to pardon the many wrestling references here :)
I hope it helps.
I hope it helps!
There is more and more commentators shouting from the roof-tops about the massive growth of North American stock values and earnings over the past few years (since Covid really). I’ll explore what is and isn’t really happening, and what one’s practical options are.
Specifically, the following are the claims/alarms being flagged;
US Tech stocks have gone so incredibly well for several years, these companies, and the US is now over-priced and make up larger proportions of Globally Market than they ‘should’.
The future expected returns from S&P500 as a whole, so people ‘should’ now re-allocate to Europe, Emerging Markets and other locations, for future returns
I hope it helps.
In this week's podcast I talk to Dr. Jordan Grumet, about the topics he covers in his new book The Purpose Code. Bringing together the topics of longevity, health, purpose and money. The Purpose Code hopes to help you what purpose really is and the role it plays in our lives.
Jordan’s podcast – Earn & Invest
Planning for, and subsequently living (!) a dignified and choice-filled retirement is the biggest financial goal many of us have, or will have. It’s also a journey of uncertainties, and one of the biggest uncertanties is market volatility, both positive and negative.
We have experienced such positive market growth in the past 2 years in particular.
So, in the interest of being prepared financially and mentally :), in this week's podcast I explore the impact of the stock market having an illustrative 30% decline in 2025. This is not a prediction of market mayhem this year, it's a premortem to allow us consider what it might mean for us, how we might or might not react, in order to deliver better outcomes for you.
I hope it helps.
In this week's podcast, the last for 2024 I talk about Tax Rates for Retirees in Ireland (2025).
We spend a lot of time planning, analysing and accumulating retirement assets, often without clarity on the tax rates for retirees in Ireland! Time to start fixing that dear listener.
Planning take-home retirement income requires careful consideration of tax bands, credits, and income sources. In 2025, singles and couples can benefit from expanded tax bands and additional credits from 2024, which can and will positively affect their take-home income
I hope it helps
In this week's podcast, I talk about should I stay invested when markets are at all time highs, is something many will rightly ask. And here is the data to show it;
Large sections of the global equity universe are at or just below all-time highs. Does this mean there is a massive correction coming? Should I move to cash or some other low volatility asset class to protect my pot from a correction? Natural questions to ask. You probably know what my answer will be, but maybe don't know why it will be so.
I hope it helps.
In this week's podcast, I talk about Index Investing in Ireland – A topic that will be of interest to all
As you know at Informed Decisions, we believe in helping build a secure financial future through strategies grounded in research, not speculation. Today, I’d like to share why evidence-based investing, a disciplined approach driven by decades of data, stands out as one of the most reliable ways to achieve long-term financial success and security.
In this week's podcast, Paddy chats with Steve Selengut, a.k.a The Income Coach about income generation strategies. An interesting and different approach.
Steve has accumulated over 40 years of experience as a private investment manager, with a strong focus on increasing the spendable income generated by client portfolios. Today, his role has transitioned into that of an Income Coach, where he dedicated to teaching investors how to more than double the income produced by their portfolios.
Steve is the creator and instructor for the unique "Working Capital Model" portfolio operating system and the "Market Cycle Investment Management" methodology, both of which he developed back in the 1970s. Additionally, He introduced several proprietary concepts, including the QDI + PT, Smart Cash, The Investor's Creed, and Base Income. Steve also developed the Investment Grade Value Stock (IGVSI) identification system.
Key topics:
I hope it helps!
In this week's podcast, I talk about investment options in Ireland.
There are a bucket-load of investment options in Ireland. It is one of the biggest questions we see and hear from people. Yet, the landscape is fairly straight-forward once we get your head around it.
Plus, the route someone will take with their investments is often not led by logic, but by their internal biases. The same occurs when one is choosing their next car to buy!
Show me someone's car, and I'll tell you what kind of investments they have! So much so, I'll go on record as saying;
"The type of car you drive is a lead indicator of the type of investments options you choose" -Paddy Delaney :)
And to jump right-in, here is how I see the investment routes comparing to cars on the Irish roads!!.....
This week, having had time to do so, I share:
I hope it helps!