When people gossip, it’s always about someone else and more often than not, there’s a comment on someone’s behaviour. People watching or, more correctly, behaviour watching provides fodder for the chat magazines and the tabloids. This, in turn, has led to the huge growth in reality TV whether it’s the X-Factor, …
I have been helping clients make investment decisions for over 25 years and it never ceases to amaze me how the adage of “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” still applies – the more things change, the more things stay the same. Avoiding investment mistakes if no different. …
As experienced Financial Planners we have become skilled in assisting our clients plan for their eventual retirement. A comfortable Old Age is not, however, just about having a pension plan, even though this may be part of the solution. Clever planning for retirement can assist greatly by: 1. Building Sufficient …
One of the advantages of the Celtic Tiger, was that investors learned that greed does not pay. Sooner or later, there is a price to pay. For those that can restart their lives eventually there were a few lessons to be learnt. The least of which was realising that if something …
As a financial planning firm we get involved in a lot of sophisticated financial analysis. We crunch numbers in spreadsheets and similar tools with the same passion as kids (and now more recently many adults) play video games. Sad you might say that we prefer Excel to the latest PlayStation …
Some years ago I became involved in using psychometric tools to analyse human behaviour in a financial context. Since then I have been more watchful of both individuals and group dynamics as people go about their daily routines. The skipping of breakfast, grabbing a coffee on the way into work and eating …
Most personal financial columns have a strong emphasis on investments. How do you get richer? How much can your money grow by? What are you worth? This is understandable as it is something that appeals to the greed element in most people. This is actually the wrong focus when it …
Oscar Wilde once said ‘It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating’. That begs the question, what is a permanent income and just how permanent is it? Can you protect your income if you have one? The answer is yes and the this is the essence …
As someone who is in the investment advisory arena for more years than I actually care to remember I am often asked, by clients and financial media alike, what investments would I recommend to potential investors. My answer is always the same – None! My reason for such a statement is …
Investors are a worrisome lot. When markets are falling many can get upset. Should they sell? Should they buy more? When markets are rising, the questions are the same. Should they sell? Should they buy more? It also depends on what asset is in the news. For a long time …
