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, America’s Got Talent, Big Brother, Masterchef or Iron Chef (take your pick). The list goes on. There seems to be a delight in seeing
Read more →It’s that time again when many commercial organisations are looking to kickstart their year off with a big marketing event so that they can display their wares in a good light and, hopefully, generate substantial new business volumes over the coming 12 months. The Financial Services Industry is no different. In the next few weeks, if past years’ experiences are likely to be repeated, I will receive invitations by at least 6 different investment fund
Read more →In writing this piece, I’m inclined to reflect on the saying that “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. Everything in life has both negative and positive aspects to it. It’s just that sometimes we don’t see the negatives or if we do, we choose to ignore them in favour of the more comfortable outcome that we desire. Personal investing falls into this overall category as well. Over the many years of advising clients
Read more →With the progress of technology we have got used to instant gratification. We use the internet to research whatever grabs our immediate attention and we use social media to pass this information on. Similarly Reality TV has become a staple in many people’s everyday activity – they watch it, they talk about it and they share commentary through social media. Whether we like it or not short term focus is the order of the day.
Read more →Every so often I come across a new client who is searching for the magic elixir of finance – the quick fix to all their financial woes. What they are really seeking is a quick and easy way to make more money without taking risk or putting in time. Unfortunately financial management on a personal level and the advice that is needed is not sexy or glamorous. In fact, it’s plain dull and boring. Nevertheless
Read more →Occassionally just when it seems like I may be making a new client relationship I am asked “How do I know that I can trust you?” The posing of the question is not unreasonable when you consider that they may be about to hand over the advice on their investment, pension, life asurance and financing to someone that was, up to a day or two previous, a total stranger! When you reflect further on those high
Read more →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 it was property, then gold, then bonds, then equities. What should I buy? What should I sell? Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to
Read more →Every so often I meet a personal investor who will tell me that now is the right time or the wrong time to invest, depending on whether the markets are going up or down as well as depending on that individual’s past experience. Despite having 30 years of investment experience I never get into an argument with them because I know something they don’t. Namely, very, very experienced investment professionals rarely, if ever, out think
Read more →Recently I helped a new client, of US citizenship, aged 28 and a full time worker in Ireland, set up a personal pension for herself. She wanted to make sure that her own retirement funding which she started in previous employments, also in Ireland, was continued. We chatted about pension funding in general and she was surprised that Irish people in their twenties didn’t treat it as seriously as she and her other American nationals do where
Read more →Stock markets are now at all time highs. Who would have thought that we would be saying that after the Global Financial Crisis back in 2008. Surely equity markets are now toppy? Many investors who went to cash around then have been too frightened to come back into the market in the intervening period and are now only considering re-entering after an almost 200% gain in stock prices. If anything this sounds like a classic
Read more →