When I meet a prospective client one of the first areas to be discussed is what financial products they currently hold. While many people will know that they have a mortgage and its broad details, less will know about what their pension fund and investments are applied to and even fewer again will know what level of life assurance they hold. Most people usually do not give time to, never mind arrange, either their Will or
Read more →If you don’t have a cat as a pet and even if the next two paragraphs might not mean much to you please persevere with me. I should add that I am not a natural animal lover but am more of an assistant to those around me that are. Nevertheless I find myself catering to every whim that our cat meows. This includes opening the front door to let him look out before he decides
Read more →A little over nine years ago a new personal financial qualification, the Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning was introduced by University College Dublin in conjunction with support from the Life Insurance Association, the Institute of Bankers and the Institute of Taxation. Those who successfully completed this program were then able to sit a further exam with a view to obtaining the international accreditation Certified Financial Planner™ (also referred to as CFP®). This accreditation is regarded
Read more →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 or Xbox release but the reality is this is what our clients expect. If we can’t get excited about our clients finances, then we shouldn’t
Read more →The more that I earn my livelihood from financial services the more I see the same commentary appear again and again. Call me a cynic but it’s about time that the financial media be it print, TV or digital copped itself on and stopped trying to sensationalise basic issues. With the advent of reality TV, the move to reality investment market TV leaves, at times, the likes of the X Factor and Big Brother in the shade. Every
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 →It’s that time of the year when everyone takes stock of what they should have done in the last year and what they really should do in the coming year. Financial Planning is a subject that gets addressed more at this time of the year than any other mainly because of the tendency to “I better do this otherwise I’ll never get around to it”. Once January passes however, the mental incentive does as well. So
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