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 →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 →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 →When I mention that I am a Financial Planner to someone who doesn’t know me I sometimes get strange looks as if I am either someone from other space or somewhere else. Some that know me well might rib me a bit on the former but sometimes saying the truth, especially about money matters, doesn’t earn you any bouquets. Maybe it’s because the words “Financial Planner” have become confused in most people’s lexicon with terms such as “Financial Adviser”
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