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Savings & Investments

Savings & Investments

If you are saving for any of the following reasons:

  • Educational fees for your children
  • Deposit for your home
  • Or simply want to build up a nest egg

We will provide advice on all aspects of investments. We have products to suit all types of investors. Investing your money sensibly can provide you with security for the future. We all have reasons to save and when investing there are a few simple questions you need to ask yourself:

  • What type of investment risk are you prepared to take?
  • How long do you need to invest for?
  • Do you want 100% capital guarantee?
  • What are the tax implications for you with this investment?

As an independent adviser with access to many fund choices you can be assured of getting the best advice and the right investment strategy for you.

Before you decide to invest, it is very important that you ask yourself how comfortable you would be if your investment lost some value especially in the short-term.

Investing is usually for the medium to long-term (typically, 5-7 years or more) to give investments time to grow in value. However, even long-term investing involves risk as values will fluctuate over time and most investments do not provide a guaranteed level of return or a promise that you will not lose money.

In general, the greater the potential return you want from your savings and investments, the greater the risk you have to take. It is important to talk to a financial advisor about the level of risk you are prepared to accept and what it will mean to the returns you can expect. This should then influence the type of funds that you invest in – funds that suit your appetite for investment risk.

For more information on risk and the different level of risks faced by investors, you can log on to theNational Consumer agency website – www.itsyourmoney.ie

Most investments involve an element of risk:

  • Return Risk – the risk that your investment may not achieve the return expected
  • Capital Risk – the risk that you could lose some or perhaps all of the original money that you had invested

Risk can vary from fund to fund and it is very important, before you make any investment decision, that you understand all the risks associated with any fund. This will be key to picking the fund that best suits your needs.

Levels of Risk

Low Risk

  • Low risk investments aim to provide a return in line with, or slightly better than deposits
  • Low risk investments involve very little risk to investors’ capital, provided certain conditions are met such as remaining invested for a specific period of time
  • Typically investments in this category will promise that the investor will get back a minimum of 100% of their capital at some point, e.g. in 5 years time
  • However investors may get back less than they originally invested if they access their investment at any other time

Medium Risk

  • Medium risk investments offer the potential for returns in excess of deposits but do not promise a minimum return at any time
  • Medium risk investments tend to invest in a range of assets, which would normally include lower risk assets such as government bonds and investment grade corporate bonds
  • However, they can also invest in other assets such as stocks, property and alternatives e.g. (commodities). At times these investments may be a significant portion of the fund
  • Investors’ capital is less exposed to market fluctuations than most other investments but investors may get back less than they originally invested

Medium to High Risk

  • Medium to High risk funds aim to generate a return higher than deposits and inflation
  • Medium to High risk funds typically invest significant portions in assets such as equities, property and alternatives (e.g. commodities). They usually hold smaller amounts in lower risk assets such as government bonds and investment grade corporate bonds
  • Within these asset classes, risk can be reduced by investing across sectors and geographic regions
  • Investors’ capital is not secure and can fluctuate, sometimes significantly and investors may get back less than they originally invested

High Risk

  • The potential return from high risk investments is much higher than deposits and inflation
  • High risk funds focus on maximising the potential return to investors, rather than minimising risks
  • Some high risk funds may consist almost entirely of one asset class based for example in one geographic region or in one sector
  • Investors’ capital is not secure, may fluctuate significantly and investors may get back less than they originally invested

Very High Risk

  • Very High risk funds aim to generate exceptional returns for investors, but involve a significant level of risk
  • This may include using bank borrowings to “leverage” returns
  • In a worst case scenario, investors in a very high risk fund could lose all of their original investment

Warning: Past Performance in not a reliable guide to the future.

Warning: The Value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest.