Investments

What investments do you offer?

Investments are lump sum/single contribution policies that are invested into a mixture of stocks, bonds, cash and property. You complete a risk questionnaire to establish your attitude to risk (level of risk you are comfortable with). There are dozens of funds available and we will help you choose the appropriate fund. Investment funds can go through periods of volatility but tend to deliver higher long-term returns than deposit accounts.

Deposit rates return very little, if anything, at present. Managed funds, despite the volatility they inevitably go through, have far greater long-term returns. The greater the returns, the less money you need to fund the investment and the greater the fund you have to purchase a property or build up an emergency fund.

An increasingly popular option are Structured Products – where part or most (85-90%) of your money is guaranteed to be given back to you, with a targeted return of 4-5% per annum. These are popular as a ‘Deposit Alternative’ for those who want to take low risk approach to investing.

Business Investment Plans

Business Investment Plans work in the same manner as personal savings plans except the business contributes to the plan. If a business has strong cash flow and has a lump sum on deposit, funds can be invested to maximise the business assets or to help finance the expansion of the business through the purchase of equipment or hiring of staff. Business Investment plans can also benefit from more favourable tax rates than Personal Investment Plans.

Investments – what to look out for

The key criteria to look out for in an investment are cost, service, fund performance and product selection

Costs

The main costs to consider are the Allocation Rate and Annual Management Charge. The Allocation Rate is the amount of your monthly/lump investment that gets invested into the pension (eg 99% so that means a 1% charge). The Annual Management Charge is paid annually on the entire pension investment and is usually circa 1%

Service

This relates to the service you get from your advisor regarding technical advice on investments and general day to day enquiries

Fund Performance

Consistent strong fund performance is crucial to make your money work for you and to see the benefits of compound interest

Product Selection

Most life companies and investment companies have a range of managed funds that are invested in bonds, property, cash and shares. Ethical investments as well as specialised investments such as Clean Energy are not available through all companies

Integral Financial Planning has access to many different institutions and will evaluate the most suitable for clients based on these criteria.

Call today on +353 (87) 778 5325‬ if you would like to discuss further.