Investing Money

deefee

Hi All,
I have some money - approx 40k - that I am thinking of investing. I am unsure about the markets. I would be prepared to take a low or medium risk. Does anyone have any ideas as to the best way to invest or use this money in order to make a modest return. I understand risk and reward go hand in hand. Deposit accounts are a non runner their interest rates are appalling really!
Thanks :-)

blass

My advice would be to investigate passive investing options. Low Cost Index Funds or Index based ETF's would give a steady long term gain. Stock picking is too risky. As Warren Buffet once said "Don't look for the needle in the haystack, just buy the haystack." Unfortunatley Irish providers of index funds tend to charge very high fees and commissions etc. I am currently looking to sell my Irish Life Index funds and buy a lower cost ETF maybe on the LSE. The difference can be huge, Annual Mgmt charge on Irish life funds ranges from 1% to 1.5% (yes, ANNUALLY) which erode your funds over time. Better to pay EUR32 broker fee to buy n ETF which will charge a very low AMC somewhere between 0.10% or 0.20% (roughly 10 times cheaper). I can't give exact examples as I am still looking myself but there is some solid info re passive investing here: http://www.sensibleinvesting.tv/. Good luck.

robp

blass wrote: »

My advice would be to investigate passive investing options. Low Cost Index Funds or Index based ETF's would give a steady long term gain. Stock picking is too risky. As Warren Buffet once said "Don't look for the needle in the haystack, just buy the haystack." Unfortunatley Irish providers of index funds tend to charge very high fees and commissions etc. I am currently looking to sell my Irish Life Index funds and buy a lower cost ETF maybe on the LSE. The difference can be huge, Annual Mgmt charge on Irish life funds ranges from 1% to 1.5% (yes, ANNUALLY) which erode your funds over time. Better to pay EUR32 broker fee to buy n ETF which will charge a very low AMC somewhere between 0.10% or 0.20% (roughly 10 times cheaper). I can't give exact examples as I am still looking myself but there is some solid info re passive investing here: http://www.sensibleinvesting.tv/. Good luck.

For this lump sum ETF investment approach what broker are you considering?

blass

I plan to use Goodbodys. They are horrendously expensive @ EUR32 per transaction but I cannot seem to get cheaper elsewhere when you take into consideration account maintenance fees/Infrequent trading fees etc etc. The nature of my plan is to buy and hold for years hopefully so I can tolerate EUR64 (32x2) in brokerage fees over the investment term without losing sleep. Plus I save a huge amount on Annual Mgmt Charges by going from over 1% on average with Irish Life to just 0.25% annually with the ETF. ONe other issue to be aware of is that most of the ETFs are income funds meaning they pay you a dividend periodically so that would be liable for tax at 41% I think. You would have to declare this and pay it yourself.

topper_harley2

TD Waterhouse have cheaper trades that that, E15 I think it is. No inactivity fee if your have more than five grand in trading account.

I believe you can buy ETF from TD Waterhouse.

robp

topper_harley2 wrote: »

TD Waterhouse have cheaper trades that that, E15 I think it is. No inactivity fee if your have more than five grand in trading account.

I believe you can buy ETF from TD Waterhouse.

I use an online TD account myself but I am looking for a broker for a family member for whom it may not be ideal. TD is 20 Euro per a trade but that is not my objection. I have two objections 1) they only sell UK traded ETFs and 2) the family member doesn't need or want an online platform. I am really seeking an execution-only service.

mug_holder

deefee wrote: »

Hi All,
I have some money - approx 40k - that I am thinking of investing. I am unsure about the markets. I would be prepared to take a low or medium risk. Does anyone have any ideas as to the best way to invest or use this money in order to make a modest return. I understand risk and reward go hand in hand. Deposit accounts are a non runner their interest rates are appalling really!
Thanks :-)

buy a global index fund , individual stocks are too numerous for you to pick winners , various companies go out of favour so even you are up 20% this year , the same company could drop by the same amount next year

most people dont have the expertise to beat the market ( im one of them )

mug_holder

blass wrote: »

I plan to use Goodbodys. They are horrendously expensive @ EUR32 per transaction but I cannot seem to get cheaper elsewhere when you take into consideration account maintenance fees/Infrequent trading fees etc etc. The nature of my plan is to buy and hold for years hopefully so I can tolerate EUR64 (32x2) in brokerage fees over the investment term without losing sleep. Plus I save a huge amount on Annual Mgmt Charges by going from over 1% on average with Irish Life to just 0.25% annually with the ETF. ONe other issue to be aware of is that most of the ETFs are income funds meaning they pay you a dividend periodically so that would be liable for tax at 41% I think. You would have to declare this and pay it yourself.

any broker will be cheaper than goodbody and the folks there are an incredibly smug blue blooded bunch , was with them for a while nearly four years ago , rip off

im with saxo , slightly more expensive than TD but far more professional

blass

mug_holder wrote: »

any broker will be cheaper than goodbody and the folks there are an incredibly smug blue blooded bunch , was with them for a while nearly four years ago , rip off

im with saxo , slightly more expensive than TD but far more professional

Agreed re Goodbodys, Saxo sound good but they require a minimum account balance of about EUR8000. Have to think twice about that, other wise they sound rather good value.

blass

mug_holder wrote: »

any broker will be cheaper than goodbody and the folks there are an incredibly smug blue blooded bunch , was with them for a while nearly four years ago , rip off

im with saxo , slightly more expensive than TD but far more professional

DO Saxo charge an account maintanence fee or anything other than their Brokerage commission, not very clear on their site?

Blacktie.

blass wrote: »

Agreed re Goodbodys, Saxo sound good but they require a minimum account balance of about EUR8000. Have to think twice about that, other wise they sound rather good value.

This isn't true. I just set up an account with 5k a few weeks ago.

blass

EUR5000? That's better.

Blacktie.

blass wrote: »

EUR5000? That's better.

Yep euro.

blass

Blacktie. wrote: »

Yep euro.

Hi Blacktie, how did you find the account opening process? Was it smooth? Also do you pay fees if your portfolio balance dips below EUR5000?

Blacktie.

blass wrote: »

Hi Blacktie, how did you find the account opening process? Was it smooth? Also do you pay fees if your portfolio balance dips below EUR5000?

No fees yet anyway. I just set up an account online and provided the ID and proof of address they ask for. They'll ring you and guide you through it once you set an account up. Very easy to do and periodic phonecalls from staff was very helpful.

I hope not as mine has dropped below that now. Bad timing on my part by the looks of it.

blass

stick with it. takes time.

moss82

Hey

i have 8,000e sitting in a deposit box last 2 years earning diddly squat!! Have been wondering what sort of investment would be suitably for around 5,000e of it! Have no future plans as of yet with cash, but just sick of it just sitting there. Dont mind taking a little risk but just want no fuss? would saxo be suitable or can anyone recommend something else?

Prezatch

TD Ameritrade only have fees of $10 for online equity trades including ETF's and no inactivity fees. I went through their sign up process and it all seemed fine that I wasn't a US citizen, didn't have any US tax details/social security number. So as far as I can see there's no problem signing up with them... has nobody else tried this??!

https://www.tdameritrade.com/home.page

Prezatch

Scratch that, this page pretty clearly shows that you have to go for TD Direct Investing:

http://www.tdwaterhouse.com/

blass

Hey

i have 8,000e sitting in a deposit box last 2 years earning diddly squat!! Have been wondering what sort of investment would be suitably for around 5,000e of it! Have no future plans as of yet with cash, but just sick of it just sitting there. Dont mind taking a little risk but just want no fuss? would saxo be suitable or can anyone recommend something else?

If you are going from earning nothing to wanting a small return (and you can tie the money up for a few years) maybe consider buying some State savings products such as a 3 year Bond? Something is better than nothing. It pays a low interest rate but its safe and there is no brokerage or mgmnt fees eroding your capital. Go to www.statesavings.ie for info.
Otheriwse maybe investigate buying a broad based index fund ETF through a broker. Vanguard or ishares offer plenty of broad based ETF's with very low annual mgmnt fees (much lower than Irish Life funds or Bank of Ireland Ifunds). Good luck.

pajero12

As a matter of interest, is there a minimum amount you need to have to invest in some of these companies?

No terrible puns intended

Brussels Sprout

Here's a list of platforms and brokers recommended by a passive investing blog I've been reading recently. it's based in the UK though so I'm wondering how many of these are open to ROI residents.

blass

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

Here's a list of platforms and brokers recommended by a passive investing blog I've been reading recently. it's based in the UK though so I'm wondering how many of these are open to ROI residents.

Good post Brussels, http://monevator.com is a very good website for passive investment matters.

blass

Just found out that Goodbodys stockbrokers charge EUR51.50 if you want to buy an ETF on any european exchange other than ISEQ (which has F-all ETFs anyway). Daylight robbery......