How would you invest?

Samba

Hi,

First time posting on this forum


Well, long story short, a few years back I had a Car accident and recently recieved my claim.

The complete amount I do not want to disclose but what I want to put aside and invest I will.

Its not much, but if you had 5k to invest how would you do it?

Does anyone have any investments scheme which might attract me?

I have a fair few ideas myself and I know quite a few people in the who are handy when it comes to the Stock exchange, but as we all know that has its downsides.

Any feedback is greatly apreciated.

Thanks,

Samba

ballooba

I have an excellent pyramid scheme i could tell you about.

Samba

lol,

I tried a five dollar paypal one which was floating around (hey its only 5 bucks and a learning experience)


Needless to say ill never take part in one again

Victor

Is there anything that you could buy with this money that would materially improve your life? Education, transport, home improvement, consumer durables?

Pay off major debts.

If you have an SSIA, then put as much as possible in it.

Invest in a PIP/PEP type plan.

Start a pension.

Msot important, shop around.

RainyDay

Hi Samba - How long are you able to lock away this money for? This will have a major impact on the investment options available to you.

What's your attitude to risk? Will you be able to sleep soundly if an investment loses 20% of its value? Would this loss have a significant impact on your lifestyle?

Are you likely to be looking for a house deposit in the next few years?

Samba

heya,


I could lock it away for up to 5 years and forget about it no problem.


I have a tendancy to gamble and I am prepared to take the risks of this.

I apreciate your advice Victor, but I don't plan on residing in Ireland for my whole life, I am re-applying for college this year and if My application is succesful I will take the place.


I have other ways of generating money which i do in my spare time and makes a nice addition to my salary, this I could continue doing through college.


Rainy, I would'nt lose sleep over 20 % but i would heavily investigate any possible investment before commiting myself so that I would minimise my chances of incurring such a loss.


I am interested in your line of questioning and where its going....tell me more

RainyDay

Hi Samba

If you have an SSIA account, I'd recommend you max out your contributions to this to the full 254 euro per month, as the return on these accounts are unbeatable.

If not, my personal recommendation would be to invest in the stock market, via a low-charging unit linked fund, such as those available from Quinn Life or EBS. Drip feed your money at €500 per month for 10 months to reduce your chances of being hit with a major drop in the markets.

Read the small print - share prices can fall as well as rise - You could lose some of your money, though history shows that equities have beaten other investments in the medium-term. If you know that you will DEFINITELY need your money in five years time, then the stock market might be too risky for you. If you find the markets are at one of their cyclical lows in five years time, you might have to let your money sit for a year or two to get a decent return.

daveg

Welcome Samba mate,

Myself and my GF wanted to setup a savings scheme for my son for when he starts collage (he's only 3 1/2 ). Anyway we sought the advice of a financial consultancy firm in galway. HC financial they are called. We have had good dealings through work for pensions/morgage/life insurance. They advised us to invest in a PIP/PEP (can't remember which) - and we now save £50/€70 into the account.

We have been doing this for 2 years and have lost money on our investment so far - but looking in the long term we are buying shares at very low rates (shares havn't been this low for years) so we hope to have a nice nest egg in 15 years time (OMG I'll be 43 !!!).

Anyway this seems to be a good investment for a long term plan or so I'm told. However if anyone has any other options..... Let me know.

RainyDay

Remember that if you choose to invest via an intermediary/broker (such as the HC Financial mentioned by DaveG above), you are paying for their services somewhere along the way. If you don't handover a cheque to them, you will almost certainly find that they are taking some level of commission from your monthly investments. They don't do it for the good of their health!

You should also take their claims of 'independence' with a grain of salt. There are two 'grades' of investment advisors recognised by the Central Bank. 'Authorised Advisors' (AA's) are truly independent, and will advise you on your full range of investment options (usually for a fee). RAIPI (Restricted blah blah blah) will sell you one of the limited range of products for which they hold agencies, and their advice will be limited to their range of products.

The alternative is to invest directly with one of the institutions that doesn't deal with intermediaries, e.g. Quinn Life or EBS.

thegills

I stuck 2.5k into the 4th Forestry fund a while back. It's a 10 year plan, predicting 9% annual growth and there's no DIRT at the end. Like Daveg, I done it for my 3yr old daughter.

I am also considering buying one of those apartments in Spencer Dock. You pay 20k now and the balance in 2005 when the apartment is ready. I reckon that by then the price could have increased significantly.

They say though that 7 years is the minimum term for maximising long term investment.

As regards pensions wait a few months until the PRSA's are in full swing.

Thegills

eden_my_ass

If you're really willing to risk your money, have a look at the "steady drip" system on bookiebusters.com. Basically its a simple system aiming for 1% increase of your initial investment per bet. This leads them to believe they can turn £1000 into £37000 in 360 bets. It may sound extraordinary but you can see the results so far, and they have done similar in the last few years. They're very open about the system, the only thing they won't tell you is how they pick their matchs (although they do obiously tell you which match to back). Check their forums for more info. Worth a look?

Victor

Originally posted by thegills
I am also considering buying one of those apartments in Spencer Dock. You pay 20k now and the balance in 2005 when the apartment is ready. I reckon that by then the price could have increased significantly.

Is this money bonded? I wouldn't want to fork out that sort of money and hope the developer / builder doesn't go bust in the meantime.

thegills

Is this money bonded

I'm sure they are. I'll find out over the weekend for sure.

daveg

I am also considering buying one of those apartments in Spencer Dock.

samba with a lump sun of 5K or more you should consider investing it in a house/apartment (assuming you don't own already). It is always a good investment.

RainyDay

you should consider investing it in a house/apartment (assuming you don't own already). It is always a good investment.

No, it's not - not if you buy just as a property bubble is about to burst. Today's Economist shows Irelands property price increases near the top of a world table. Remember that almost every comment you hear in the press about property is coming from someone with a vested interest, i.e. estate agent, banker etc.

The bubble is going to burst soon - People are going to lose money. Approach with caution.

Samba

Thanks for all the advice folks, some very interesting points.

Property was my initial thought, not just for investment sake but also knowing that no matter what, I have a roof over my head I can always fall back on.


But 5k seems dismal in relation to the price of an apartment around Dublin and I feel it would tie me down more than I would like.


That would mean a Mortgage through 3-4 years of college, which I could probably manage, but would have to sacrifice good times, holidays and general luxuries and im only young


Im 22, have plans to either sit through college (again) for the next 3-4 years, I was thinking about leaving it a year but now with the rumours of fees returning that is a grim prospect.

However if I decide to scrap college (v.unlikely but a possibility if I am not accepted) then I am off Travelling around the world and while I am gone, i'd like my money to be working for me.

So an investment/savings scheme seems the best way to go.


Another little venture which i was considering was setting up a web based Sim free unlocked Mobile phone business, which there is a good market for in Ireland.

Cork

Originally posted by RainyDay
No, it's not - not if you buy just as a property bubble is about to burst. Today's Economist shows Irelands property price increases near the top of a world table. Remember that almost every comment you hear in the press about property is coming from someone with a vested interest, i.e. estate agent, banker etc.

The bubble is going to burst soon - People are going to lose money. Approach with caution.

People will not believe that the bubble will bust untill it does.


It will bust. Then people can express surprise.

House prices could start to fall over the next 12 months if rental income continues to decline, a top economist warned yesterday.

The cut of 0.25% in interest rates will not, however, cause a house price bubble but there is a risk prices will "soften", warned NCB Stockbrokers senior economist Eunan King.


Lower interest rates overall will be good for the economy but Mr King said the rental market was already under severe pressure and that could trigger some fall in the price of houses.


Anecdotal evidence exists at this stage that two-bed apartments that fetched £1,500 rental a month in 2001 are renting for €1,500 in Dublin at this stage, Mr King said.

halkar

Originally posted by Samba
..... only young

Yep you are only young so go and have a niiiiice holiday and enjoy your 5K or put it under your pillow as you will get peanuts in return from banks unless you seriously consider gambling I mean real gambling

RainyDay

For those who believe property prices can only go upwards, check out the front page of Friday’s Irish Indo property supplement

“Location: Malahide Price: €1.9m

Buyers looking for aicut price introduction to the world of wealthy pop stars and models will be interested in this impressive Malahide home which is now on the market with its price tag reduced by a rather substantial €500,000”

Whilst I wouldn’t claim that this one property is representative the market as a whole, it’s certainly indicative of the perils of property investment.

Praetorian

I'm sort of in the same boat as Samba. Although I dont like gambling!

The only thing I'm currently investing in is the SSIA (3 years to go ). I still think the best investment is land / property. I'm looking into it atm.

One of my best friends father owns 6 houses which he bought about 15 years ago...needless to say they are worth several times what he paid now. He's now looking at property in the UK..........

Tazz T

Emerging property markets overseas is the way to go. You can pick up a old wreck of a place in Crete for €20000. Similar places would set you back a fortune in France and the like. Really cheap rebuilding costs if you want to do it up. If you don't , you're still going to double your investment in 5 years.

If you're in a full time employment, it's easy enough to get a small overseas mortgage.

Samba

You would buy a Caslte over in France for the price of a house over here!


Some Parts of S.France are also very cheap and is where I plan to buy my first piece of property.

Coyote

Buy property they don't make it any more.

irishguy

how about prize bonds, you cant loose and there is so may prizes you have to win something and if u dont u can allways take it out have a look www.prizebonds.ie