Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast

This week we are taking a closer look at the fabled '4% Rule' relating to drawing-down on investment or retirement pots. This particular 'rule' gets plenty of airtime in the US, UK and many other countries but from my own experience very few investors, pension holders here in Ireland seem to have heard of (and indeed even many advisors!). Let's try fix that! We are not going to challenge this 4% Rule today, merely we'll determine what it is, how it is relevant and how to go about figuring out what it might suggest for you. Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated and straight-talking personal finance blog/podcast. We are on a mission to tell the truth about money and are so thoroughly enjoying the journey! It is always great to hear from listeners so if you have any suggestions or ideas for us to explore please do send me an email here. As an aside, this week I got to meet a bit of a hero of mine. I travelled over to Penzance in Cornwall and spent a good few hours trying to learn as much as I could from the one and only Pete Matthew who has been creating really engaging personal finance information via video, blogs and podcasts for 5 years now. Such a pro, it was great to meet him. Check out the magic here! Thanks, Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

We have recently been asked to share ideas on how an individual (or couple) can ensure their investments/estate/assets are properly distributed and managed once they die. It is an area that is of real value and interest to both the people who may be 'receiving' and indeed obviously to the people that are 'giving' it! While Trusts are an area that we have touched-on in previous episodes we would not claim to be legal experts on the matter. For that reason we have invited Pauric Druhan, a qualified solicitor and trust expert from Pearse Trust, to join us on the Podcast. Pauric shares his experience and knowledge on the different types of Trusts but more practically he shares examples of how they can be used and in what circumstances they can be of benefit to people who want to manage the 'distribution' of their estate before and indeed after they die. It is a key part of Estate Planning in Ireland and in reality it is something that most in this space would benefit from being more aware of. Have you ever asked; What Are Trusts? Do I Need A Trust? How Do Trusts Work? If so, you might find some useful ideas in this episode of Ireland's award-winning Blog & Podcast. As you will by now be well aware we are on a mission here at Informed Decisions to help our listeners and readers to make effective decisions for themselves which will result in better financial outcomes, and this episode is no different! Please do drop me a mail with your suggestions, questions or feedback. You're a Legend! Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Investing Podcast & Blog. We are on a mission to do things differently and to actually help people make decisions that help them achieve the results (& life!) that they want to achieve. This week we have a rather special guest, Mr. Guy Spier. Guy is the fonder of, and has been been the sole decision-makers of the Aquamarine Investment Fund for 2 decades. This is nothing outlandish however the fund has an impressive return rate for investors over that period of time. He has recently launched a superbly insightful and honest book called 'The Education Of A Value Investor', aspects of which we discuss in some detail. We are thrilled to chat with Guy and gain his insight on many aspects of both money and life. He tells us about his approach to work, investing, life and how the likes of Warren Buffett and Monish Pabrai have shaped him. Be sure to drop us a mail if you have any ideas, suggestions or questions following this episode. You can mail me directly here. Enjoy! References: The Education Of A Value Investor Warren Buffett Monish Pabrai Guy's Aquamarine Fund Guy's Twitter Nassim Taleb

In a meeting last week I was asked why my philosophy toward successful long term investing was so simplistic and boring. I was delighted! For context the people I was working with had understood me to have been in the financial planning profession for 13 years (correct) and that I was a 'finance expert' (marginally correct!). Based on these two bits of information they had concluded that I would have a very complex, very elaborate, and dare I say it, very confusing approach when it comes to investing. This is what most of us have been conditioned to believe. That is most likely as a result of the unnecessarily complex products and layers that are rife in the Financial Services Industry. When I explained my (very non-complex) belief on how one can achieve long term success they essentially scoffed at it, as if disappointed that I had not unleased a bout of verbal financial terminology and nonsense on them! It really got me thinking, it challenged me, and for that I am so grateful. As a result of that interaction this week I am sharing a short (true) story about long term results when one investor took a complex approach and when another took a very very simplistic and boring approach....and let you decide which might work best! Welcome back to Ireland's only dedicated and non-smoke&mirrors Blog and Podcast on a mission to help people make better decisions and ultimately to live the life that they want to live. All we ask in return is that you tell a friend and if you are feeling really enthused that you drop me a mail to say Hi, offer feedback that could help us improve this site, or indeed ask a question!

As a young boy growing up many years ago a million euros (or pounds as it was!) always sounded like an inexorably large amount of money. If you had €1m you were officially a millionaire and were in our eyes elevated to a stratospheric status.......The same can't be said anymore though! While it no doubt is still a significant amount of money by anyone's standards the sheen of being a millionaire has dampened thanks to inflation mostly! Nevertheless we are are today going to explore how and if €1m in an Irish Pension is enough, and specifically explore if it would be enough on which to retire at say 60 years of age. Welcome to Ireland's only dedicate Financial Planning where we are on a mission to help you get the financial outcomes you want and to avoid mistakes when it comes to planning, investing and decisions with your money. If you find the information that we create of use then all we ask is that you help us spread the word and tell a friend! All our blogs can be found here. If you have a question or indeed a suggestion on how we can make this site more useful to you I'd be delighted to hear from you, please do send me a mail here. Impact Of Inflation On Your €1m: In order to elaborate on the comments about impact of inflation on your €1m lets just look at that for a moment. It was 25 years ago when I was 13 years of age. When I was 13 years of age €1m seemed like a crazy amount of money. Indeed it was, and still is however if you had €1m 25 years ago (1993) and you put it under the mattress, it would today have approximately 40% less purchasing power, due solely to inflation. According to data from Central Statistics Office you would need to have €1.61m today to be able to buy what €1m would have bought in July 1993! The price of goods and services here have increased by over 60% in those 25 years. If on the other hand you had invested that €1m in the S&P 500 Index in 1993 it would now be worth approx €12m! Bottom line is that if you decide to invest your funds under the mattress you will lose every time! If you want to retain and indeed potentially grow your funds above inflation you may need to consider this. If you are a long-time listener you will know our views on that whole topic very well by now however! Let's look at how you would be set if you retired right now with €1m, as a couple at 60 years of age...... Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Welcome to Ireland's only dedicated Financial Planning & Personal Finance Blog & Podcast. Last year we won the award of 'Ireland's Best Finance Blog'......we have re-entered that same competition again this year, and will hear how we get on over the coming couple of months.....this might just be akin to the 'difficult second album'!! As we approach our 100th Podcast we have really tried to focus on the areas that our readers and listeners get in touch with us about and who come to us for help on an individual basis.....we are on a mission to help people to achieve what is important to them, and stay authentic and true to our values in the process. If you have any questions or have suggestions on how we can make this site the best possible resource it can be please do drop me a mail directly here. Speaking of Financial Planning there is one short story which, for me, sums up exactly what Financial Planning is all about, and the part it plays (or not!) in people's lives. I first read it about 3 years ago and have often thought about sharing it here, but perhaps felt it wasn't 'financy' enough. That view changed when I was working with a really motivated and hard-working person recently, who was really consumed and motivated by growing her business (which she loved in fairness!) and making sure she made the most of the financial situation she finds herself in. I shared this story with her, and it really resonated with her. I am not going to pretend that it changed her life dramatically over-night but she did say that it gave her a little perspective on what is real importance to her both now and into the future....I hope you enjoy it! Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Welcome back to Ireland's award winning Finance Blog & Podcast. Delighted you have joined us! Our mission is to help people avoid mistakes and help themselves to live successful financial lives. Our big aim is to ultimately change how financial advice is done here in Ireland, to put the focus back on what you want to achieve, not the products that only really serve as the tools to enable you to do it! This week we are exploring a much-covered topic. It has not been much-covered by us but if you google 'Director's Pensions Ireland' you will see 3.9million results, and every single one of them is trying to flog you one! However we are not talking about the pensions themselves here today, we are talking about the much more important aspect of all of this and focusing on the 'planning' aspect, the bit is (or at least should be) central and should come before the 'product' (pension!). We will compare the stories of 2 fictitious brothers, who have very different approaches to life, and who go about planning in 2 very different ways...............full blog here. Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

There was a large scale research study done by Gallup Consulting Group (a hugely credible global research company) this year which shows that the majority of people under 35 years of age do not own any form of shares/equities through investments, pensions or savings. This is in comparison to 2007 when the majority of people under 35 did own some for of equities. The research also demonstrated that the majority of people over 35 years of age held them in 2007 and that today the majority of people over 35 still hold them! It got me thinking! I remember vividly cycling my bike on my way from school when I was about 7 years of age and living in Skerries (yes I originally hale from 'enemy territory!). I was cycling along a quiet street and was passing a row of parked cars on my left. I was probably imagining I was Sean Kelly in the Tour De France and so getting a buzz from cycling past the cars a little too close, and mistakenly clipped one of the rear view mirrors of what I think was a Renault 11! Now i barely clipped it on my little peddler, i didn't even move it or damage it in any way. However that didn't stop what I can only assume was the owner of the car, who happened to be standing on the path beside the car, from letting an almighty roar at me, followed by some sort of fist-waving expression and a brief chase. It all seemed a huge over-reaction and a deliberate attempt to scare a young boy on his bike! Needless to say the harmless young Paddy was terrified and with increased motivation cycled home at a truly speedy pace! Not sure why this was so ingrained in my memory however I do know that for the remainder of that school year I avoided that street altogether for fear of encountering the 'Reno Man' again! I ended up cycling a very long way to and from school and cost myself lot of unnecessary time and concern. That was the first time I experienced being bitten, and then being twice shy about repeating the experience. However I happened to pass the 'scene of the crime' as a teenager and it reminded of that day, but to say the least there was zero fear about encountering the 'Reno Man' again, if anything I was keen to see him so I could tell him what I should have told him that day! On reflection it was OK to feel the fear but it was foolish to act upon it and to then pay the price and the inconvenience for the rest of the year! You might wonder what this has to do with investing in equities (quite rightly!). My take is that when it comes to pensions, investments, savings and all that boring stuff the truth is that many of us got quiet a fright 10 years ago (seems much more recent than that!) when the Global Financial Crisis hit. Anyone that owned equities/investments/pensions during that period felt the fear, the concern and either made a decision to act upon that fear or to do nothing! A typical portfolio fund in an investment, personal or Director's Pension with 80% Equities and 20% Bonds fell by 35% from January 2008 to December 2008. A portfolio with 100% equities fell by 40% in the same period. Forgetting about the fact (yes the FACT!) that they both rebounded by 55 and 70% respectively in the following 12 months, this was a genuinely scary time for investors. Many people made the mistake of getting out of Equities during these temporary declines. They panicked. Some may have been forced to, as in they needed to get their hands on the money for some genuine emergency, but the vast majority who sold their equities during the temporary decline did so out of fear and panic. In order to relive it let's picture a scenario. In 2006 everything is rosy. The Irish economy is booming, the good times are here. Bertie and his merry men are saying that this will last forever, that we're a mighty little country and that we should keep spending and lapping it up! Investments have delivered double-digit growth for past few years (since the tech bubble) and there is no reason to doubt that it will continue. You see your investment or pension pot grow in value from €200,000 to €250,00 over the course of 2005-2006. You are happy, you buy a few more houses, you buy a new car, install a new en-suite, a hot tub Jacuzzi out the back garden. The new decking is looking fabulous and your neighbours are all envious! All is well in the world!! And then WHACK! The global economy collapses, we lose jobs, Joe Duffy is telling us the world is coming to an end, Lehmans Brothers and a few 'big hitters' (non prudent ones obviously!) go bust. Your property empire starts to crumble. Your decking goes mouldy and your hot-tub doesn't get used anymore because you're too busy worrying about things! Your investment/pension pot falls in value by 40%, from €250,000 to €150,000, and continues to fall. You fear for your life savings. What is going On? What Sort Of A Fund Is This? Will I lose It All? These are questions you ask yourself or indeed ask your broker or advisor. They probably don't have an answer that assures you in any meaningful way. What happens next defines whether this investor achieves financial success or not. Full Blog at www.informeddecisions.ie Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Growth and Value Investing are both around a long time as an 'investment strategy', and there are compelling rationale for investing in either, there are many fans of both, yet there is also quite a lot of regular investors that have no real familiarity with either. We aim to fix that even if ever-so-slightly in this episode. We will endeavor to explain a few key things about this 'earth-moving' topic......! 1) What is Value Investing? 2) What is Growth Investing? 3) Who does either or both? 4) Which has given greatest level of return? (that's all anyone really cares about right!?) 5) Which one should I do?? Before we get into the nitty-gritty however I wish to let you know that I am thrilled that you are reading this, you obviously have an interest in your own finances and in making some good decisions when it comes to your money, which I admire greatly. I would personally be very thankful if you would tell a friend about what we are trying to do here at Informed Decisions, who knows, it might help them help themselves! Thanks. Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach

Nobody likes to be suffering from something that they aren't aware of, particularly if it is a nasty and invasive something that has a long term impact on their well-being, & that could do so in a pretty significant way.......so this week we are going to explore and try to diagnose if anyone here is suffering from a nasty dose of Bid-Offer Spread on their investment or pension planning. Welcome back to Ireland's dedicated Financial Planning & Money Podcast/Blog. We are on a mission to help you to achieve the things that are important to you, to achieve the life that you want to achieve, and to avoid costly costly mistakes! We are not doing any advertising, we are shipping our 'art', loving it, and hoping that it has the impact we intend it does (feedback so far suggests it is!). If you value what we are doing and feel it of worth to others then please do tell a friend, thanks! Check Out Full Blog Here... Paddy Delaney QFA | RPA | APA | Qualified Coach Drop us an email here....