It was interesting, and very worrying, to read about the report by international consultants McKinsey in the paper last week. They said that the Old Age Pension is unsustainable. They say that the Social Insurance Fund from which State pensions are paid has a current deficit of €2 billion a year, which will increase to […]
I was reading a post on the askaboutmoney website from a novice investor who dipped his toe into the stock market at the start of August. He was buying with a 15 year investment term in mind but after just 6 weeks, he sold out at a 10% loss. It seemed he was having too many […]
Retirement is a huge event in someone’s life. For 40 odd years, you have been going to work, meeting and working with the same people. Then it all comes to an end. For those who plan, they will start a great new chapter in their lives where they start doing all those things they always wanted […]
If you’ve opened a bank account or made an investment recently, you would have been asked to provide a copy of your passport or driving licence and a recent utility bill. The reason for this is anti-money laundering requirements; ensuring that you aren’t trying to launder illegally earned money or finance terrorism. As a financial […]
With the recent stock market decline, I was going to write about there being no need to panic, how your advisor should have talked to you about these types of scenarios. Then I read this article by Jim Parker from Dimensional Fund Advisors. Jim really nails it with this piece. Global markets are providing investors […]
A report issued last week for the Journal of Aging & Social Policy found that 66% of over 50’s didn’t know either how their pension pot would be paid at retirement or the amount of their benefits. This is a frightening statistic for a demographic that should be thinking about life after work. You have to […]
This is my 100th blog post. I didn’t know what to write about for such a significant post. But two things happened. I came across this photo which is called Leap of Faith and I looked at the calendar. Bluewater Financial Planning opened its door two years ago today (I’m writing this on Friday). So this […]
Last week, I wrote about diversification and the need to have it as part of any investment strategy. Once your investment strategy has been put in place, it has to be managed to ensure that it meets long term expectations and risk exposure. Rebalancing forms a key part of that strategy management. What is rebalancing? The […]
