Pensions & Investments

Pensions & Investments

Investments are about planning for your future and are a key part to your future financial security – whether it is saving for your children’s education, a property, or a nest egg for the future. With interest rates at historic lows the returns you are getting from your savings held in deposit accounts have reduced to an all-time low. At Blue Sky Financial we have professional financial advisors to help guide you into making the correct decision about where to invest.  There are alternatives to cash deposits and, generally people are rewarded for taking some risks with their investments such as equity and bonds that have the potential to earn you higher returns than cash. We offer a wide range of investment products suitable to your needs and requirements and a crucial part of our financial meeting with you is an in-depth discussion on your attitude to risk and return. Before advising on any investment we thoroughly review your financial circumstances and your needs.

We have access to a wide range of different types of investments and financial institutions such as Permanent Trustee Savings Bank (PTSB), TSB, Investec Bank, Standard Life, Irish Life, Zurich Life, New Ireland, Friends First and Wealth Options.

Before choosing any investment product, it is important to consider:

Risk and Return

Once you have completed our Risk-Profile Questionnaire it will be evident what risk and return you are comfortable with. Our job as your financial broker is to advise you on what type of investment suits your profile.

Other important areas are:

  • Recommended Term – For how long are you prepared to invest the money for ?
  • Access – Will you need access to your money? if so are there charges incurred?
  • Security – Is there a  capital guarantee on all or part of your investment ?
  • Tax – How much will you have to pay ?
  • Will there be access to the ongoing performance of your investment ?
  • What do you know about the financial security of the institution that you invest with ?
  • What happens to my investment if I die during the term ?

Understanding the Risk-Profiling Process

For example, a risk profiler asks a number of investment-related questions and based on the answers to these questions, they categorises you, the investor within a 1 –7 risk rating. The questions cover areas from a person’s age and investment timing, through to a person’s ability to tolerate financial loss and their attitude to investment risk. While the questions are intended to be easy to answer, the results they produce are scientifically based. Each response has a score that is added to calculate a final risk rating for the investor. The risk rating is ranked into the 1—7 list of risk-profile categories, which are based on the industry standard.

Seven Risk-Profile Categories:

  1. If you are a ‘very low-risk’ investor, you are not willing to accept any significant risks with your money, Accordingly, be prepared to accept the prospect of low returns to achieve this.
  2. If you are a ‘low-risk’ investor, you are likely to accept limited risks with your money and will want to try to avoid large fluctuations in the value of your investment – so, be prepared to accept the prospect of more modest returns to achieve this.
  3. If you are ‘low to medium-risk’ investors, you are likely to accept some risk in return for the potential of higher investment gains over the long term. you want to try to avoid large fluctuations in the value of their investment, but will accept that there will be some fluctuation, particularly over the short term.
  4. If you are a ‘medium-risk’ investors, you are likely to accept significant risk in return for the potential of good investment gains over the long term. You accept that there will be significant fluctuations in the value of your investment, particularly over the short term. However, you will want to limit the amount of their money held in more risky investments.
  5. If you are a ‘medium to high-risk’ investor, you are likely to understand that the value of your investment can go down and up sharply with the potential for greater returns over the long term.
  6. If you are a ‘high risk’ investors, are likely to aim for high possible returns and accept higher levels of risk, recognising that the value of your investment may fluctuate very sharply, particularly over the short-term.
  7. If you are a ‘very high-risk’ investors, you are likely to aim for the highest possible returns and accept the highest levels of risk, recognising that the value of your investment  may fluctuate very widely, particularly over the short term.

Investment Products

There are lots of different investment products in the market across a range of financial institutions. At Blue Sky Financial we will discuss these with you in detail and take all of the above into consideration before you make your informed decision.

Cash

Money on deposit.

Tracker Bonds

Those bonds track a particular market for a set period of time. Normally, they offers a capital guarantee with no access. Terms range from three years to seven years.

Managed Funds/Multi-Asset Funds

Some funds may be invested in a mix of assets for example equities, bonds and property. These funds allow you to invest in a range of assets, countries and market sectors spreading your investment across many different companies and countries. Funds that are invested in a wide range of asset classes carry less risk as they are well diversified.


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Funds transfers and payments are made directly to the relevant institution you invest in.

Warning: The Value of your investment may go up as well as down. You may get back less than you put in.

Warning: If you cash in your investment before the maturity date, you may lose some or all of the money you put in.

Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.

Warning: These figures are estimates only. They are not a reliable guide to the future performance of this investment.


The next step is to contact your local Blue Sky Financial Office to arrange a FREE financial review.