I wrote this article for thejournal.ie, which is online today, in an attempt to offer an insight into financial advice charging and commissions. Hopefully it will help in the process of making financial products and financial advice more transparent. Article Link … [Read more...]
Protecting your bank deposits – A recent article from Investwise for thejournal.ie
May 20, 2013 By
I wrote this article for thejournal.ie over the weekend which I thought might be of interest: Read Article … [Read more...]
Rules to avoid Investment Biases
May 4, 2013 By
I have one of the last 3 exams for my Masters this afternoon, so this blog is part study, part random online advice! This module of the Masters is titled 'Behavioural Decision Making' and is based on the works of Daniel Kahneman (check out his current book, 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' available pretty much evrywhere). Kahneman and Tversky won the Nobel Prize in Ecomonics for their studies into Prospect Theory and why people seem to make the same mistakes in investments, and life, over and over again. Another book worth looking at is 'Nudge', (Thaler and Sunstein) Anyway, here are 14 very useful tips for avoiding common mistakes in investments, and life in general. Before you make any key decisions on your finances or investing, tick off this checklist. 1) Biases apply to me, you and everyone else. We all make the same mistakes but we convince ourselves we are making unemotional and well researched decisions. I'll do a separate blog on the actual biases themselves but Google … [Read more...]
Secret Society of REAL Financial Advisors
April 24, 2013 By
We had the pleasure of meeting Carl Richards on Monday at one of our Society of Financial Planners events. Carl has a great 11 point checklist for defining a real financial advisor. They fit very well with my philosphy when working with clients. They are also a great tool to help you ask the right questions when choosing an advisor to look after your precious finances... Declarations of a Real Financial Advisor #1 We are boring - take this to mean real financial advisors dont sell the latest sexy investment idea. They are with you for the long term and try to maintain consistency and stability. If you are looking to get rich quick, try someone else! #2 We are professionals - Real financial advisors always take time to continue their education and improve their professional standards #3 We are independent - self explanatory #4 We get compensated by our clients - No hidden commissions, override etc. Fully transparent compensation #5 We put our clients interests first - … [Read more...]
Bank of Ireland Shares- To Buy or not to Buy?
April 8, 2013 By
I get a lot of queries from clients and friends about whether to buy Bank of Ireland Shares. I saw some excellent analysis today which gives the full argument from both sides on whether to buy or not. A quick summary of one interesting point below. If anyone wants the full analysis document, email us. Bank of Ireland are trading in an economy with a very poor outlook for domestic economic growth, yet they are priced at 0.8 times FY13 NAV, with a loss expected for the full year and they still have to deal with all those tracker mortgages. Lloyd, a similar bank, trade at 0.9 times NAV and expect to make a profit of 2.8bn. Go figure!! Overall, my comments are... 1) I prefer investors to invest in a very broad spread of equities, and not just focus on one or two companies. 2) The only reason Irish investors are so curious about BOI is the familiarity bias. Do you think UK or European investors have such an interest? Probably not. 3) What do we know that isn't already factored into the … [Read more...]
