What happened your investments in the second quarter of 2018?

After a bumpy first quarter, the markets staged a good recovery from April to June. If you stayed invested, or kept on investing, you’ll have benefitted from a strong uptick over the last three months. There are two big themes to the performance of investments in the second quarter of 2018. Economic activity remains strong … Continued

What’s an ARF?

An Approved Retirement Fund, or ARF, is a pot for your pension money after you retire. When you retire, the pension fund(s) you have paid into (perhaps an executive pension, a personal pension, or a PRSA), are available to you.  You can then take decisions on what to do with this money. One of your … Continued

Why watching the market is a waste of time

At Moneycube we want to help people take control of their savings.  But that doesn’t mean you should pay much attention to the ups and downs of the stock market, or bother checking your investments every day. Here’s why – and what you should do instead. Investing is a long term game Most news is … Continued

Do women make better investors?

Research by UK investment experts Hargreaves Lansdown earlier this year found that investments by their female customers had outperformed those by men by 0.81% over a three-year period. If that trend continued over thirty years, Hargreaves calculated, the women’s savings pot would be 25% larger than the men’s! Hargreaves found several reasons for women investors’ … Continued

Why Irish investors need to think globally

At around €27 billion, Ireland’s largest listed company, CRH, represents around 0.03% of the market value of global listed businesses. Clearly, if you limit yourself to investing in Irish market, you are accessing only a tiny proportion of what’s out there. Only a few industries What’s more, if your money is focused on Irish businesses, … Continued

Should you invest in funds or shares?

When it comes to investing your money in companies, there are two main approaches. You can buy company shares directly, or put your money into a fund which does the work for you. Read on to discover what’s right for you. Investing in shares, typically through a stockbroker, lets you plump for companies you think … Continued

What’s an AMRF?

An Approved Minimum Retirement Fund, or AMRF, is a pot for your pension money after you retire. Update Jan 2022: ARMFs were effectively abolished by the government from 1 January 2022. In practice, it’s very similar to an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF). If you were less than 75 years old, and don’t have a guaranteed pension … Continued

The difference starting today can make to your investments

We all feel that we should have done more to build up our savings and retirement plans. But what’s important is making a start today, not worrying about missed opportunities in the past. The reason for this is compounding – that is, when the growth in your investment is reinvested, and generates additional growth. The … Continued

How to choose ‘buy and forget’ funds for the long term

One of the best ways to invest your money is to choose solid investments and then leave them alone, to let time do its work. Here’s Moneycube’s 5-point plan for Irish investors who want to ‘buy and forget’. 1. Keep it simple: use investment funds For most people, investing is not about researching hundreds of … Continued