Over 45,000 people are making the most of their money by investing with Irish Life MAPS

Irish Life MAPS, a range of five multi-asset portfolio funds were launched four years ago and in that time, more than 45,000 investors in Ireland have chosen Irish Life MAPS and invested over €2.6 billion

Half of deposit account holders not happy with returns, study finds

Let the professionals do the hard work to generate a higher return on your investmentlearn more here.

Having money on deposit can be a good route to achieving a short-term financial goal, like saving for a holiday. However, for longer-term financial goals you may want to consider other options, such as investing. With an investment fund, the amount you invest has the potential to grow at a faster rate than inflation - so, your money is working a lot harder than when it is sitting on deposit. Your investment has the opportunity to achieve significant growth and generate a higher return for you over time.

There are many different investment options, it would be impossible to examine the detail of each and every one, but the good news is you don’t have to. This is because with funds, like multi-asset funds such as Irish Life MAPS, which are available on Irish Life’s investment plans, their award winning investment managers do all of the work for you. It is their job to put your money to work by investing it in the right mix of assets, such as shares, bonds, cash, property and alternatives. By spreading your money among a variety of assets can mean smoother returns over the long term as you’re not relying on one particular country, one particular industry, or one particular company.

Today, multi-asset funds are some of the biggest and most popular forms of investment. Irish Life MAPS, a range of five multi-asset portfolio funds were launched four years ago and in that time, more than 45,000 investors in Ireland have chosen Irish Life MAPS and invested over €2.6 billion.

You can choose how to start investing whether it’s with a relatively small amount of money, using regular payments or with a lump sum – it’s up to you. It’s easy to see why so many people have chosen them.

Teresa Carolan, Investment Funds Manager at Irish Life said: “With interest rates hitting lows of 0.1% over the last 12 months, people are considering investments again. In that time the number of individual investors in Irish Life MAPS has grown by over 40% and the value of investments in the funds has increased by over €1 billion - that’s equal to over €20 million a week on average."

"Three-quarters of investors are in our medium risk funds, Irish Life MAP3 and Irish Life MAP4. Since they were launched, these two funds are up 20% and 30%, respectively. While past performance isn’t a guide to future performance, these returns are very strong."

Irish people’s experience with investing

According to recent Irish Life research, only half of Irish people with money on deposit have ever invested, despite the fact that among those who have invested the experience is likely to be positive. The research found:

- Just under half of us have invested money

- Of those who have invested, two out of three have said their previous investment has made money, i.e. their investment rose in value

- Among those who have invested, ‘wanting my money to grow’ is cited as the main motivation for investing (78 per cent)

The research also found that among deposit account holders, 46 per cent of us feel that our money is not working as hard as it could be - and over half of us are not happy with our returns. Just under half of us (47 per cent) have a deposit account, with an average amount of €32,000. In addition, a lucky one-in-four (24 per cent) of us claim to have a ‘hidden’ nest egg that no one else knows about.

So why not consider investing?

Despite the amount of money on deposit, less than half of Irish adults claim to have invested money previously.

There are several reasons people may be slow to consider investing. The research showed that of those who haven’t invested, fear of losing money is the biggest deterrent (67 per cent), which is understandable. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of us are unsure about what type of investment would best suit us. However, there are many online tools that can provide better insights into how the world of investing works.

Irish Life’s three steps to “get comfortable” with investing makes it easy, with no obligation to invest. Firstly you can take the investor profile test atirishlife.ie and see what kind of investor you are. Then, based on your result, you’ll be provided with information about the Irish Life MAPS fund that may best suit your needs. Finally, you’ll then be able to view the expected range of returns you could expect from your Irish Life MAPS fund.

Start your investment journey today by visitingwww.irishlife.ie or talk to your financial broker or adviser

Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Warning: If you invest in these funds you may lose some or all of the money you invest.

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

Warning: These funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.

Consumer Research correct October 2016.

All other information correct as of April 2017.

Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.