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 – for example Irish Life MAPS available on Irish Life’s investment plans - professional investment managers do most of the hard work. It is their job to put your money to work with the aim of 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 is Ireland’s biggest retail multi-asset fund with almost €2 billion of investments and over 35,000 investors. You can choose how to start investing whether it’s with a relatively small amount of money, using a lump sum or with regular amounts - it’s up to you.
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 at irishlife.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 visiting www.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: These funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Information correct as of October 2016. Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.