Should I have nearly all my money invested with quinn.

Nomansland

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Hi,
In late 2005 I invested 26K in the Celtic and Euro freeway funds with Quinn life (split 50/50). This is now worth 17K approx. I'm not too despondent about this as I had intended to leave it there for 10 years anyway so I am still hopefull that I will see a return on it.
recently I have cashed in on sompany shares that I own. This has amounted to 20K and it is just sitting in my account.
I am looking to put this to work for 5/6 years approx and I am again thinking of putting it into the Quinn life freeway funds (medium risk).

My questions are as follows. Is it a good idea to have nearly all my money in similar investment vehicles with the one company?
If I am to stick it in with Quinn would ye have any ideas as to what funds I should stick it in. I am interested in medium risk investments over a 5/6 year timeframe.

Thanks in advance.
 
Is it a good idea to have nearly all my money in similar investment vehicles with the one company?
Probably not. You should be aiming to build a diversified portfolio to cater for short, medium and long term needs and to mitigate risk.
 
Do not put all your money into Quinn, diversify into two other irish banks, too many stories floating around about Quinns overall liquidity structuring as a regulated insurer.
 
Irish Banks?
Very brave! I would prefer to put cash under the mattress, or buy gold or something.
 
Even though your current fund has probably (hopefully) bought a diversified set of investments, you have put your trust in that one fund manager and fund provider.

In this case you could diversify across fund managers,
by buying from an alternative investment vendor, with a different
fund manager.

HOWEVER, BE CAREFUL!
in this case, even though you own two seperate funds,
you may not be as diversified as you think
because both funds may have allocated significant amounts to
the same shares! (well maybe 5%, 10% max)

Even more risky if work for that share's company itself (or in the sector), eg a bank, airline, etc
and have purchaed shares in it (or sector) already!

My advice:-
you are already in for 17k,
keep the 20k in high-interest deposit and wait for the markets to improve,
who knows how far they will drop more and how long it will take,

while you are waiting make a plan and study up on shares, make a list.
- if you dont have enough time, easier to make a list of funds and study them.

When it looks like the worst is behind us, start investing in units of say
e2k or 3k every month on your target list - be it shares or funds.

this is "dollar cost averaging" your new investment,
- tries to smooth out the overall cost of investment over time
and remember you are already in for 17k to catch any big sudden jumps.

but regardless of your investment timeframes, I dont think theres any rush right now, and strongly advise against going all in with e20k anyway.

JR.
 
Timing the market is a mug's game.

yes, its near impossible to be perfect - its luck really,
but staggered buying is surely more effective, esp with the medium time frame OP requires?

but again, in this case, though, OP is already in the market
so wont miss any big bounces

I'm not saying sell up the whole fund now and try time,
but I do advise against buying a fund AT ALL with next 20k,
and putting in time to buy stocks directly and hence have more control.

we all usually put more time and effort into buying better/cheaper
car, TV, etc than we do buying investments.

JR.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.
I also have an online trading account with Davy. I only have the bare minimum in it. There are a substantial number of ETF's across different geographical and sectorial areas. So I was thinking I could get the necessary diversification by investing in these.
However as I am relatively clueless when it comes to the stock market I have a query or two.
If I buy shares in a US or UK company I understand the significant effect that excahnge rates can have on your investment. All the ETF's that are listed in my Davy Account are traded in either dollars or sterling. So take for example the ISHARES CHINA25 ETF which tracks the performance of the largest 25 companys in China. All these companies individual share prices which make up the over all ETF are quoted in Chineese Yuan. Yet the ETF is quoted in sterling only. How does this work and what is my overall exposure to the exchange rates.
Secondly I am thinking of getting a small bit of exposure to property in overall portfolio. Would investment in a construction related ETF be an appropiate way of doing this.
 
T All the ETF's that are listed in my Davy Account are traded in either dollars or sterling. So take for example the ISHARES CHINA25 ETF which tracks the performance of the largest 25 companys in China. All these companies individual share prices which make up the over all ETF are quoted in Chineese Yuan. Yet the ETF is quoted in sterling only. How does this work and what is my overall exposure to the exchange rates.
The returns for a EUR investor who purchases a USD or GBP denominated ETF that tracks CNY or other third currency -denominated equities is exposed to the market risk, i.e the increase or decrease of the CNY equities in the tracker, plus or minus the EUR/CNY currency risk, i.e. the movement of the EUR relative to the CNY. It doesn’t make any difference if the ETFs are denominated in GBP or USD, assuming you get the EUR/USD or EUR/GBP spot price from your broker).

Secondly I am thinking of getting a small bit of exposure to property in overall portfolio. Would investment in a construction related ETF be an appropiate way of doing this.
Yes, but as property / construction ETFs are made up of the shares of property companies, so you will get both property and market risk, i.e. property ETFs are not a pure property play. Property funds are; with a property fund you invest in bricks & mortar, which should provide a degree of diversification.
 
A number of Lehman Brothers retail investors lost almost everything on their funds as these funds were dependent on the solvency of Lehman Brothers. So it is probably not a good idea to have everything invested in one company, as if that company goes bust, it may take your investment with it.
 
Do not put all your money into Quinn, diversify into two other irish banks, too many stories floating around about Quinns overall liquidity structuring as a regulated insurer.

with statements like that i think you could end up in court.
 
is this correct? I would think not.
Then you are wrong.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=aPQXoCH.fIa0&refer=news
A brochure pitching $1.84 million of notes sold by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in August, a month before the firm filed for bankruptcy, promised ``100 percent principal protection.'' Buyers had ``uncapped appreciation potential'' pegged to gains in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, the brochure said. In the worst case, they would get back their $1,000-per-note investment in three years. Only the last in a list of 15 risk factors mentioned the biggest danger: ``An investment in the notes will be subject to the credit risk of Lehman Brothers.''
Lehman's Sept. 15 bankruptcy leaves holders of the notes waiting in line with other unsecured creditors for what's left of their money.
From Quinn Life :
Your investment plan is a unit-linked policy. Each amount you pay in, less our transaction charge, where applicable, is invested in the internal Quinn Life investment fund or funds chosen by you, and units in the fund(s) are allocated to your policy.
...
The assets of the Quinn-Life investment funds belong to us and we keep separate records of all investments made by the funds.
Now, it's unclear from the above whether Quinn Life funds are held in a nominee account. If they are, they are safe in the event of Quinn going bust. If they are not, then you have to stand in line like other creditors to get your money back.

Please note, I am not suggesting in any way that Quinn is in trouble. Just that it is not clear to me how investment (as opposed to pension) funds work. As can be seen from the case of Lehmans, some of the guarantees given are pretty much worthless.
 
I understood that Lehman's didn't operate a retail business, and only offered investments to other investment houses.
 
I understood that Lehman's didn't operate a retail business, and only offered investments to other investment houses.
Who packaged them up and sold them on, is my understanding.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5ee9c120-88a5-11dd-a179-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1
Angry Asian retail investors protested on Monday over losses tied up in complex structured products arranged by Lehman Brothers, the collapsed US investment bank.

About 800 investors, mostly retirees, gathered in a community hall in Hong Kong last night, following a protest by more than 500 people in the territory on Sunday.

They complained that local banks, which sold them the so-called minibonds, guaranteed by Lehman, had led them to believe that the products were as safe as bonds and time deposits.
 
yoganmahew..thanks for the post.

scary stuff this.

it would make you think very long and hard about all of these funds and nominee accounts.

Personally i hold all my investments in crest. I dont like the concept of nominee accounts.
The Mcmorrough case in Cork rings in my ears.
 
When your crystal ball tells you when the market is about to turn, will you post it here?
Why not just wait until it has turned? - you don't have to predict the exact instant. The ISEQ has been falling for about a year. Prior to that it was rising for about five years.
Why is timing this a 'mugs game'? I would suggest blindly buying shares at any time is more of a mugs game.
 
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