I recently put €15,000 into smart funds. The reason that I came to this was that I couldnt find a rate that would beat inflation and basically putting in a fraction of my savings could prove to be a good investment while not putting at risk the whole sum that I saved.
I put 5,000 in evergreen, 5,000 into the property fund and 5,000 into a fund entitled Trilogy II. In terms of the administration fee, Trilogy is 1.75% while the other two are 1.5%. When you cash in the money invested, it is taxed at the standard rate of tax plus 3%, so you pay 23% tax on any money made, along with the admin fee. From what I understand, you receive a statement every six months letting you know how things are faring. It is possible to move things around and if you do this it attracts a charge of €32. As I have the minimum in each of the funds, I wouldnt be able to do this. The idea is that the fee is to stop you moving the money around every other day. Encashment seems fairly straight forward and can be done at any time.
Evergreen seems to be performing well but there are no guarantees. When you go down this road, you have to be prepared to take a loss or so. I also have to say that if you dont get a return of at least 5.5%, the whole experience isn't really going to be worth it either!
If you go to the website you will be able to see how the funds are faring. Note that some of them are in negatives, these are generally those that have invested in more 'risky' markets and the yields are either very high or can take a big hit. Evergreen has been fairly stable and done quite well. However it is not guaranteed.
If you are looking for an investment that is capital guaranteed. Anglo Irish bank had one that involved you placing €20,000 into a property fund based on the English market. When I looked at it, there was a closing date on the opportunity, so it may no longer be viable.Anyway, the sum is locked away for 3 years and 11 months and you receive 80% of the growth on the investment. The main advantage of it is that even if the fund made a loss, you would not lose any of your initial €20,000. Your money will be waiting for you at the end of it. I didn't choose this avenue as I would want the option of encashment if I hit an emergency or something arose over the next four years.