thanks all, baby tooth can you explain to me what funds are and how they work, a high interest account - the only ones i have seen give a return of 6% which doesnt seem like much ... is an avc an extra pension contribution ?
lysa
sure, no prob.
avc stands for annual voluntary contribution. Say you are paying tax at the top rate of 42%, with and avc you can pay an amount each year into a designated retirement fund, up to a certain percent of your slaray, ie: some terms and conditions,
So, if you want to increase your retirement fund buy 1000, you would be required to lodge 1000 -42% into this fund, ie: 640 euro. You have automatically made 420 euro (well you get tax relief on this). This is a very very effective way of saving, but the money can't be touched until you retire.
You can buy differing types of investment funds, where your money is pooled together to buy differnt types of assets, This may be commerical property, tech companies, manufacturing companies and so on. It can also be a combintation of all of the above. Some have capital guarantees and other bells and whisltes.
You can place money into stocks directly, but you need to be prepared to sit with them for a long period, they make on average 10% per year. THere is not alot of places where the normal investor is going to obtain anything more than 10 to 15% on average.
Regualar savings accounts are also good at 6% apor per annum.
Personally, and this is only my opinion, all assets classes are over priced because money has been too cheap for too long. This includes both property and shares. Rates look to be rising in the short term, whihc will make this money more expensive and will in turn push down the price of shares in compainies as more people will put money into deposits than they did previously.
I beleive there is good value in agri companies, as we will always need food, health care companies and hospital/nurisng companies, as we are all living longer and so on. Oil is getting scarcer, so alternative energy providing companies will do well. Also inflation is rising so commodities like gold and silver will increase in value when this happens.
Take your time and do some research, an investment property might not be a great idea in ireland or most other countries at this moment. If there was value to be had, I'm afraid that somebody else most likel has beaten you to it on this one.