The majority of funds are unit-linked and structured like a life assurance policy. This means in the event of the policyholder´s death a death benefit equal to 101% of the value of the policy is paid at the date of the final claim. It is however not designed to be a life assurance policy and if you require life assurance you should take out a separate policy.
Impartial advice for your financial future
Global Markets & Share Trading
There are now more ways than ever to participate in the stock markets and it is becoming more affordable. Some investors like to manage their own funds and one way of doing this is to invest in shares.
We recognise that shares play an important part in many investment portfolios. We deal with a number of preferred operators who can provide share dealing and stock broking services to our clients. Contact us on 1890 299 299 or invest@onefinance.ie for further information.
Benefits of Shares
- Dividends are paid to the shareholder directly providing an extra source of income
- You are effectively an owner of the company and can attend and vote at AGMs
- Shares can easily be bought and sold at short notice
- They can provide handsome profits
It is important to know and understand the risks involved. Share values do fall as well as rise.
Did you know?
- You can use your pension fund to invest in shares. If you do, dividends and growth on the shares is tax free allowing your pension fund to grow at a faster rate.
- You can invest in commodities such as oil, gold or agricultural products using a product called an Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). These are traded like shares on stock exchanges.
- By investing in shares directly, you will have to do an annual tax return to the Revenue Commissioners declaring Capital Gains Tax and any income earned.
Investment Calculator
The potential growth in your investment amount is based on a return of 4.0% (medium) and 6.0% (higher) yearly after charges and taxes. Figures are estimates and are not a reliable guide to the future performance of your investment. Figures are shown for illustrative purposes only. Actual investment growth will depend on the performance of the underlying investments and may be more or less than shown. Figures may fall as well as rise.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is this a type of life assurance policy?
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Why do I have to send Money Laundering documents?
Under the Criminal Justice Act 1994 we are obliged to obtain and confirm the true name and correct permanent address for each customer. To verify these details, we require original proof of identity (photo identification), a financial statement and utility bill confirming your current permanent address.
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What are exit charges?
Exit charges are applied to some policies in the first five years. They are applied to dissuade the investor from withdrawing his funds from the policy during this time. We would recommend in the vast majority of cases that a client should be considering at least a five year investment term as most products are not designed for investment terms of shorter periods. Exit charges usually start at 5% of the fund value in the first year reducing to 1% in the fifth and no exit charges thereafter. These charges do however vary from company to company so you should contact us for more details.
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Can I split my investment into different funds?
Yes. The majority of life companies offer a range of funds in each of their lump sum products and once you are invested you can switch between the funds according to your investment choices. There may be a charge for switching although the majority of companies offer a number of free options per year. Switching is not considered to be exiting the product and no exit tax is applied for switching out of a fund, once you remain invested in the product. Funds come with different risk levels from secure eg (cash) to highly volatile (eg concentrated equity funds) and the choices that are made depend on the investor’s appetite for risk. Some products do not offer an option to invest in different funds and these are generally funds which offer a capital guarantee. Speak to your One Finance advisor today for further information.
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What is Deemed Disposal?
The Finance Act 2006 changed the taxation of life assurance policies by introducing a deemed disposal event at the end of eight years. This is effective retrospectively and will apply to all life assurance policies set up since 1st January 2001.
In circumstances where the policy has not been surrendered, a deemed disposal event occurs on the 8th anniversary, and each subsequent 8th anniversary, of the inception of the policy whereby exit tax is payable on the excess of the surrender value over the sum invested. This exit tax will be deducted by the life companies in accordance with Revenue procedures and paid to Revenue as with the current exit tax deduction on surrender. Where there is an actual disposal subsequent to the deemed disposal, an adjustment is made so that the total tax paid does not exceed that which would have been payable had the deemed disposal not occurred. -
How do I invest in the stock market?
Investing in the stock market is pretty straightforward, it depends on how you want to do it. To gain access to the markets using funds you can invest with any fund manager or insurance company. You might however prefer to buy shares directly. For this you will need to deal with a stockbroker. More and more stockbrokers now offer online access to a share trading account or you can use the traditional method over the telephone.
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Stockbrokers cost a lot, how do I do it cheaply?
Like any service, you get what you pay for. Stockbrokers usually offer three levels of service. 'Execution only' is where you decide to buy and sell on your own and you simply instruct the broker to carry out the trade on your behalf. This is the least expensive options as no advice is given. 'Advisory' is where the broker will advise and consult with you before you decide to make an investment and this is a more expensive option. 'Discretionary' is where the broker can use his own discretion to invest on your behalf within certain parementers and is usually the most expensive option. Online trading is now very commonplace and can be done quite cheaply. When deciding on costs, you must weigh up the transactional cost against buying stocks which could potentially lose you money because you might not have all the up to date information to hand.
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Is there a minimum amount I can trade?
This depends on the stockbroker and the type of service you require from them. For online brokerages the minimum amounts tend to be less but each company has different values. It is possible to trade for €20 per transaction, but if you trade small amounts often, you can spend a lot on transaction charges.
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What are the 'bull' and 'bear' markets?
Generally speaking a bull market occurs when share prices are increasing and a bear market occurs when share prices are falling. Bull markets are associated with investor confidence and bear markets tend to be prevalent during times of economic uncertainty.
