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Empathy and AI

Why AI will never replace your financial adviser. For those who worry about AI (and technology in general), sounding the death knell of our careers, it is worth considering the limitations of AI before concluding that we will all be replaced.…
Milestone Advisory - 2016 Budget New Year

6 Things to do differently in 2016

Is this for you? If you are one of those rare people who is doing everything right with their money, this article is not for you. For the rest of us, here are 6 simple things to do differently in 2016 that will help your financial health flourish. Budget To…

Education and Children – Preparing a better future for them

Educate your children and protect their future There seems to be a habit among parents in Ireland not to talk to their children about money. We teach our children about many things to help them in their lives, we teach them new skills and we…

Do you have an appropriate investment portfolio?

Investment Portfolios are for everyone Whether saving for retirement or investing in an ARF post retirement, one of the most important factors is having the appropriate investment portfolio. An “investment portfolio” sounds glamorous and…
Milestone Advisory - 2015 Budget New Year

2015 - Key Financial Changes to Watch For

The headline announcements provided final confirmation that the controversial Government Pension Levy is to cease after the calculation date of 30th June 2015. This levy will be charged at 0.75% in 2014 and 0.15% in 2015. There was also the…

How Important is Life Cover?

Life Cover is an important yet often overlooked feature of good financial planning… To decide if it is something you need, you simply have to ask; how would your family cope financially if you, as either the main or joint income earner, died? If…

Income Protection - Protecting against accident and illness

Work hard, play hard You work hard to pay for an unending list of financial commitments; mortgage, property tax, car, utilities and food and after that maybe you invest in your future and live a lifestyle that you have grown accustomed to……

Reasons to start a pension

Reasons to start a pension The dictionary defines a pension as “A fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services” or “an allowance, annuity, or subsidy.” Can…

What impact does China have on your pension?

We’ve all heard the noises over the last few weeks of the Chinese stock market falling sharply. But China is over 5,000 miles away from Ireland, so how can events in China impact on a pension fund member here? Investment return is how. Whether…

Income Protection - Jargon Buster

Life Expectancy Increases There is a lot of the confusing terminology around Protection products. The list below should help you make sense of some of it. I’ve written about the importance of Income Protection in previous issues. The World…

The Life Cycle of your Financial Needs in Ireland

Throughout your working life, your financial needs will change and evolve. A clear understanding of the life-cycle of your financial needs will help you prioritise your goals and objectives and ensure you are steering your finances in the right…

Lessons learned since the financial crisis

Late 2007 brought the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis, considered to be on par with the Great Depression. The crisis was triggered in the US as the housing bubble burst and the combination of subprime lending and the complex financial…

The Housing Crisis, the Rental Crisis and the Pensions Time Bomb!

What is the Pensions Time Bomb I hear you ask? Excluding public sector workers, who have close to full pension coverage, the private sector figure is only approximately 37% coverage.  This means that nearly two thirds of private sector workers…
Phishing - Cybersecurity

Phishing, Cybersecurity

When you hear the word 'Phishing', you might think it refers to the relaxing hobby or sport of catching a fish with a hook or worm.  You might be close if you consider that with Phishing, you are the fish and email is the hook or worm. Phishing…