This month we had Frenk from the Limerick FI whatsapp group present about different options to invest in the stock market. He has kindly let me post the presentation here. You can also check out his interview from last year to give a bit about his background.
As always, this is not financial advice and is for information only. Please do your own research before investing. The value of your investments can go down as well as up.
Invest in mutual funds, index funds, investment trusts and stocks for FIRE.
In most occupational pension schemes, If you are an employee, both you and your employer pay contributions towards the scheme.
My advice is to pay the maximum amount of contributions, your employers is prepared to match(usually 5-6%)
If you save enough and you can contribute more funds to your pension, the best next thing to do, is to open a self administered PRSA and have more control on your investments, if you don’t want to stick with your employer’s occupational scheme. Alternatively, you just increase your contributions to your employer’s scheme.
In a self–administered PRSA you have a much wider choice of investments including stocks, bonds, ETFs, REITS, Investment trusts.(usually, lower fees than mutual funds).
The type of investments you should prioritize in your self–administered PRSA, in my opinion, are the following:
-Dividend stocks\ REITS ETFs:
Dividend stocks are those which pay a dividend to the shareholders.
The dividend yield is determined by taking the yearly dividend payment and dividing it by the stock price.
A company is a dividend aristocrat, if it increases the dividend it pays to shareholders for at least 25 straight years. They tend to be large, established companies that no longer enjoy supercharged growth. Many are largely recession- proof, enjoying steady profits and growing dividends in good times and bad.
Beware of value traps.
The first sign of a value trap can be when you see a company paying a much higher dividend yield than its peers.
As the stock price falls, the yield rises, making it appear attractive, but dividend gains are being offset by capital losses on the stock purchase which could signal there are issues.
A value trap can also occur when earnings or cash flow growth is falling, yet the dividend yield is rising or remains elevated.
Little cash is also an issue as dividends can’t be paid out without cash, or the company must quickly attempt to raise cash, potentially adding to an already troubling situation.
Best dividend stocks below:
US Dividend aristocrats:
https://moneyinvestexpert.com/dividend-aristocrats-list
UK Dividend aristocrats:
https://moneyinvestexpert.com/uk-dividend-aristocrats-list
The ten highest dividend yields in the FTSE 100:
Pros
-Dividend taxation is lower in your PRSA than outside your pension.
-Uk dividends are not subject to withholding tax so they can be reinvested tax free. -Dividends helps to lower volatility and dividend stocks are more resilient during downturns.
-No deemed disposal and 41% tax on dividends.
Cons
-US dividends are subject to withholding tax of 15% for Irish residents(if you fill in the form 8WBEN).
-Stock price may not rise as much, or at all for non dividend stocks, because cash flow is converted to dividends and paid out to shareholders.
-If the dividend is cut, the stock price may fall dramatically as shareholder may chase better investments.
-After a stock goes ex–dividend, the share price typically drops by the amount of the dividend paid to reflect the fact that new shareholders are not entitled to that payment.
-Changes in the company’s dividend policy and daily fluctuations in the stock price, affect the yield.
-ETF’s
An exchange–traded fund (ETF) tracks a particular index, sector, commodity, or other asset, but unlike mutual funds, ETFs can be purchased or sold on a stock exchange the same way that a regular stock can.
Best ETF’s for long term investors:
-The SPDRS&P 500 ETF Trust, also known as the SPY ETF, is one of the most popular funds that aims to track the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index, which comprises 500 large-cap U.S. stocks
-Invesco QQQ is an exchange–traded fund (ETF) that tracks the Nasdaq–100 IndexTM. The Index includes the 100 largest non–financial companies listed on the Nasdaq based on market cap
-Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (NYSE:VT).
The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is a well–diversified exchange–traded fund (ETF) that holds over 3,900 stocks
Leveraged ETFs use borrowed money and/or derivative securities to amplify investment returns or to bet against the index. These leveraged products are intended to be day–trading instruments and have an inherent downside bias over the long term.
Pros
-No deemed disposal and Dividend’s taxation of 41% within the PRSA,
-Best diversification.
-Buy and forget.
-Low fees.
-Exposure to more markets or segments.
-Some ETFS can be easily used for leverage or shorting.
-High Dividend Yield Index ETF’s taxation at 41% rather than 52% for dividend income
Cons
-Lack of Price Discovery.
-Low–volume ETFs tend to be less liquid.
-They could be liquidated and you have no control on that.(possible taxable event not planned)
-Most of the time, ETFs properly track their indexes but sometimes it’s not the case. -Deemed disposal and taxation on Dividends of 41% outside pensions but it can be minimized if you chose a High Dividend Yield Index ETF.
Type of investments you should prioritize outside your PRSA:
-Investment trusts
Investment companies exist solely to invest. They allow you to make a single investment which gives you a share in a much larger portfolio. They allow you to spread your risk and access investment opportunities that you wouldn’t be able to invest in on your own.
A very good explanation in the articles below:
https://www.firedave.com/blogpost/why-investment-trusts-beat-etfs-in-ireland-best-kept-secret
https://www.firepodcast.ie/investment-trusts-with-andrew-driver
You can find the full list on https://www.theaic.co.uk/your-guide-to-investment-companies
On the same site, in the screener you can filter by Discount Premium and see if the company is trading at more or less than the price of the underlying assets.
The UK most popular trusts are Scottish Mortgage, City of London, Greencoat UK Wind, The Renewables Infrastructure Group,Tritax Big Box REIT
Investment trusts entirely focused on real estate are called REITS (real estate investment trust) and below you can find the best options in the US and UK stock market.
https://www.financial-expert.co.uk/best-reits-real-estate-investment-trusts-uk/
https://www.benzinga.com/money/best-reits
Pros
-Investment trusts are closed–ended. This means that the portfolio manager of the trust has a fixed amount of capital to invest (although some trusts can use leverage).
-Because investors can’t suddenly demand their money back, portfolio managers don’t need to worry about holding cash for redemptions. This can minimise cash drag and potentially boost performance.
-Same diversification as ETF’s.
-Not subject to deemed disposal and taxation of 41%.
-Best performing investments by a mile with capital gearing.
The ii research suggests that on average, the average global investment trust has outperformed the average global fund by almost one percent (0.95%) a year over the last 10 years, and by a massive 2.62% per year over the last 20 years.
Cons
-Higher fees than ETF, being actively managed.
-Investment trusts are riskier than open–ended funds because they can borrow money to invest(Gearing). This amplifies returns in the bull markets, but exacerbates losses in downturns.
-One issue to be aware of with investment trusts is that because of their closed- ended structure, they can trade at premiums or discounts to their net asset value (NAV). Net Asset Value is the net value of an investment fund’s assets less its liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding.
-Non dividend stocks
Stock screeners are available for free which can be used to get an idea of the metrics of a particular stock and usually analysts valuations are easy to find as well.
One example below:
https://www.chartmill.com/stock/quote/TSLA/fundamental-analysis
The following list shows the best stock websites, apps and software solutions with reliable data for fast and accurate analysis and research in detail with their pros and
cons:
Seeking Alpha,Finviz, Stock Rover,Zacks Investment Research,Benzinga
Pro, TradingView,Hammerstone Markets, Motley Fool.
The most common strategies when buying individual stocks are the following:
-Dollar–cost averaging is a strategy in which investment positions are built by investing equal sums of money at regular intervals, regardless of the asset’s price or what is going on in the financial markets. Dollar–cost averaging may be for you if you want to:
Minimize the downside risk of a huge investment.
Take advantage of the market’s natural volatility by lowering the average price you pay for shares.
Avoid feelings of regret if the market takes a downturn after you invest.
-Buying the Dip means Investors who buy the dip are looking to purchase a stock only when it has fallen from its recent peak. They assume that the price decline is temporary or a short–term aberration, and that the dip is an opportunity to buy shares at a bargain price.
-Lump–sum approach
Suppose you received a windfall. Someone gave you a gift or you inherited a lot of money.Investing all of your money at the same time is advantageous because:
You’ll gain exposure to the markets as soon as possible.
Historical market trends indicate the returns of stocks and bonds exceed returns of cash investments and bonds.
When markets are going up, putting your money to work right away takes full advantage of market growth.
Buy high–quality stocks, ideally regularly across every market condition, and hold those investments for many years. The evidence is overwhelming that investors who try to trade their way to higher returns with short–term moves or buy and sell based on projections of short–term peaks and bottoms generally earn below- average returns.
If you don’t have the time or the interest or risk appetite in picking individual stocks there is an alternative available in some trading apps which is to create pies or saving plans or invest in topics you like.
You can create an investing plan or pie that matches your goal and budget. When you deposit your funds they are automatically invested according to your plan.
The apps, allowing you to do that are in Ireland are,so far, the following:
https://getbux.com/savings-plan
https://helpcentre.trading212.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009313957-Pies-AutoInvest-Introduction
https://traderepublic.com/en-ie/products/savings-plans
https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/providers/passiv.php
Pros
-Not subject to deemed disposal and taxation of 41%.
-Allow you to buy stocks at fair value or under if you do your due diligence. -Allow you to pick just the winners.
-Allow to allocate part of your portfolio to more speculative investments.
-Potential of higher returns.
-Potential to pay lower\no taxes if you change tax residency at retirement. -Allow stock’s rotation to sectors which are undervalued.
-The investments can grow tax free until retirement if you never sell. -Can be sold before retirement, if needed.
Cons
-More research and time needed to invest. -May underperform the index.
-Limited diversification
Mutual Funds:
Pros
-You can buy a mutual fund easily through any Irish Bank.
-Actively managed by a professional portfolio manager and totally hands off. -Dividends are reinvested.
-Reduced portfolio risk is achieved through the use of diversification as most mutual funds will invest in anywhere from 50 to 200 different securities, depending on the focus.
-Target–Date Funds (It operates under an asset allocation formula that assumes you will retire in a certain year and adjusts its asset allocation model as it gets closer to that year)
Cons
-Have higher fees.
-Tax inefficient as dividend tax is paid every time the portfolio manager operates. -It is subject to deemed disposal.
Examples of the nominal rate of return of different investments in the last 10 years:
Investment trusts:
Individual Stocks:
Advanced Equity Investing
If you are a little more adventurous, you can invest in companies via different methods. These are not for your average investor who would be best off sticking to simple stock market instruments as detailed above.
EIIS, Will from the Limerick Group. talks about this on his site EIIS investments Ireland. Basically, you invest in up and coming companies. Medium risk high reward, especially for higher rate tax payers. Its like getting pension tax relief without having to lock up your money for decades.
Options- these are complex financial instruments. You can make money trading these. Derek from Engineer my Freedom trades these. Check out his latest post on it
The Spread bet. This is just dodging tax. No one really cares about owning companies, they just want to buy low and sell high. What if I told you, if you could just pocket the difference and pay no tax? Thats spread betting! Ben from Limerick FI wrote a guide about it here.
Join us
We have an active whatsapp group where you can discuss your FI ideas. Join Here.
We also haver the monthly meetup for Limerick, check out the meetup group.
“A good, low cost fee brokerage account in Ireland”
Diversify Allocating investments across multiple industries, markets and currencies could mitigate risk.
Discipline Make long term decisions and ignore the short term ups and downs in the market.
Smart Never make a financial decision if it is purely an emotional one.
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