Investing for Financial Independence & Early Retirement

“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.

Where do I start investing?

You trade assets like shares in a stock exchange such as Ireland Stock Exchange (Dublin).
Not everyone can directly trade on these exchanges – so you need a license.
That is where licensed intermediaries called stockbrokers come in.

DEGIRO is a broker and place orders in the exchange on your behalf.
Here is some General Information about DEGIRO

Choosing a Broker: Things to look for.

- Safety Is your online account secure?
- Fees Brokers have different kinds of fees and you want to pay the lowest possible
- Ease of use The interface should be accessible from mobile and web.
- Support A large knowledgebase of help articles, blogs, and a vibrant user community means availability of high quality information.
- Speed Your queries will also be answered quickly.

DEGIRO: an award-winning online broker.

DEGIRO launched in the Netherlands in 2013 as an online broker and has won 66 international awards according to DEGIRO’s website. Click here to read.

At present, DEGIRO boasts a user base of 1 million, spread across 18 countries and see for yourself why DEGIRO is rated among the best online brokers in Europe by clicking here.

In my opinion your account is safe – every account has Two-Factor Authentication.

There has not been a single security breach to date and you can rest assured that you are on a secure platform according to DEGIRO. Read more by clicking here

Consistently demonstrating the lowest brokerage fees among brokers, DEGIRO was awarded best low cost broker in 2019 by Investors Chronicle & Financial Times

I find the interface simple and easy to use –

Full of useful reports
Analytical tools
Historical charts

If you are not using the web portal the award winning mobile app according to DEGIRO is equally impressive giving you access to over 50 exchanges in the palm of your hands. Read more by clicking here.

DEGIRO offers a huge library of guides to help you learn the theory behind investing as well as how to use the app.

DEGIRO has made a name for itself among its users for its ease of use, reliability and affordability.

DEGIRO operates flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, trading under the name DEGIRO, is the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank AG. As a German regulated bank, flatexDEGIRO Bank AG is primarily supervised by the German financial regulator, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). The Bafin is the German equivalent of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). In addition, flatexDEGIRO Bank AG falls under the indirect supervision of the European Central Bank (ECB). In the Netherlands, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) is tasked with integrity supervision of DEGIRO and DEGIRO is subject to conduct supervision by the AFM. DEGIRO’s registration in DNB’s public register can be viewed here

That’s all well and good. But, you might be wondering..

Isn’t DEGIRO a company at the end of the day?

Online brokers are the norm and in my opinion DEGIRO is one of the most trustworthy and longstanding online brokers and having over a Million users this is testament to its reliability.

But, what if DEGIRO goes bankrupt?

Worst case scenario, your investments will be safe in my option as flatex DEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch uses a separate custodian entity to store your assets Money market funds | Secured money management | DEGIRO

What will happen to your investments then?

In addition to this, DEGIRO is a licensed investment firm authorised by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for the provision of investment services.

So, individual clients are protected as DEGIRO clients’ assets are segregated in separate entities and thus protected against insolvency of DEGIRO. In the unlikely event that the segregated assets cannot be returned to clients, DEGIRO falls under the German Investor Compensation Scheme, which compensates any losses from non-returned assets up to 90% (with a maximum of EUR 20,000). Furthermore, any money deposited on a DEGIRO Cash Account with flatexDEGIRO Bank AG will be guaranteed up to an amount of EUR 100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme. Information about the German Investor Protection Scheme and the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme can be found in English on the BaFin website

FAQ

DEGIRO have a full Q&A section here.

Most DEGIRO online reviews are good. Here’s a quick summary of the pros and cons:

Pros	Cons
Very low fees.	Manual Bank Transfer is a bit slow.
Great interface. Easy to use.	You cannot change account type later.
Plenty of in-depth guides and help videos.
Mobile and web application.
Invest in global exchanges.

Opening your account with DEGIRO

The whole process is online and takes only a couple of minutes. To create an account, head to the DEGRIO website by clicking here and select Open An Account. Everyone is required to provide; ID as proof of residence, a bank account in your name, and you have to deposit €0.01 to activate your account and get access to the Trading Platform

Please refer to this FAQ for more details about opening requirements.

DEGIRO Profiles

Also, please note that during registration, DEGIRO asks you to choose an account profile, the options are:

Basic
Custody
Active
Trader
Day Trader

This choice should be made carefully as the investment risks associated with each are different. In addition, you cannot change the account type later on.

Please read this page to understand these profiles in detail.

Buying your first asset.

DEGIRO offer a wide range of financial products such as ETFs, Shares, Bonds and Investment Funds for buying and selling through an easy-to-use web and mobile interface click here for a full list.

Video on different financial products.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Simply put these are a diversified basket of securities – stocks, bonds, etc. They combine the ease of stock trading with diversification of Investment funds. EFTs track the underlying assets passively.

FREE ETFs DEGIRO offers a selection of 200 commission-free ETFs (conditions applicable – click here).

Stocks

Stocks are one of the most popular investments. By buying a stock of a company, you become an owner of a small part of it.

Video on how to buy stocks.

You make capital gains if you buy at a lower price and sell at a higher price. You can also lose money if you buy a stock and at the time you decide to sell it if its value falls below your buying price (due to poor performance of the company, public perception, etc.).

Here, diversification and discipline exhorted earlier comes into picture. With proper risk mitigation strategies, you can get substantial returns.

Bonds

With bonds, you receive interest (called coupons) for loaning money to government or corporations. These carry relatively lower risk (but also lower reward).

Video on how to buy bonds

Investment Funds

An investment fund is a pool of capital that a number of individual investors contribute to. This sum is used to collectively invest in stocks and bonds. These are actively managed by a fund manager. With these, you should always check who is the fund manager, their track record and reputation when deciding on your investment.

Products & Markets | Trade on exchanges worldwide | DEGIRO

Deposits and Withdrawals

After logging in, from the dashboard, click Deposits and Withdrawals.
You can deposit money using Manual Fund Transfer. Note down the bank details and use them to transfer money.
Some locations also offer Instant Deposit via apps like Trustly.
Withdrawal is even more simple. Simply enter the amount and click Transfer. The funds will be sent to your nominated bank account.

Click here for the official help video and FAQ.

Conclusion

By now, you should have a better understanding of the role smart investments can play on your path to FIRE.

The key thing is to think ‘long-term’ and not put all your eggs in one basket. As long as you follow proper risk mitigation strategies, your rewards can be substantial

To activate your DEGIRO trading platform account Click here

Disclaimer -Investing involves risk of loss