 While a “high” return may be stretching it compared to more volatile high-risk assets, the return available for low-risk Irish Government bonds has certainly increased substantially in recent years. This is especially true for the net of tax return, compared to alternatives.
 The Department of Finance published its Roadmap for the taxation of retail investment on 31 August, and for the first time we now have some real details on how the new investment account will work.
 The 2025 income tax deadline is fast approaching. If you have not maximised your contributions in respect of 2025 and have cash available, then it is worth considering a backdated contribution to avail of the generous tax relief available.
 When SpaceX rang the opening bell on June 12, 2026, it did so as the largest public offering in history. Elon Musk's rocket company, at its peak, was valued at $2.97 trillion, with a share price of $225.64 on June 16, 2026. At present, the share price has dropped roughly 50% from their post-IPO peak. This series of events begs the question, should you invest in an IPO and if so, when?
 The Iran conflict has pushed future rate expectations higher, quietly reducing break fees for many fixed-rate borrowers. Irish lenders haven't yet repriced their products upward.
What Has Changed? Since the start of the current conflict in the Middle East, Eurozone inflation jumped from 1.9% in February to 2.8% in June. This has been driven almost entirely by rising energy costs. Ireland recorded 3.4% annual inflation in June. In response, bond and money markets have moved sharply. The European Central Bank (ECB) increased the deposit rate from 2% to 2.25% in it’s June meeting and markets are pricing in a 70% chance of another hike in September.  Why the default option in your pension scheme may not suit your retirement plans
If you are a member of a Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme through your current or former employer, there is a good chance you are in a default investment option. A lot of schemes apply a default investment strategy known as “lifestyling”, which gradually moves your pension out of equities and into lower-risk assets such as bonds and cash in the years leading up to your selected retirement date.  The situation in Iran is a human tragedy, and it is unsettling to see the constant flow of negative headlines involving war, energy disruption, inflation and the humanitarian fallout. This note is to add some investment market context for Distinct clients.
 Over the weekend, the Minister for Finance Simon Harris announced that a new Savings and Investment Account (SIA) is currently being developed by the Irish Government.
 Budget 2026 and the subsequent Finance Act 2025 introduced a number of targeted measures, but stopped short of meaningful reform of the personal tax or investment landscape.
 The Finance Bill 2024 was enacted on November 12th 2024. It implemented several changes announced in Minister Chamber’s Budget speech, along with some other measures announced afterwards.
 In a week where AIB announces profits in excess of €2 billion and reports indicate Irish deposits have more than €150 billion held in cash, much of it in low yielding instant access accounts, we release the second article in our series on what options there are for Irish savers to protect the real value of their savings.
 A recent ruling by the Tax Appeals Commission reinforces the importance of planning correctly when passing wealth to the next generation. As a result of the Tax Appeals Commissioners ruling , the 32 year old ‘child’ had to pay €65,835 in taxes to Revenue.
 In 2022, global Central Banks began to increase interest rates to combat high inflation after an extended period of low or even negative interest rates. Low Central Bank interest rates meant that depositors and bond investors could earn little to no return from capital protected, low-risk investments.
In the last 12-18 months, interest rates in Europe have increased substantially. The current European Central Bank deposit rate is 4.00%, which is the rate banks can use for overnight deposits in the Euro system. Unfortunately, this increase has not been passed on to customers of the main Irish deposit providers including AIB, Bank of Ireland, PTSB and State Savings (An Post). With inflation in Ireland standing at 4.6% in December 2023, this is a significant issue for people with savings in bank deposits.  At the start of each year, most of the main private banks and investment managers issue glossy reports with countless pages and graphs outlining their expectations for investment markets for the coming year. These expectations can vary widely depending on the analysts view of the world. Some of these predications can go spectacularly wrong.  If you have spent three years or more living and working in the UK then you may qualify for an entitlement to the UK State Pension. The UK State Pension may be received even if you are living in Ireland and can be paid in addition to the Irish State Pension if certain conditions are met.
Finance Act 2018 sets out the legislative changes required to implement the 2018 Budget . The graphic below outlines some of the key changes that are likely to impact clients of Distinct Wealth Management. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected].   Why should you engage a financial adviser, and what value can you expect them to add to your finances every year?  Following a legacy of over 193 years, Standard Life has been sold to Phoenix Life. We assess the impact this change may have for existing clients of Standard Life and give our view on what they should do.  After a sustained period of relative calm in the markets in 2017, in recent weeks there has been an increase in volatility which has resulted in renewed anxiety for some investors. |