‘How to Invest’ is a series of articles guiding readers through the basics of investing in different assets. See also: The risks of leaving money on deposit, How to Invest in Shares, How to Invest in a Fund, How to Invest in Bonds, How to Invest in Commodities, How to invest in Property and How to invest in crypto, CFDs and private equity
From stocks to bonds, to property and private equity, and crypto and commodities, we have run the gamut of investing options over the past few weeks.
It’s a call to arms for those with some of the €172 billion or so in retail deposits earning negligible amounts.
“Investing prudently, carefully, and slowly over time, is the best gift you can give yourself,” says independent financial educator Kel Galavan. “Inflation will eat away at any of your savings.”
Galavan should know. She started investing 20 years ago, when about €20 of her €50 monthly contribution was eaten up in transaction charges.
“I wanted to understand investing, and this was the only way I could afford to do it,” she says.
It stood to her, however, when she ran into debt, and investing has helped her turn six figures of debt into seven figures of net wealth.
“If all our income was turned off tomorrow, we’re good for about 12 years,” she says.
So, if you want to shore up your financial future but have yet to take the leap, this week we will take one last look at how best to start investing.
Whether you have €100, €10,000 or €100,000 to invest, there are options available to you. So where should you put your money? And what is the best approach to diversifying?
Risk profile
Before starting, you need to consider your risk appetite. Are you willing to stomach significant volatility for potentially higher gains? Or would you prefer lower gains and fewer sleepless nights?
If you meet a financial adviser, they will undertake this for you, or you can find a risk assessment online.
Your time horizon will be important here – the longer you can invest for, the more likely you might be to take on more risk.
As Owen Redmond, head of financial planning with stockbroker Goodbody, says you also need to make sure you have three to six months of living expenses set aside in a deposit account for easy access, before you start putting any money into the markets.
Moreover, it’s worthwhile checking out, unless you are investing with a specific medium-term goal in mind, whether or not you have maximised tax relief on your pension first.
I have a lump sum
Once you know where you stand risk wise, it’s time to get investing – but don’t rush in.
“If you’ve a big lump sum, don’t be in a hurry to invest. Really think about it. It might be a big part of your nest egg, so you want to be sure it’s protected,” Galavan says.
If you’re low risk, then your money will likely be spread across money market funds, cash and bonds, says Redmond. The goal here might be just to ensure that your money keeps track with inflation.
Money market funds are a low-risk product that offer a deposit-based return, but are subject to exit tax at 38 per cent (Dirt on deposits is 33 per cent). So then, you will likely be targeting a return in excess of what’s available on cash deposits.
Such funds invest in short-term debt from governments, financial institutions and corporates, and are very liquid.
JP Morgan has a popular money market fund (JPM EUR Standard Money Market fund) that returned 3.91 per cent in 2024 and 2.4 per cent in 2025, that you can buy through a broker.
[ I’ve recently come into a lump sum and want to invest it. What should I do?Opens in new window ]
Or you can invest through a life company. Aviva has a cash fund that returned 2.37 per cent in 2025 and invests in a range of deposits, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and money market funds (see here for more on investing in a fund).
When it comes to bonds, you can either invest directly, through a broker, or through a bond fund.
Many Irish Government bonds currently pay a low coupon (interest rate) but are trading below par. This means that putting your money into these can deliver a tax-free gain, for a total yield of about 2.5 per cent – but you will pay income tax on the coupon.
While you will pay transaction costs associated with trading, if you hold to maturity you won’t have a transaction cost associated with selling, notes Redmond.
A fund is another option, and it could be invested in corporate bonds or sovereign bonds across different geographies.
“Typically, you’d use an accumulating type of bond fund, so you don’t have to make tax returns on it on a regular basis,” says Redmond.
An example of a bond ETF (exchange-traded fund) is the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF, which invests in more than 6,000 bonds from both developed and emerging non-US markets.
Or you can go the life route. Zurich Life, for example, offers an Indexed Eurozone Government Bond Fund from Blackrock as part of its funds range.
Those with more of a medium-term approach to risk would likely put 70 per cent of their money into global equities, such as the iShares Global Equity ETF, or iShares Core S&P 500 ETF; 20 per cent into bonds, and 10 per cent in money market funds.
And how much will you need?
Life companies will typically look for a lump sum of about €10,000, but you won’t need as much going into a fund or ETF. Bear in mind, however, that transaction costs may make a larger investment more economical.
There are several different approaches to building a portfolio. You can do it yourself, along the lines of what’s set out above, for a low cost approach, or you could pay an investment adviser to do it for you, at the other end of the fee spectrum.
Another option is to go somewhere in between, and put your money into a portfolio-type fund developed by an investment house/life company.
Goodbody has a range of funds, Vantage, that are a mix of equities and bonds, so you can achieve diversification by buying units in the fund.
[ How to invest in… a fundOpens in new window ]
“It gives you that diversified approach, and is risk assessed as to the equity content,” says Redmond. “It’s rebalanced on a regular basis, so if the equity portion rises above your tolerance level, the manager of the fund will bring it back within the risk profile.”
You will need a minimum investment of about €10,000 to invest in this fund, and once in, you can continue investing in it. You can also expect quarterly reports on how the fund is doing. Higher allocations typically receive lower annual management charges.
Another approach is to look at a multi-asset fund from a life company. Irish Life, for example, offers five multi-asset portfolio options (MAPS), which invest across shares, bonds, cash and alternatives, depending on your risk appetite.
I want to invest on a monthly basis
It’s obviously easier to diversify and create a portfolio if you have more funds to play with. But you shouldn’t let this put you off.
“Do not be disheartened by only having a small amount of euro,” says Galavan.
If you’re a regular saver and want to start redirecting these funds, you have a couple of options.
Firstly, you could wait until you have about €10,000 or so saved, at which point you could put about €7,000 into an equity fund and €3,000 into bonds – and continue this approach going forward – ie, a €250 monthly investment would see €175 into equities and €75 into bonds.
If you do down the life company route, with Irish Life, Aviva, New Ireland, Zurich Life, you will need just €100 a month to start, or €125 with Standard Life. But if you want to allocate to different asset classes, you will need more than this – for example, €200 into equities and €100 into bonds each month.
You could put your money into an ETF with Revolut, an online broker like deGiro, from as little as €1 – but remember to check out transaction costs before you do.
Alternatively, you could build up an equity fund, and then subsequently, start a bond fund.
As explained previously, taxation is looked after by the life company, but you will pay higher fees than an equivalent ETF (but you will have tax to account for/transaction charges).