Financial advice didn’t add up

■ During the boom years, the financial services industry and its so-called ‘experts’ could not keep up with the demand for personal financial advice as to what was the best course of action for their clients’ particular needs.

Clients were given expensive information on a whole range of financial products. Then came the crash and the destruction of the economy with stock markets plummeting, property prices crashing, pensions taking a huge hit, which in many cases were completely wiped out and any that did survive were raided by our own Government.

When asked what happened to their money, these experts held up their hands, shrugged their shoulders and pointed to the small print that said nothing was guaranteed. So, what was the criteria these experts based their advice on?

Well, it seems in many cases it was based on the historical cyclical movement of the stock markets. Put simply, they based it on what goes up must come down, so when markets did go into a dip, clients were advised not to cash in, but to wait for the upturn. Hardly a blinding flash of genius insight, but on this occasion the upturn did not happen and a double dip became a triple dip, and when asked what do we do now, the experts did not have a clue.

The experience these people had for giving financial advice appeared to be no more than clicking a screen and looking at graphs of historical movements of the markets and property prices.

With that record of ineptitude in any other sphere of the economy they would have been shown the door, but not here in Ireland. So when that expert next appears on your TV or radio with that impeccable shirt and tie and all-knowing expression on his/her face, you should remember: Once bitten...

A McGeough

Address with editor