Financial Planning
Our Financial Plans help people to make key decisions about their life without the worry of running out of money. By using our 6 Step Process, we will map out your financial future, taking into account all the income you receive in your lifetime and all the money you will spend. Mapping all of this out provides you with financial peace of mind.

Benefits Of Financial Planning
In today’s uncertain economy, financial planning has become increasingly more important. With an overwhelming number of options for saving and investing, managing your finances can seem daunting.

Creating a financial plan helps you see the big picture and set long and short-term life goals, a crucial step in mapping out your financial future. When you have a financial plan, it’s easier to make financial decisions and stay on track to meet your goals. Here at Liffey Financial we can secure your financial wellbeing and give you peace of mind, working with you to reach your goals.
Financial Planning Process

INITIAL MEETING
Is a chance for us to get to know one another, for you to find out if what I do could be of use to you and for me to find out more about you and your goals.

FACT FINDING
Before engaging in any financial advice it is crucial to gather as much information as possible relating to your current circumstances and future aspirations

RESEARCH
Based on the information provided from the Factfinding I construct an outline plan to suit your needs best.

SECOND MEETING
The outline plan is presented to you and together we tailor the plan to your specific requirements

IMPLEMENTATION
After agreeing on the final structure of your plan it is important to decide together the terms of completion of your plan

ANNUAL REVIEW
It is imperative to review your plan regularly as your circumstances change, meeting once a year is always recommended to keep your financial planning on track.

Personal Finance
You work hard to earn your money and do not want to see the real value of it eroded by inflation by leaving it just sitting in a bank account. While we won’t promise to make you a millionaire, we provide you with the correct investment advice and frameworks to help you grow and maintain the real value of your money

Income Protection
Most of us know that we need to protect ourselves and our families against the financial hardship that would be caused by and Illness or a death in the family. How would your standard of living be affected if you were in an accident or illness was to strike you and you were unable to work for a long period of time? Planning ahead to safeguard our lifestyle is a must.

You could face a large drop in your income if you are off work for a prolonged period due to sickness or disability.

Income Protection provides you with a regular income which is paid out if you cannot work due to medium or long-term illness or injury. Income Protection insurance is available to those in full time employment or the self employed.

You can insure up to 75% of your income. You can get tax relief on the premiums you have to pay reducing the real cost to you. At the outset you chose how long to be absent from work before the policy starts paying you. It can start paying after 4,8,13,25 or 52 weeks absence from work. The earlier it pays out the more expensive the premium is.

Life Cover
Nobody wants to think about the worst happening but death is a fact of life and it’s a good idea to have a plan in place to protect your loved ones financially in the event of your death.

If you die prematurely this could have serious implications for your family; it could mean a significant and sudden reduction in their financial wellbeing as:

Your earned income will stop
Loans may become payable
Inheritance Tax could arise for your dependants depending on what and how much they
inherit from you.
By taking out a life assurance policy you can ensure that in the case of your premature death your family will be on a firm financial footing.

Serious Illness Cover
If you were to be suddenly affected by a serious illness like cancer or a stroke, this would have a significant bearing on your ability to maintain your lifestyle and provide for your dependents. Think about it, you can’t work; bills still need to be paid and healthcare costs. If you got bad news from your doctor the last thing you then want to worry about is money. All your energy will be needed to solely focus on making a full recovery no further stress is needed.

Serious illness cover provides a tax free lump sum payment in the event you are diagnosed with a specific illness covered by your policy. The lump sum can be used to pay living expenses, your mortgage, short-term debt and your medical expense if necessary. Though it is often arranged as an optional extra on a life assurance policy it can also be arranged as an insurance policy on its own.

A serious Illness policy could offer you financial stability if you were to experience a sharp drop in income due to a serious illness.

Pension Advice
As a result of medical advances and leading healthier lifestyles we are living longer. Coupled with an uncertain state pension means taking ownership of you retirement planning is a must.You should look forward to your retirement but many people spend it worrying about how to make ends meet. Pensions can be confusing and there are so many other things to spend your money on. But a pension is one of the most effective ways to save money. Plus you benefit from tax relief on the money you save!

Planning for retirement can be complex and confusing. At Liffey Financial, we take all of the confusion out of planning for your retirement. We explain which option is most suitable for you when you are saving for your retirement as well as investment guidance.

If you are at retirement age, we will explain what happens next. How much tax-free cash can you get and which option is best for you – an annuity, ARF or taxed cash.

In assessing your retirement needs, we look at:

What do you want to do in retirement
How much do you need so you can do everything you want
What assets and sources of income do you already have, including savings, property and
your business
What is the shortfall between what you have and what you need?
What is the most tax efficient way of bridging that shortfall?

Retirement Planning
Reaching retirement is a great milestone and should be a very exciting time. You have worked very hard to get to where you are now and feel deserving to reap the fruits of your labour.

It is also a time of uncertainty; you go from saving money to spending your life savings. But what if I don’t have enough? If I do all the things I want to do now, will I have enough in my old age?

At Liffey Financial, we have a lot of expertise in providing financial advice to retirees. We listen to what you want to do in retirement, what resources you have available to you and what your fears and expectations are.
The key areas we provide retirement advice on are:

Tax Free Cash
How much tax free cash can I get?
Using company pensions to take out the entire fund tax free
Annuities
Do you want the certainty of a regular income for the rest of your life?
Who will give you the most money each month?
Approved Retirement Funds
Do you want control over your retirement fund?
Do you want to be able to pass your retirement fund to your family on death?
Choosing the right investment strategy for you?

Savings And Investments
Most people will have some form of savings in place. Savings can be for a specific purpose, like paying for your children’s education or paying off your mortgage early. You may just want to build up a ‘‘rainy day fund’’ that can help you deal with unexpected costs or finance some home improvements. Or you may already have a lump sum that you want to put aside for the future.

We can help you figure out what kind of saver you are, so that you can find the right combination of funds and fund providers that best suit your finances, appetite for risk and growth expectations.

Currently deposit rates are not as attractive as they once were, but there are options available to you that can get your money working hard for you. It might be time to look into a longer-term plan for your savings. Longer-term savings typically involves some element of risk. While the majority of investment products involve an element of risk over the longer term they may give you a better

return than a simple savings account.

How much risk should I take?

This depends on your risk preference, your capacity to withstand risk and your financial goals.

You may think you have an innate knowledge of your risk preference but this can be more scientifically measured by risk preference tools.

Mortgages
Getting a mortgage to buy your new house, renovate your home or invest in the rental property market can be challenging these days as banks have been squeezed by both the international ‘credit crunch’ and our own home-grown ‘celtic tiger crunch‘. That’s why it’s even more important now than ever before to have an experienced and qualified mortgage consultant on your side.

Through our appointment with PIBA Network Services t/a PIBA Mortgage Services, we have access to all of the banks in the mortgage broker market. We can guide you through the maze that is the mortgage market. From the initial step of seeking mortgage approval to getting your keys to your new home we will guide you every step of the way.

Company Staff/Financial Talks
Liffey Financial Services help companies assist their staff by way of a financial planning talk by a qualified independent financial adviser.

Company Staff / Financial Talks
Liffey Financial Services help companies assist their staff by way of a complimentary Financial Planning talk’’

Services
Personal financial review for all staff covering

Review existing financial products staff have in place
Help set future financial goals
Areas covered
Personal and Family Protection
Pension planning
Savings needs e.g. childrens third level education costs
At Liffey Financial Services we pride ourselves on giving independent financial advice and building lifelong relationships with our clients

Key Person Cover

What is key person cover?
Key person cover is insurance that a company takes out on a key employee.

Who is a key person?
Key person cover is insurance that a company takes out on a key employee.

It may be a:

Key employee
Director
Partner
Consultant
Why would a company need key person cover?
Loans could be repayable, especially if a personal guarantee has been given to get the loan.
Work on a vital project may stop.
Company contacts could be lost, leading to a loss of sales and new business.
There could be a loss of specialist knowledge that is difficult to replace.
How much cover does the company need?
The cover is for loss of profits and/or to repay loans that may have to be repaid on the death of the key person.

Does your company need key person insurance?
Key questions to ask before deciding whether your company needs key person insurance.

Before deciding whether your company needs to take out key person cover, there are some key questions to be asked:

Is there an individual with specialist knowledge that the company relies on?
Would the business survive without replacing that specialist?
If they died, how long would it take to find or train someone to that level of specialist expertise?
How much would it cost to replace that individual? Where would the company get the funding? Has the key person provided loans to the company? Or have they given personal guarantees on a business
loan?
Do the loans become repayable on death?
Are the loans already protected?
Does the company have the capital to repay these loans if they were called in?

Setting Up Business Protection
There are two components to setting up business protection:

A formal agreement on what happens to the shares
Life policies to provide money to pay for the shares
Buy/Sell Agreement
A formal agreement that in the event of the death of one of the business partners, the deceased partner’s next of kin are bound to sell and the surviving partners are bound to buy the shares of the deceased partner.

Used if the business partners/ next of kin do not want to go into business with each other.

Double Option Agreement
This provides more flexibility than the buy/sell agreement in that, if both parties are in agreement, they do not have to exercise their respective options at that time.

This allows the shares to be passed to the deceased’s next of kin if desired.

Life of Another
Each partner takes out cover on the other partners for the proportion of payout they will have to make in the event of a partner dying.

It can lead to multiple policies being in place and can be messy if a new partner comes on board.

Own life in trust
Each partner takes out a policy on their own life, set up under trust for the benefit of the other partners. This is a lot more flexible method, although more expensive for older partners.

Taxation Treatment
Under both scenarios, the partner/ director pays for the premiums themselves and do not get tax relief on the premiums.

The proceeds are exempt from inheritance tax where the proceeds are used to execute the agreement.

Corporate Shareholder Agreement
This is the most preferable method of company protection as the company take out the insurance policy and pay the premiums.

On death of a director, the company buys back the shares. There are a number of conditions that have to be satisfied under The Companies Act, 1990 in order for a company to be in a position to buy back its own shares.

What Our Clients Say
“My experience of working with David over the last two years has been excellent. He has assisted me and my clients with many financial matters. In particular he assisted me with some life assurance requirements I had and he made the process very easy for me and persevered even though it took me a little time to get the documentation and everything together. He gave me some great advice about all the different companies that are out there in the life insurance market and same was independent and very informative. David is also assisting my clients and they are very happy with his service. I would have no hesitation in recommending David to anyone who might require advice on pensions or investments or life assurance products. ”

William J Brennan Solicitors
“I have been a client of Liffey Financial Services for several years. Since working with Liffey Financial Services they have met and surpassed my expectations. They take the time to really know each of their clients, which gives me every confidence that my financial goals are well understood. I have always been dealt with in a positive and friendly manner. Their efficiency is very impressive. They regularly provide me with updates and any queries I have had are always dealt with immediately. I am always confident when recommending them to family and friends.”

Niklas Greene – feedyourpet.ie
‘’We have done business with David for many years now in a couple of different areas. Before working with Liffey Financial we had a perception that all Financial Advisors were pushy & out for a Commission! But dealing with David has been the complete opposite. He offers sound unbiased information, with no pressure or obligation to ‘sign up’. We took our time to digest the information & often called David in for a 2nd meeting to reiterate, and he was more than happy to oblige. Then when we made our decision we contacted Dave & finalised the deal. David is informal & friendly, approachable & helpful. We would recommend his services 100%. ‘’

Stephen Rooney & Paddy Richards – Directors at Igate Office Supplies
‘’David – a quick note to say thanks very much for all the information you shared with me when I was looking for a mortgage and life insurance. I would have been lost without your advices that helped me to select the most appropriate product. You took the time to explain me everything needed in a very clear and understandable way. Thanks to you, everything is sorted now!’’

Olivier Vincenot
’David O’ Neill has been advising me on my PRSA since 2009. Throughout this period I have found David to be knowledgeable, helpful and professional and I would have no hesitation recommending him.’

Nicoletta Stoupa – Cypriot Embassy

Terms Of Business – Effective From February 2012.
David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services
These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which our firm will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries we will be happy to clarify them. If any material changes are made to these terms we will notify you.

David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations, 2005 and as a Mortgage Intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.

Codes of Conduct
David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services. is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie

Our Services
David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services is a member of the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA). As a member of PIBA we must be in a position to place insurance with at least five insurers of the relevant form (life) and therefore can generally give consumers greater choice than agents and tied agents.

Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life, pensions and mortgages. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.

David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services acts as an Independent Broker which means that:

The principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair analysis of
the market; and
You have the option to pay in full for our services by means of a fee.

Fair Analysis
The concept of fair analysis is derived from the Insurance Mediation Directive. It describes the extent of the choice of products and providers offered by an intermediary within a particular category of life assurance, general insurance, mortgages, and/ or a specialist area. The number of contracts and providers considered must be sufficiently large to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs.

The number of providers that constitutes ‘sufficiently large’ will vary depending on the number of providers operating in the market for a particular product or service and their relative importance in and share of that market. The extent of fair analysis must be such that could be reasonably expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search.

In order to ensure that the number of contracts and providers is sufficiently large to constitute a fair analysis of the market, we will consider the following criteria:

the needs of the customer,
the size of the customer order,
the number of providers in the market that deal with brokers,
the market share of each of those providers,
the number of relevant products available from each provider,
the availability of information about the products,
the quality of the product and service provided by the provider,
cost, and
any other relevant consideration

Life & Pensions
David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services provide life assurance and pensions on a fair analysis basis.

We will provide assistance to you for any queries you may have in relation to the policies or in the event of a claim during the life of the policies and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to PHI and serious illness policies.

Specifically on the subject of permanent health insurance policies it is our policy to explain to you a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy; b) the benefits available under the policy; c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy; and d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources.

For a serious illness policy, we will explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.

Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages, endowment mortgages, pension mortgages and residential investment property.

David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services provide mortgage advice on a fair analysis basis.

We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Such information should be produced promptly upon our request.

Disclosure of Information
Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.

David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers or lenders on the completion of business. You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided.

In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. These are listed below for Life Products, Standard PRSAs and Mortgages. In other circumstances where fees are chargeable or where you choose to pay in full for our service by fee, we will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined below.

If we receive commission from a product provider, this will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to the firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.

Fees
You may elect to deal with us on a fee basis. The hourly rate is €150. Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will give an estimate of this rate in advance of providing you with services.

Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) – Fees
Where advice is requested for PRSAs, the following fee will apply: A flat fee of €595 will be charged for the arrangement of the pension if the pension is arranged on a ‘’nil commission basis’’ if initial commission is received this will be rebated to you in full.

Reviews of your pension will incur a fee of €250 and will be agreed in advance alternatively a fund based renewal commission of 0.5% of fund value will be charged.

Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will give an estimate of this rate in advance of providing you with services

Mortgages
We may receive up to 1% (or whatever maximum is applicable) of the loan for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender.

Further to any commission paid by the lender an arrangement fee of €495 is charged for our services. The fee must be paid as follows €250 on mortgage paperwork submitted to PIBA (Professional Insurance Brokers Association) the balance of €245 must be paid on receipt of your loan offer issuing. If no loan issues then the balance of €245 is not charged to you.

If we provide mortgage advice and obtain a Loan Offer for you and you subsequently do not proceed with your mortgage application through our firm, the balance of €245 must be paid by you to our office.

Please note that lenders may charge specific fees in certain circumstances and if this applies, these fees will be specified in your Loan Offer. You have the right to pay a fee separately and not include it in the loan. Typically, this situation arises in relation to specialist lending.

Regular Reviews
It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products which we have arranged for you. As your circumstances change, your needs will change. You must advise us of those changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure that you are provided with up to date advice and products best suited to your needs. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.

Conflicts of interest
It is the policy of our firm to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service

Commission Clawback
Where commission has been paid by a product producer to this firm and is subsequently clawed back by the product producer e.g. policy lapses during initial period, please note you are liable to pay in full all clawed back commission to our firm.

Default on payments by clients
Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients (fees and insurance premiums) for services provided. In particular, without limitation of the generality of the foregoing, the firm will seek reimbursement for all payments made to insurers on behalf of clients where the firm has acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client.

Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged for you. We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions.

Mortgage lenders may seek early repayment of a loan and interest if you default on your repayments. Your home is at risk if you do not maintain your agreed repayments.

Complaints
We ask that you make any complaint against our firm, relating to services provided by us, in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it. On completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. In the event that you are still dissatisfied with our handling of or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman or the Pensions Ombudsman. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.

Data Protection
David O’Neill t/a Liffey Financial Services complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003.

The data which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf. The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given. We would also like to keep you informed of mortgage, insurance, investment and any other services provided by us or associated companies with which we have a formal business arrangement; which we think may be of interest to you. We would like to contact you by way of letter, email or telephone call. If you do not wish to receive such marketing information please tick the box in client Factfind.

We may receive referrals from such firms and may advise them of any transactions arranged for you.

Compensation Scheme
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. See below for details.

Investor Compensation Scheme
The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms, as defined in that Act. The Investor Compensation Company Ltd. (ICCL) was established under the 1998 Act to operate such a compensation scheme and our firm is a member of this scheme. Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.

A right to compensation will arise only:

If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and
If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and
To the extent that the client’s loss is recognised for the purposes of the Act.
Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of:

90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the
Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or
Compensation of up to €20,000.
For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955

David O’Neill
Liffey Financial Services
20 Portersgate Court
Clonsilla, Dublin 15
Phone: 01 822 7673
Mobile: 086 167 3907