Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick

The Offering: Independent Advice on Investments & Pensions and Full Financial Review and Planning Service

We offer truly independent, fee-based advice, where our only interest is in providing you, the client, with a bespoke, tailor-made investment solution for your specific needs.

What “Independent Investment Advice”, means is that we advise you on how best to structure and manage your:

personal investments,
pensions including self administered pensions and retirement funds,
savings,
life cover, income protection, etc
company investments

to generate the best possible return within your desired risk and time framework.

In addition to providing specific Investments and Pensions advice we also provide a full Financial Review and Planning Service whereby we pull together all of the clients existing Investments, Pensions, Savings, Protection and all other relevant material to produce a review of existing policies, recommendations to retain or to change existing arrangements and a plan for the future – a type of Financial Health Check and Plan.

Our Investments & Pensions service involves advising you on asset allocation and on portfolio construction. We combine our knowledge of direct equity investments with ability to choose the best of the collective funds available. In addition to advising you, we can follow through by actually executing the transactions and managing your wealth either directly via our (i) portfolio management service or via a (ii) manage-the-managers programme.

What is our Portfolio Management Service?

This involves working personally with the client to -

Discuss Investment Strategy to ascertain appetite for risk and to take into account individual’s or corporate’s overall financial needs – a holistic approach to knowing the client
Advise on creating a balanced portfolio with diversified sector and geographic exposure (taking account of currency risk) – asset allocation
Recommend specific stocks for such a portfolio
Recommend specific funds or other collective instruments where appropriate
Create bespoke structured products if appropriate
The construction of the portfolio is on an advisory basis – with all investments being approved by the client – opportunities for a real say in the management of your funds
Best execution of investment strategy – sourcing the most cost effective transaction mechanisms
The ongoing monitoring and management of the portfolio, including recommending new investment ideas, advice on timing of when to take profits and implementing a stop-loss approach if appropriate
Regular interaction with the client regarding the performance of the portfolio
A sounding board for the appraisal of other investment ideas

In summary we help create and then manage and monitor your investments and pensions for you.

This portfolio management service is equally applicable to “Investments” and “Pensions”. For Pensions, in addition to providing independent advice on the investment strategy underlying the pensions and the choice of fund manager for insured pensions (Personal or Executive), we also work with the client to set-up Small Self Administered Pensions (SSAPs) and Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs). We then provide the ongoing advice and management of the SSAP and/or ARF.

What is our Manage-the-Manager service?

Where you already have relationships with a number of providers of investment and retirement benefit services (e.g. stockbrokers, fund managers, pension providers, etc) and are largely happy with these arrangements, but do not have the time or expertise to get the best from them. We act as a manager of those managers pulling together the disparate strategies to create a coherent financial plan. We make sure that the overall asset allocation is appropriate and we ensure that there is no unnecessary overlap or inefficiencies in the services provided to you. We then monitor the performance of each manager against benchmarks to ensure that you get value for money and the optimum management of your wealth. This programme often achieves significant savings on costs for our clients.

Our Credentials

Joan Garahy, Managing Director, has 18 years experience of advising on and managing clients funds. She spent ten years as a stockbroker, five with NCB and five with Goodbody, where she established a reputation for top quality analysis and research on stocks – she was voted No. 1 Oil Analyst for four consecutive years at NCB and when she moved to cover other sectors at Goodbody she was awarded the title of No. 1 Pharmaceuticals Analyst for three consecutive years by Finance Magazine. Joan now uses this analytical background to select stocks for our client’s portfolios.

In 2001 Joan was appointed Head of Research at Hibernian Fund Managers where she spearheaded independent equity analysis of global stocks and sectors and put her recommendations into action in various funds managed by Hibernian, including a long-short hedge fund. Her experience at Hibernian in asset allocation, portfolio construction and stock selection is a very valuable background for managing our clients portfolios.

In 2003 she worked with the NTMA as Head of Research to set-up the research function of the National Pensions Reserve Fund, a €21bn fund established as a reserve to help service Ireland’s pension needs from 2025 onwards. Joan’s work at the NPRF in designing investment strategies and mandates, and in appraising (hiring and firing) some of the world’s best fund mangers establishes our credentials re: ability to independently assess fund and fund managers, and their suitability to your particular investment requirements.

Relocating back to the West of Ireland, Joan was Director of Investments at HC Financial Services in Galway, where she managed the Investments Division providing independent investment advice to individuals and corporates. Working with the clients on an advisory basis she managed the direct equity portfolios for Small Self Administered Pensions (SSAPs) and for Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs). In this position she was able to apply all the knowledge acquired in the institutional investments market to help individuals and small corporates make better financial decisions.

Joan has now joined forces with Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick to establish HBCL Investments and Pensions, providing innovative, independent investment advice. This new business venture brings another valued-added service to Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick’s growing client base.

Please click here to download our brochure.

For further information about HBCL Investments & Pensions please contact:

Joan Garahy
Managing Director
Email: joangarahy@hbcl.ie
Tel: 353-61 310311 extn 4839

Pictured at the launch of HBCL Investments & Pensions with Managing Director Joan Garahy are Company Directors, Con Quigley (left) and Liam Hession.

HBCL Investments & Pensions Limited is regulated by The Financial Regulator.
Company Directors: Joan Garahy, Liam Hession, Con Quigley
Registered Office: The Red Church, Henry Street, Limerick
Registered in Ireland No: 440388

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