‘I like the idea of putting money into it and not having to think about it’

According to the old saying, when the student is ready the teacher appears. That was the case for Michael Fagan, a 27-year-old from Athlone who is, coincidentally, a teacher himself.

In his case, the lessons he was ready to hear were all about savings and investments, and they came about because of Covid.

Fagan graduated from college in 2017, having put primary school teacher training not just at the top of his CAO, but as the only course on it.

As a sports-mad teen who had helped coach youngsters in GAA and rugby camps, he had long since recognised his vocation. Today he teaches first- and second-class children, aged from six to eight. “I love the interaction with them and the fact that every day is different,” he says.

Prior to the pandemic he had been planning a short career break, saving up for some long-distance travel. He had hoped to undertake an extended tour of Southeast Asia with a group of his friends.

“The plan was to take a break and go travel the world for a bit, but Covid closed all that down. I’d a bit of money saved for it and when everything stopped it was just sitting there in my bank account because I’d nowhere to go and nothing to spend it on,” he says.

“My first introduction to the idea that I could put money away, maybe €100 here and €100 there, was actually my Revolut account,” he explains. “Before that I wouldn’t have had a clue about what to do with money, other than just have it sitting there.”

At the same time, while Covid had pressed pause on his travel plans, life was still proceeding. He and his girlfriend began discussing the idea of saving for a deposit on a house.

“I was also just really aware that the cost of things was going up. Already it’s costing me more money to fill my car than it did before. Things are becoming more expensive, and I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.”

As all these thoughts were on his mind, he came across Smart Invest from Irish Life.

Invest from your phone

“I saw an ad for it on Instagram and downloaded the app to have a look,” he says. Smart Invest is the new digital platform from Irish Life, which is designed to make investing in its FlexInvest product easy. FlexInvest is a lump-sum unit-linked life insurance plan.

This means your investment is used to buy units in a fund that you choose to invest in. The value of your plan is then linked to the value of these units - and may go down as well as up over time.

You can start by putting in just €100 and, unlike some other types of investment, there’s no need to pick or manage funds because the Smart Invest digital platform is provided jointly by Irish Life Assurance, which provides the FlexInvest product, and Irish Life Financial Services, which provides the advice.

Signing up was no bother. I had to take a selfie, a picture of my driving licence and a utility bill

Start by downloading the app and complete your personal information. Then, you’ll be educated and guided through a thorough process, where an informed decision is made. This helps match you to either the Conservative Investor, Balanced Investor, or Experienced Investor profile.

Smart Invest will guide you through understanding the level of risk you’re comfortable with so that you can confidently invest in a plan tailored to you.

Fagan’s risk results surprised him, at least at first. “I thought I’d be a big high roller. Turns out I was low risk. I was amazed, but the more I thought about it the more I realised that’s actually right,” he says.

“Signing up was no bother,” he adds. “I had to take a selfie, a picture of my driving licence and a utility bill.” This is to verify your identity and proof of address.

As Fagan discovered, with Smart Invest the way your money is invested is tailored to you and the level of risk that suits you best. You can track performance or top it up with just a few taps of your thumb.

Once you’re set up, you’ll have full control over how often and how much you invest. You can take your money out any time, but Irish Life recommends investing for five years or more. “What I like about it is that you can access the money at any time if you need it, and the ease with which you can do a top up,” he says, adding, “I like the idea of putting money into it and not having to think about it again.”

Now Fagan puts money into Smart Invest every pay day. Each amount he puts away is a step closer to his new savings goal. “Well, now the money is for a house,” he explains. “Then again, my girlfriend is a schoolteacher too, and we both get two months off in summer - so maybe we can travel too!”

Discover more about Irish Life Smart Invest

Smart Invest is provided jointly by Irish Life Assurance, which provides the FlexInvest product, and Irish Life Financial Services, which provides the advice.

The platform guides you through understanding the level of risk you’re comfortable with so that you can confidently invest in a plan tailored to you.

At the touch of a button (online or in the app), you can see how your investment is doing, and top up as you see fit. FlexInvest has managed funds, so Irish Life’s experts will do the hard bits for you.

You can invest with as little as €100, and you can see your expected range of returns (how much you could potentially lose or make) before you invest.

FlexInvest is a lump-sum unit-linked life insurance plan. There is an annual fund management fee of 1.25 per cent and a 1 per cent Government levy is taken from any payments into the FlexInvest plan, and a 41 per cent exit tax on returns. There are no additional set up or withdrawal charges.

You are eligible for Smart Invest if ... 

• You are aged 18 to 59
• Living in, and a tax resident only of, the Republic of Ireland.

You are not eligible for Smart Invest if you are ...

• A US citizen
• A politically exposed person  ("PEP"), or a relative of a close associate of a PEP.

Discover more about Irish Life Smart Invest at irishlife.ie/investments/smart-invest/

Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some of all of the money you invest.

Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Warning: These funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.

Irish Life Financial Services is tied to Irish Life Assurance for life policies. Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Irish Life Financial Services Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.