# evergreen.



## wanagetahome (18 Feb 2008)

i joined up bank of irelands ever green fund last year in feb. where i pay an amount every month for 5 years and they give a low return.. .low risk low return, however, with the unsteady market at the moment im getting a little nervous. i only pay in 200 euro per month, and i dont know where i can find out how it is doing? and if its still worth anything? has anyone else heard of it before?


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## gebbel (18 Feb 2008)

Read this thread


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## ClubMan (18 Feb 2008)

Do a search for previous threads on this product.


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## wanagetahome (18 Feb 2008)

Just had alook, now im all confused. I dont know weather to stick with it or take the bit out. I worked in luxembourg and saw funds go up and down, but im not a high earner and not working in the investment industry since coming home and I need to ensure my money is safe. although i know, things could even out and in a couple of years it could be worth it. so maybe i should stick with it. The banks have the gift of the gab... its a great idea, you should go for it. low risk low return, but a return none the less. i believe that because im buying monthly ,,, im at a slight advantage, as I'm not loosing on a lump sum, and buying more shares every month the more they go down, so it could even out. any suggestions.?


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## ClubMan (18 Feb 2008)

wanagetahome said:


> I need to ensure my money is safe.


So why did you choose this investment option in the first place and to what end?


> The banks have the gift of the gab...


You should not depend on the banks' tied agents for independent, professional advice in your best interests. 


> any suggestions.?


Are there not suggestions in response to similar queries on the other related threads?


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## wanagetahome (18 Feb 2008)

I came home and began a good job, but then had to leave due to family circumstances, I had signed up for this along with a loan i have and had hoped that by saving and paying a loan, in a few years I could get a mortgage. however, as was only in that job for a very very short time, and now am working in a shop I'm not earning enough to feel safe enough to be able to afford to take the risk. I'm currently job hunting for another job with higher wages. and want to clear my loan early, i owe 18K and earn 22k. 
i pay 415 per month in loan, 200 evergreen, insurance, vhi, and other ususal outgoings, I'm just wondering would i be now as well off to stop the evergreen and put the small amount off the loan. and just clear that off as quickly as possible. oh i dont know, im so depressed about money at the moment dont knw what to do


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## czechmate (18 Feb 2008)

wanagetahome said:


> i joined up bank of irelands ever green fund last year in feb. . .low risk low return, however, with the unsteady market at the moment im getting a little nervous. i only pay in 200 euro per month, and i dont know where i can find out how it is doing? and if its still worth anything? has anyone else heard of it before?


 
My understanding is that the evergreen fund is about 70%-80% invested in equities and property.  That is not low risk.  It is probably high risk.  That's not to say you shouldn't be investing in it, but you should be aware that something that is so heavily invested in equities etc. will swing around a bit in value.  You could be down 20% (or more) at a point in time, or indeed up 20% (or more).  If that is too much to swallow then you shouldn't be in this fund.  If you can't swallow that amount of risk however, you won't a very high return and you are probably back to deposit accounts etc.

You should contact your bank to find out the value.  It is readily available.  Investments in equities will have fallen, but I can assure you it is nowhere near being worth nothing as you feared above.


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## Chris (19 Feb 2008)

wanagetahome said:


> I came home and began a good job, but then had to leave due to family circumstances, I had signed up for this along with a loan i have and had hoped that by saving and paying a loan, in a few years I could get a mortgage. however, as was only in that job for a very very short time, and now am working in a shop I'm not earning enough to feel safe enough to be able to afford to take the risk. I'm currently job hunting for another job with higher wages. and want to clear my loan early, i owe 18K and earn 22k.
> i pay 415 per month in loan, 200 evergreen, insurance, vhi, and other ususal outgoings, I'm just wondering would i be now as well off to stop the evergreen and put the small amount off the loan. and just clear that off as quickly as possible. oh i dont know, im so depressed about money at the moment dont knw what to do



Assuming that you didn't just go on a spending spree with the 18k and have something to show for your money (e.g. car), I would sell whatever you bought with that money and pay off the loan for a start. Once you have sorted out a better paying job, you can go back to the bank and look for another loan.
If you pay off the loan, you will have another €415 per month, and it will probably be easier to part with €200 into an investment fund. Before you pull out of this investment fund I would ring the bank and get written information on how the fund is performing. Also check the paper work you signed if there early exit penalties.


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## wanagetahome (19 Feb 2008)

Unfortunately I do not have anything to show for my loan.the 16K (plus interest) is a consolidation loan from university loans, credit card and travel loans I took from family after I completed university, I volunteered in South America, and also when I moved to luxembourg, I found it quite expensive. The only thing I have now is a 3 year old computer thats never used. ( I use my antique laptop). Its unfortunate that banks throw money at you when you're in Uni, they make it so easy and then you find yourself way out of your depth. I suppose I should just suffer it out for a 18 months and make paying my loan off my priority. And put this down to a great big learning curve in life!!!! im only 25, and its somthing thats making me depressed every day, but I'll just have to snap out of it now and get on with getting everything back on track and sort it out. Thanks to everyone for the advice.


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## wanagetahome (19 Feb 2008)

Well ive just spoken to someone in boi life and my shares have lost quite a lot. im down one quater of my total investment, so im deffinitely thinking along the lines of pulling out and just putting it into the credit union. at least its a safer situation for my circumstances now. I'll invest again, when im fincancilly more secure.


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## PMU (19 Feb 2008)

wanagetahome said:


> its somthing thats making me depressed every day, but I'll just have to snap out of it now and get on with getting everything back on track and sort it out.


 You appear to suffer from myopic loss aversion – a point you should consider before you make further investment decisions.


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## shipibo (19 Feb 2008)

PMU said:


> You appear to suffer from myopic loss aversion – a point you should consider before you make further investment decisions.


 


Thats great advice, keep up the good work !!!

On the fund, I think this is the breakdown ..



Would advise to leave for a while to see how the markets pan out, will they go south, or recover in the next two quarters .....

I think the Property (23%) and Irish equities are dragging fund down, they won,t recover anytime soon .....

Will ring them and ask status, will they be re jigging portfolio et al ..


Will report back.


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## czechmate (19 Feb 2008)

PMU said:


> You appear to suffer from myopic loss aversion.


 
"Myopic loss aversion" - Oh lordy, I think any first time investor reading this might now also be suffering from a severe case of discombobulated mis-comprehension.


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## PMU (20 Feb 2008)

czechmate said:


> " I think any first time investor reading this might now also be suffering from a severe case of discombobulated mis-comprehension.



 I wasn’t being insulting.  ‘Myopic loss aversion’ is a technical term from behavioural finance.  Briefly, it refers to evaluating portfolio results over a short investment horizon where you have a strong aversion to loss (i.e. the disutility of a loss weighs higher than the utility of an equivalent gain).  Regarding his short term losses, the OP said:”_its something that making me depressed every day”_.  This would indicate that he is highly sensitive to loss.  Therefore, it would be prudent for him to take this into account when making future investment decisions; it would also be of benefit to the OP to know that his aversion to short term loss is not personal to him but is a recognized phenomenon.  [Neither has he necessarily made a poor investment decision, just that the time frame he used to evaluate it may be too short.]


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## shipibo (20 Feb 2008)

PMU said:


> I wasn’t being insulting. ‘Myopic loss aversion’ is a technical term from behavioural finance. Briefly, it refers to evaluating portfolio results over a short investment horizon where you have a strong aversion to loss (i.e. the disutility of a loss weighs higher than the utility of an equivalent gain). Regarding his short term losses, the OP said:”_its something that making me depressed every day”_. This would indicate that he is highly sensitive to loss. Therefore, it would be prudent for him to take this into account when making future investment decisions; it would also be of benefit to the OP to know that his aversion to short term loss is not personal to him but is a recognized phenomenon. [Neither has he necessarily made a poor investment decision, just that the time frame he used to evaluate it may be too short.]


 

Think I have this myopia as well, would cry if I lost a quarter of me investment in the first year !!!!


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## deli (27 Feb 2008)

Some advice  needed, i've put 10k into an evergreen fund 10 months ago and with monthly deposits, we currently stand with a loss of 1600 euro. The timespan of the invsetment iniatially was 3 years, but with the continual downward turn are now considering cutting our losses and closing the account. Should we continue paying into the fund with the hope that it will revert soon, or should we cut our losses.


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## Perplexed (27 Feb 2008)

All investors into any of these products presumably are  informed that investments are a long term plan.

Anybody who paid into an equity based SSIA I'm sure would have seen the value go down as a result of 9/11 in 2001. I remember wondering why I hadn't gone into a savings product instead. Yet at the end of the 5 yrs I was approx €2000 up on the return I would have got on a straightforward saving SSIA.

Equities will always go down as well as up......it's a cycle like property.

To the op. Surely you are qualified for a good job if you've spent so long in Uni & also your experience of doing volunteer work will look good on your CV.  Get out there & look for a decent job & that will cure your financial woes...

My prediction is that  these funds will rise again.........will it be 1yr or 5yrs or ? that's what nobody can answer


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## PMU (28 Feb 2008)

deli said:


> i've put 10k into an evergreen fund 10 months ago and with monthly deposits, we currently stand with a loss of 1600 euro. Should we continue paying into the fund with the hope that it will revert soon, or should we cut our losses.


  10 months is way too short a time period to evaluate this type of investment product. Typically 5 years is suggested. Also, you are looking at your absolute loss of 1,600 (i.e. 16%) without looking at how other investment alternatives have performed. If you had invested all your money in the Iseq 10 months ago, when it was at about 9855 you would have suffered a loss of 33% to date; if you had invested in the FTSE 100 or the Eurostoxx50 you would have suffered a loss of about 8% in that time period.   So, if this product invests in a bunch of IE, UK and EU shares (and possibly a lot of bank shares), a loss of 16% is relatively speaking about what you would expect.


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## z105 (28 Feb 2008)

OP

I thought you were talking about this [broken link removed]

2. Please make the heading of your question relevant    	Don't post a general heading such as "help !" or "Mortgage query". If you post a heading such as "Mortgage for separated couple", it will get a better response and will be much easier to find if you need to go back to look for it.


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## shipibo (28 Feb 2008)

Perplexed said:


> To the op. Surely you are qualified for a good job if you've spent so long in Uni & also your experience of doing volunteer work will look good on your CV. Get out there & look for a decent job & that will cure your financial woes...


 
Classy stuff ....



Perplexed said:


> My prediction is that these funds will rise again.........will it be 1yr or 5yrs or ? that's what nobody can answer


 
Any solid reasons behind your prediction


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