100k where to put it?

[Allpartied]

Picking a cabal of banks that were mismanaged as your example?

What about the dividends that were paid to investors for years before that? If you held the shares for long enough, you could have made back your initial investment through dividend payments alone. I am not aware of any type of betting that gives a gambler back his money over time as well as keeping his original stake...

It wasn't just Irish banks that went pop, there were loads of them.

Yes, some people won with their bet, fair play, but some people lost. That's how gambling works.
I'm not saying it's likely, but it did happen and there is no guarantee it won't happen again. Who knows if companies like Apple, or Facebook will be here in 5 years time, they might be mismanaged too. If there is another crash, shareholders will take a big haircut and dividends will be suspended. Deposit holders will be protected by the state up to 100k, so as risk free as possible. He will get a modest return over 5 years, probably several thousand and he won't have to pay any fees or charges.

In this case I would advise the lucky investor with 100k to steer clear of equities, unless he likes a gamble. 5 years is too short, there could be another 2008 style crash next year, or the year after, which would decimate his capital and might take a decade or more to recover. If he plumps for individual shares rather than a diverse fund, he might never see his money again.