With our increasing affluence, financial planning takes on greater importance for more and more Irish people. Minimising tax liability on higher salaries and investment income, choosing the best pension option, making the most of existing and future assets or safeguarding wealth are key issues for the Celtic Tiger cubs.

Heralded with soundbites such as "gain control of your personal finances", do-it-yourself wealth management advocates point to costs of investment advice and management as key advantages of the DIY approach.

However, struggling to stay on top of a diverse investment portfolio, the latest products and trends in the market - and do your day job - can be more like chaos than control.

If your personal financial plans include considerations such as maximising the tax benefits of the Irish pensions structure, estate planning, financing children's education, optimally combining investments, pensions and property investments, company directorships or fulfilling a lifetime dream of retiring to France at 55, you will benefit from professional wealth management advice. 

After all, specialisation of labour is the hallmark of an advanced society.
 
Compare the approaches:

DIY Approach	Authorised Adviser Approach
1. Learn Millions of websites, thousands of books.... there is no shortage of information on investing, wealth management and financial planning. Funds, equities, stocks; performance, strategy, risk... Getting the time to read and understand them, however, is another question.	1. Learn Our advisers typically hold business degrees, with further financial management, taxation, accounting and/or economics qualifications. We also place strong emphasis on supporting ongoing education for advisory and support staff.
2. Research The basics mastered, time to tackle the specifics: individual companies, products and providers.	2. Research Our dedicated Research & Development team consisting of economists, led by a tax consultant with 20 year's experience, has developed a process for capturing and analysing performance and trends on a daily basis.
3. Analyse The information you have gathered on all of these potential products and providers must be analysed systematically.	3. Analyse A key element of any consultation with Acumen & Trust is client profiling, where your adviser will gain a holistic understanding of your financial circumstances and personal goals. This will ensure you do not have underperforming investments, exposed risk and so on. Acumen & Trust are independent authorised advisers, with no vested interest in promoting one product over another.
4. Compare With a sometimes confusing range of potential comparison criteria, disparate financial products must be compared to identify those that best suit your circumstances and objectives in the short, medium and long term.	4. Compare We compare our top rated products at any given time, relative to their suitability for your situation and the fulfilment of your objectives. We assess the bottom line cost of each option, as well as the expertise and track record of the investment managers.
5. Select The moment of truth. From your initial learning, you will know that a diversified portfolio maximises return while minimising risk. Therefore your asset allocation - your strategy and how much you invest in each product - will be crucial to success. Lots of eggs, lots of baskets.	5. Select We have developed proprietary models to test investment portfolios and identify the optimal asset allocation for an individual client profile. We recommend this to you in a detailed report, with projections, scenarios and relevance to your situation. Any commissions or costs are also clearly indicated. Together we will discuss this report, making a final selection.
6. Invest It's time to contact the provider of each financial product to buy directly. Typically, you will pay 3% - 5% commission on these investments.	6. Invest Once selected, we will place the investments on your behalf, benefiting from our established relationships with the financial providers.  We may receive up to 3% commission from the product providers. You will always have the choice of paying a fee instead of commission, investing the full amount from the outset.
7. Monitor Now your investments are in place, as you will know from your initial learning, they must be monitored on an ongoing basis, with your portfolio adjusted in response to performance and other relevant factors.   This may involve studying voluminous reports from a range of providers on a number of products, and compiling this information to gain an overall picture of your portfolio. Sound like fun?	7. Monitor Our advisers monitor all client portfolios on an ongoing basis, recommending adjustments  in response to performance.

And the bottom line? Engaging the services of the Acumen & Trust team, benefiting from our expertise in financial research and management, will typically cost the same or less than the DIY route.

How can that be? It is common in all industries to provide discounts to volume resellers and the wealth management one is no different. Providers of financial products are likely to charge you a commission of 3% - 5% for your direct business; we will charge a maximum of 3%, for which you get the services of a team of economists, accountants and tax advisers working on your specific financial circumstances.

We always offer clients the option of paying a fee for advice and management services if preferred.

Our client list is largely made up of successful businesspeople and professionals who, despite their demonstrated ability to generate wealth and accumulate assets, engage our services for wealth management. They know the value of advice and the costs involved in the DIY route - in time and money. 

In conclusion, unless you want to dedicate time and energy to the hobby of DIY investing, you will save both by discussing the business of wealth management with an Acumen & Trust adviser today.