We ran the rule over financial advisors right across Connacht to come up with the best financial advisor Galway and Connacht.
The best financial advisor Galway and Connacht recommendation is based on the moneysherpa’s 4 financial advisor tests.
- Are they competent? – What returns have they delivered for clients and what is their experience.
- Are they comprehensive? – Do they offer the best funds available in the market.
- Are they compromised? – Are their incentives aligned with their clients.
- Are they cheap? – Are they cost effective versus other advisors in the market.
These tests are based on our deep research into the key things that make the best financial advisor. Before even getting on our best financial advisor list we also check for authorisation, qualifications, indemnities and complaints.
We are constantly adding and updating our best financial advisor Galway and Connacht recommendation, so check back soon as we are expanding our reviews all the time.
Our best financial advisor Galway and the Connacht overall is City Life Galway. City Life Galway scored well in our tests getting the highest rating overall of 3.6 out of 5 as you can see from our top 3 ranking below.
| Advisor | Rating | Competence | Comprehensive | Compromise | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Life Galway | 3.6 | Performance not currently available, but highly experienced and qualified team | leading funds, wide selection of assets | commission equal on all funds | initial: €500 to €1500 + 2%<€150K 0%>€150K FUM: 0.5% |
On our first test competence they scored well with a very experienced investment team leading to them coming out on top for overall competence.
They also stacked up well on being comprehensive, although they don’t offer access to all funds in the market they do offer a selection of the highest performing ones.
Our third test, not being compromised, is all about the advisor’s incentives and although City Life Galway do receive commission, they get the same across all funds so there should be no conflict of interest with their clients. Finally City Life Galway also came out competitive on cost. Making City Life Galway our pick for best financial advisor Galway and Connacht and a great choice overall.
The best financial advisor for you will also depend on your particular advice needs. Read on if you want to know which Irish financial advisors rated best for each type of investor.
Our best financial advisors Galway and Connacht by type
4 things to look out for when choosing the best financial advisor Galway and Connacht
How do moneysherpa rate financial advisors Galway and Connacht?
Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht, the verdict
We have also reviewed best financial advisors by region here.
Our best financial advisor Galway and Connacht by type
A recent study by Forrester split people seeking financial advice into three broad types [2]
- DIY’er, confident in financial ability and happy to go it alone.
- Validator, confident in overall financial direction, but wants to check and fine tune with advice.
- Delegator, less confident or time poor, but know financial planning is important so outsource it to someone they can trust.
Here’s our recommendation for each type seeking advice so you can work out the right advisor for you.
- Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht overall – City Life Galway
- Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht for validators up to €2M with mainstream investment needs – City Life Galway
- Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht for delegators with needs up to €2M – City Life Galway
Here’s how the ratings broke down in each of our categories, the key data for each financial advisor and the key reasons we selected each category winner.
Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht overall
City Life Galway are a good all round choice, with strong investment performance. At the very least you would like your financial advisor to help you get a return in line with market performance, but the real test is if an advisor can consistently beat the market over time.
This coupled with a strong investment team which led to City Life Galway leading the pack in the most important of our 4 tests, competence.
After all if someone is advising you on your money, you want clear evidence they actually know what they are talking about.
Although they are a multi-agent intermediary, which means they get paid commissions by providers for the products they sell, they avoid the biggest drawback of this bias, by keeping their commissions they receive the same across all the products they sell.
This should mean there is no incentive for them to give you a bum steer on which funds you invest in.
The other major pitfall of this model is limited product choice, sometimes multi-agent intermediaries offer the products that pay the highest rates rather than those that give the best returns. Again City Life Galway seem to avoid this trap by offering the best performing funds including the Davy Select platform and Zurich Life.
On price they are very competitive with 0.5% pa charged on funds under management.
The leading score on competence, whilst not dropping many points on the basis of cost, comprehensiveness or being compromised, makes City Life Galway the best financial advisor choice overall.
Best financial advisor Galway and Connacht for validators with mainstream needs & for delegators
If you want someone to just take care of your money choices for you or value having a sounding board to check you are doing the right thing, then these providers are for you.
If you are looking to invest in the major asset classes, such as the stock market, bonds, commodities and property, the recommendations here are also a good fit.
However, if you don’t need to eyeball someone to validate your financial choices and are happy to go it alone you can go straight to our DIY’er recommendations below.
In this category the most important thing is the investment performance. The advice from your advisor will play a big part in the investment decisions you make.
In this category the most important thing is the investment performance. The advice from your advisor will play a big part in the investment decisions you make.
| Advisor | Rating | Competence | Comprehensive | Compromise | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Life Galway | 3.6 | Performance not currently available, but highly experienced and qualified team | leading funds, wide selection of assets | commission equal on all funds | initial: €500 to €1500 + 2%<€150K 0%>€150K FUM: 0.5% |
City Life perform well on cost for funds, although upfront costs are slightly higher than some in the market the low ongoing fee at 0.5% more than makes up for that. It’s the on-going fee that really kills compound growth and 0.5% is one of the lowest we’ve seen.
The fund selection including Zurich life covers all mainstream needs as well and their policy of ensuring they get the same commission from all funds mean you avoid the potential conflict of interest that arise with some commissioned advisors.
The combination of leading competence, comprehensive mainstream offerings, flat commission and percentage based fees on-going only makes City Life Galway a good choice for most people looking for mainstream financial advice in Galway and Connacht.
Best financial advisor for DIY’ers
If you are an experienced investor or are comfortable with managing your money without financial advice then a self directed investment platform or roboadvice platform may be a better fit for your needs. Roboadvice platforms available in Ireland are limited currently, so the best option currently is probably a self directed investment platform.
As you are making your own decisions then your best option will be a comprehensive platform giving you the flexibility you need, coupled with on-going low charges.
There are many options available offering varying degrees of comprehensiveness and cost, including degiro.ie, interactive investor and davyselect.
4 things to look out for when choosing the best financial advisor Galway and Connacht
The quality of advice you receive can make a big difference to your financial outcomes and therefore your life outcomes. So it is an important decision which is worth researching carefully.
There is a wide variety of advisors and advisor types out there, here are some key things to look out for.
Are they competent?
Is the advice you are going to get any good. Although it’s by no means perfect, the best way to judge this is on their track record. For example, how have the funds they have invested current clients actually performed versus the market. What is the experience of the advisor and investment team.
Are they comprehensive?
If they are a multi, restricted or tied agency what range of options do they have available. Have they got access to a wide range of funds and how did they pick them? It might be that they are only restricted in products that aren’t relevant or that they have weak options where it matters to you.
Are they compromised?
In Ireland commissions are still allowed, but commissions have to be shared with clients. Does the commission your advisor receives potentially sway their advice or does it align with your interests as a customer?
Are they cheap?
Given the importance of getting good advice and its potential impact on your financial outcomes, this is the least important of the 4 factors. However, if the advisor is competent, comprehensive and not compromised why not drive a hard bargain before signing up? Often advisors have some flexibility on the pricing they first propose to you.
How do moneysherpa rate Galway and Connacht financial advisors?
At moneysherpa, we weight the 4 criteria above, plus some additional ‘hygiene’ factors to come up with an overall recommendation score for each advisor in your area.
- Competence (40%): Based on past performance and advisor experience.
- Comprehensive (30%): Based on access to the best funds and financial instruments.
- Compromised (20%): Based on the alignment between your interests and the advisor.
- Cheap (10%): Based on pricing data collected by the moneysherpa team.
Hygiene: Based on authorisation, indemnification, complaints data and qualifications
To feature on our best financial advisor lists agents have to pass all of our ‘hygiene’ tests.
Best financial advisors Galway and Connacht, the verdict
Whether you are a DIY’er, Validator or Delegator we hope this article helped you cut through the fog around financial advisors in Galway and Connacht and help you choose the right option for you.
Overall, for delegators and for validators City Life Galway came out on top as the overall best financial advisor Galway and Connacht. Establishing a clear lead in the ratings with their strong performance proof points and strength of their investment team.
All this makes City Life Galway a good choice for the majority of people looking for financial advice in Galway and Connacht.
We have also reviewed best financial advisors by region here.
