On Thu, Dec 09, 2004 at 10:23:26AM +0000, Karl Podesta wrote:
Forgive my ignorant questioning - out of curiosity, how legal is all of this?
IANAL ... At the moment, it's legal, in that we haven't done anything. :) Once we decide what we're doing, we can revisit the question, but I'd be highly surprised if there was any problems. Pension funds and personal investment accounts all work by pooling contributions to avail of higher interest rates. What we're doing should be no different. Perhaps you need to be financially certified to run a scheme above a certain net value, or with more than a certain amount of members. I'm sure talking to a solicitor would clarify that. On the nature of the investments ... My own preference is zero to low risk investments, albeit with correspondingly low returns. I'm sure many of us here have gotten burned with shares, and while learning to play the stock markets is fun, it's the kind of fun best left to rick stockbrokers :) As for land / property - I dunno whether the Irish domestic market will crash or merely plateau, but rental property necessitates management companies. You're at the whim of the banks w.r.t mortgage interest rates, and tenants may not be guaranteed. I suggest we first reach consensus on: - The timescale - The size of the initial cashpool we're looking to invest. - The nature of the returns we're looking to secure (this will help decide what we invest in) Paul. -- "Relax Paul, I'm your friend. I'm only dancing with you."