How To Start Investing in Ireland
Starting to invest is one of the best financial decisions you can make, but knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming. This guide shows you exactly how to invest your first €100 in three simple steps.
Reading time: 10 min
Written by:
Dan Malone
Getting Started In 60 Seconds
STEP 1
Choose An Investment App
Pick the platform that gives you what you want at the lowest cost
STEP 3
Invest Regularly
Set up automatic monthly investments and stay invested long-term
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Step 1: Pick An Investment App
Investment apps let you buy stocks, ETFs and bonds from your phone or computer. They’re offered to investors by financial technology companies.
Just like how you have apps like Netflix and Prime Video for watching TV and movies, and Instagram and Facebook for social networking, you also have dedicated apps for investing.
You’ll need to pick one (or more than one) of these platforms to get started on your investing journey.
Jargon Buster: Investment apps are also commonly known as investing apps, trading apps, investment platforms and online brokers. They all refer to the same thing.
How To Choose An Investment App
Choosing an app to invest with and knowing which is best for you is important to get right. Certain apps excel at particular aspects of investing much more than others. When picking an online broker, look for platforms that:
- 1Charge the lowest fees
- 2Offer the widest investment selection
To find and compare the best investing apps in Ireland, try out our comparison tool.
Many apps allow you to invest with little or no fees and charges. Minimising the amount of fees you pay to invest is incredibly important. The more you pay to invest, the lower your returns will be. We built a calculator so you can see this for yourself.
Over 20+ years, paying a seemingly small percentage in fees and charges can result in a portfolio that’s worth tens of thousands of euros less.
Key Insight: Online brokers have a fee schedule listing all of the costs of using their platform. These are separate from the costs of holding an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which the investment manager charges and takes from the fund.
Fee schedules vary. Some apps charge very little, and others a lot. You might pay a flat commission on each buy and sell order, or nothing at all. That's why it's important to do your research before investing.
Your broker should ideally have the best and widest selection of financial assets available to Irish investors. What you’ll find is that not all financial products are available on every platform. This can result in a scenario where you can’t make the investment that you want to because your app doesn’t offer access to a particular product.
This is particularly common when it comes to exchange-traded funds (ETFs). If your broker doesn't offer the ETFs you want to invest in, you may miss out on more competitive investment options. You want to ensure that whatever broker you choose offers access to the assets that you want to invest in. Our ETF comparison tool shows you which funds are available on what platforms.
Nowadays, investing platforms offer features far beyond what was possible with traditional investing. For example, fractional shares allow you to invest as little as €1, while Auto-Invest lets you automate your monthly investments.
Outside of investing, debit cards and high interest on uninvested cash are becoming increasingly popular features offered by trading platforms.
Where debit cards are offered, they usually come with extra functionality like earning and investing cashback on spending, and rounding up transactions for proactive wealth building. Two apps that offer debit cards are Trade Republic and Trading 212.
The interest rates offered on uninvested cash tend to be highly competitive and don't require the money to be held in a separate account. That means your cash remains available for spending or investing while earning interest. If you’re searching for the best interest rates for your deposits, try out our savings comparison tool. It compares over 260 accounts offered by Irish and European providers.
Should You Use Multiple Apps?
Using multiple trading apps isn’t a requirement to start investing, but it can be an effective approach for two main reasons: protection and flexibility.
Protection
Spreading out your investments and deposits across multiple apps means more coverage under European protection schemes like the Deposit Guarantee Scheme and the Investor Compensation Scheme. This guarantees that more of your money is protected in the highly unlikely event of a financial institution’s failure.
Flexibility
The more online brokerage accounts you have, the more options you have. This means more assets to invest in, more investing tools and educational resources and, most importantly, more flexibility and choice around fees and charges.
Key Insight: All of the best investing platforms in Ireland are free to download. You should create an account with each of them and get a feel for each app to see which one you prefer best.
Step 2: Pick An ETF
Once you’ve selected an app, the next step is to pick an investment. This is where many beginners start to get overwhelmed.
If you want to invest for multiple decades, there’s one type of investment that has historically proven to be among the best strategies – exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds track a major stock market index, and are commonly referred to as index funds.
Want to see all of your options in one place without the complexity? We’ve handpicked over 170 of the best index ETFs for Irish investors and compiled them into one user-friendly comparison tool.
Index Funds
An index fund is an investment product that allows you to simultaneously own hundreds, or even thousands, of financial assets like stocks. This reduces the likelihood that you’ll suffer a loss if one company performs poorly, because your money is spread out across many companies from around the world. This is called diversification.
Over the long-term, low-cost index funds have consistently outperformed investment professionals who actively try to beat the market for their clients. They require virtually no ongoing research or time commitment on your part, so you have more time to spend doing the things that matter most to you.
If you want a simple investment that has been proven to beat the professionals on average over the long term, with the freedom to put your investments on autopilot for decades, only coming back to see the results, then index funds are for you.
Key Insight: Most investment apps allow you to set up automatic investments into exchange-traded index funds with as little as €1, so you can own a piece of hundreds or thousands of companies with a tiny investment.
Best Index Funds To Invest In
There are four popular regions covered by index funds, and each have unique characteristics and risk profiles. Discover the best ETF choices in each region with our dedicated guides:
There are measurement tools called indexes which track the performance of certain segments of the global stock market. For example, the S&P 500 index measures the stock performance of the 500 largest companies in the United States. By investing in an S&P index fund, you’re investing in those 500 US companies.
There are indexes which measure the stock performance of European companies, companies in the Emerging Markets, and companies globally. By investing in the corresponding index fund of a particular index, you’re actually investing in the companies which make up that index.
Keep In Mind: You can’t invest in an index, but you can invest in an index fund.
The simplest strategy is to pick an all-world index fund and walk away. That way, you’d be making one single, cost-effective investment in the global stock market. It doesn’t get any easier than that. If this sounds appealing, check out our best ETFs for Irish investors guide to see our top pick overall.
Some investors prefer to own one index fund for North America, one for Europe, and one for the Emerging Markets. This allows them to decide how much money they want to allocate to each region on the fly. With an All-World index fund, you’re bound to the allocation weightings of the underlying index.
Our complete guide on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will fill in the blanks and have you investing with confidence in no time.
Step 3: Invest
Once you’ve selected your ETFs, the final step is to invest. You might start off with €100, or maybe even €1, but the key is to invest as much and as often as you can. Increasing the size of your investments over time as your income rises and your expenses fall is fundamentally important to sustainable financial independence.
With index fund investing, the secret to success is consistency. Stay invested and keep investing for the long-term, throughout the highs and lows.
Putting your investments on autopilot and walking away, only coming back to change your investment size, is the best strategy you can use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Investment gains and income are taxable in Ireland, but the tax you pay depends on what you’re investing in. Check out our taxes on investments guide to learn more.
As soon as possible. The earlier you start, the more time your money has to benefit from compound interest. You can see the power of compounding for yourself by using our compound interest calculator.
You can start with as little as €1. The important thing is investing regularly and increasing the size of your investments over time.
Investing a lump sum immediately has historically produced better long-term results.
Euro-cost averaging is investing regularly, regardless of whether the market is rising or falling.
The best app for you depends on your needs. Compare fees, investment choice and features before deciding.
Yes, in fact, we recommend it. Most are free to open an account and more apps means more protections and greater choice.
Yes, the investment apps we compare are authorised and licensed in the European Union. Investing always carries risk, but regulated platforms must follow strict rules to protect client assets.
An ETF is a fund that lets you invest in many companies with one investment.
An index fund aims to copy the performance of a stock market index, such as the S&P 500.
Many ETFs are index funds. An ETF is the structure; an index fund is the investment strategy.
Many beginners choose a low-cost, globally diversified index ETF.
One all-world ETF is enough for many investors. Others prefer multiple ETFs for more control.
Yes. Investments can fall in value, especially in the short term.
Yes. Automatic investing makes it easier to stay on track.
Common fees include commissions, settlement fees, currency conversion fees, deposit fees and maintenance fees.
A lot. Small reductions in fees can earn you thousands worth of extra returns over time. See it for yourself using our fees calculator.
No. Investing consistently is the better approach.
Occasionally. Long-term investors don't need to check them every day.
Ideally at least 5 years, longer if possible.
Find the Right Investment App
Compare the most popular investment apps available to Irish investors by fees, features and investment selection to choose the platform that's right for you.
