Save, Invest, or Speculate explains in plain language how saving, investing and speculating differ — and what the new account means for Irish savers.
Dublin, October 2026 — MoneyWhizz, the financial education initiative founded by Frank Conway QFA, today launched Save, Invest, or Speculate, a new guide to investing for adults and students aged 16 and over. The guide assumes no prior knowledge. It covers how inflation erodes cash savings, how compound growth works, why speculation on crypto and commodities is not investing, and how diversification spreads and reduces risk. Throughout, it uses real market data from the S&P 500, EURO STOXX 50 and STOXX Europe 600 to show what ten years of investing actually looked like against deposit accounts.
The guide has been updated to reflect the Irish Investment Account announced in Budget 2027, due to open on 1 July 2027. Its worked example shows that €10,000 invested for 24 years at 7% a year would keep about €50,700 inside the new account, against about €30,200 under today’s fund rules — a difference of more than €20,000, and roughly level with a UK ISA. Inside the account, the eight-year deemed disposal rule will not apply; the first €50,000 is tax free, with a flat 1% annual charge above that and contributions capped at €12,000 a year.
Outside the account, the picture changes far less. Exit tax on funds and ETFs falls from 38% to 35% from January 2027, and Capital Gains Tax on shares from 33% to 31%, but deemed disposal remains for existing fund holdings. The guide also compares the new account with the Swedish ISK, on which it is partly modelled.
“Ireland’s tax system has spent years making diversified investing harder than it should be. The new account is a genuine step change, and people deserve to understand exactly what it does, what it doesn’t, and what is still to be decided. That is what this guide is for.”
Frank Conway QFA, Founder, MoneyWhizz
What the new account can hold — based on what is known today
Eligible – Listed shares, listed bonds, ETFs and a range of retail investment funds
Excluded – Crypto assets and derivatives
Awaiting the Finance Act – Exchange-traded commodity products, and whether existing ETF holdings can be transferred in
The guide is clear that none of the Budget 2027 measures are law until the Finance Bill passes. It sets out the announced terms as they stand and flags what still needs clarifying, so readers are informed without acting early. It is financial education, not financial advice, and does not recommend any product or provider.
Availability
Save, Invest, or Speculate is available now to existing MoneyWhizz customers, in PDF and Word formats.
Queries
info@moneywhizz.org
www.moneywhizz.org
Notes to editors. MoneyWhizz is a financial education initiative founded by Frank Conway QFA. The worked example assumes a single €10,000 investment growing at 7% a year for 24 years, before fund charges. Budget 2027 figures are as announced by the Minister for Finance on 6 October 2026 and are subject to legislation.
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