Gerard O’Brien has built a distinctive and invaluable background in law and international financial advisory, allowing him to employ financial strategies and methods that are unique to the financial services industry in Ireland today.
For the past 16 years, he has been guiding clients globally through the various complexities associated with financial planning and wealth management. Gerard has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality advice and excellent results for clients. He was most recently a Senior Advisor at Bank of Ireland Private Banking for 8 years, where he advised clients in all areas of investment management, retirement and succession planning.
Up until 2007, Gerard was a Senior Advisor for 7 years to clients based in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where he advised on investment opportunities, estate succession and tax efficient structures with the leading global advisory firm, HSBC Private Banking. Gerard is qualified to the highest levels in law and finance, both in Ireland and Internationally. He recently obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation, considered to be the world’s most prestigious financial planning qualification. Gerard is a member of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB Ireland) and The Institute of Banking.
Your Will, Intestate and Power of Attorney We maintain that the starting point for the proper organization of your assets and your succession plan is the consideration of: A Will Power of Attorney Enduring Power of Attorney What is a Will? A will is a witnessed document that sets out in writing the deceased's wishes for [...]
As we move towards the end of 2017, it can be an appropriate opportunity to pause and review some of the market movements and developments we have seen in 2017. It appears at this late stage in December, that 2017 will stack up well versus history. However, as always, there was plenty happening under the [...]
Tax planning strategies before the end of the year The end of the financial year is quickly approaching and now is a good time to take some prudent steps to reduce your tax bill and put yourself in the best position for the next financial year. All too often tax planning is left to the [...]
Pensions & Divorce After the family home, sometimes the most valuable asset which a separating couple/civil partners have is often a pension scheme. Nowadays, the court’s in Ireland have the power to treat a pension as an asset of the separating couple/civil partners and can therefore order that it be divided into whatever share [...]
We all know that trying to understand pensions, financial independence and retirement is not easy. Let’s get that out of the way at the outset of this article! But how can we work to understand the various dimensions of the pension world and how this solution can form part of an overall plan to seek [...]
Do you qualify for the State Contributory Pension? Who qualifies for the State Contributory Pension and what PRSI contributions must be made in order to meet the requirements, are common questions many people ask when planning their retirement. In order to qualify for the State Contributory Pension, an individual must have made a certain minimum [...]
Is an Annuity a good investment? At Heritage Wealth, we appreciate that deciding what to do with your pension fund is one of the most important financial decisions you will have to make. There are various options available to you and now is a good time to seek professional advice, to ensure that whatever decisions [...]
Family & Business Succession Planning Death is understandably a topic that people don’t like to think a lot about. But as we all know, it’s an unavoidable part of life. By putting financial measures in place now you may be able to make this time less difficult for your loved ones. In the past, “Estate [...]
3 Tax Tips for Business Owners, Homeowners and the Self-Employed Non-Principal Private Residence Charge (NPPR) The NPPR was an annual charge applied from 2009 to 2013 in respect of residential property that was not the owner’s only or main residence in those years. If you owned residential property on the liability date in any of [...]
Our Guide to Tax Efficient Investing The quote “Don’t let the tax tail wag the investment dog” means don’t make investment decisions solely based on tax considerations. Nevertheless, it is certainly sensible to invest in a tax-clever and tax-efficient way. What is meant by a tax-efficient investment is often quite difficult to define. What is [...]