Straight answers to
fair questions.

Legacy is Ireland's first unified family investment platform — one app where you can manage your own Personal SIA, a Child Investment Account (Bare Trust) for your child, and automated Small Gift Exemption gifts from grandparents. We're currently pre-launch, with a target of 2027.

The best answer to this question is the story of why it exists: read the founder's note →

No. Legacy is a technology platform for family investing. We don't hold deposits and we don't lend. Client assets are held in segregated accounts via a Tier-1 European-regulated custodian, separate from Legacy's own balance sheet.

Not currently. Legacy is pre-launch and is not yet authorised or regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. We are in the process of establishing the regulatory partnerships necessary to operate our investment platform, and we are building compliance into the product from day one rather than bolting it on later.

We will update this answer as our regulatory status develops — being straight about this matters more to us than sounding impressive.

Our target is 2027, aligned with the expected introduction of Ireland's Savings and Investment Account (SIA) framework, which is currently in development by the Department of Finance. The timeline depends on legislation, so the honest answer is: as soon as the framework allows us to launch properly. Waitlist members will be the first to know.

No. Legacy is a technology platform, not an advisory service. We give you the tools to invest — you choose what to invest in. We don't recommend specific investments based on your personal circumstances, and nothing on this site should be read as a personal recommendation.

If you want advice tailored to your situation, speak to an authorised financial adviser.

Before you can invest, you'll complete a short questionnaire about your knowledge and experience with investing. This isn't paperwork for its own sake — it's how we check that the products on Legacy are appropriate for someone in your position, which is required of any investment platform.

It's separate from financial advice: we're assessing fit, not telling you what to buy. You make the final call on what to invest in.

One platform fee, capped at 1% per year, and nothing else. No commissions, no referral fees, no payments from fund providers for routing your money their way.

If Legacy earns more, it's because your account has grown — there's no separate income stream pulling our incentives away from yours.

Legacy intends to offer a small set of diversified, low-cost investment options — for example a global equity fund and a lower-risk balanced fund — so you don't need to be a stock-picker to get started. You choose the option that matches your risk appetite and time horizon.

Again, we are execution only — we don't recommend specific investments based on your personal circumstances, and nothing on this site should be read as a personal recommendation. If you want advice tailored to your situation, we encourage you to speak to an authorised financial adviser.

A Bare Trust is the simplest form of trust in Irish law, and it's how a child can hold investments before turning 18. An adult (usually a parent or guardian) acts as trustee and manages the account, but the money belongs to the child from day one — legally and irrevocably.

Normally setting one up means solicitors and paperwork. Legacy generates your trust deed automatically and guides you through Revenue registration step by step.

Your child does — from the moment the money goes in. That's the nature of a Bare Trust: gifts into it are irrevocable, and your child gains full control of the account when they turn 18.

This is worth sitting with before you start. It's what makes the structure tax-efficient, but it also means you can't take the money back, and an 18-year-old can spend it however they choose. We think the honest framing is: this is their money, you're just the steward of it.

Once money is gifted into the trust, it belongs to your child — you can't reclaim it or redirect it, even as the person who gave it. We're currently getting clarity from our legal team on the exact scope of what your appointed Trustees can do with the funds before your child turns 18, and we'll update this answer with specifics shortly.

When your child turns 18, they take full legal control of whatever's in the account.

The Savings and Investment Account is a proposed framework currently in development by the Department of Finance, with a target launch expected in 2027. Its aim is to make investing simpler and more accessible for ordinary Irish savers — a response to the roughly €170 billion sitting in low-yield deposit accounts.

The final shape of the SIA depends on legislation. Legacy is designed to integrate with the framework when it is legislated.

That's the plan — family doesn't stop at borders, and gifting from abroad is one of the reasons Legacy exists. Relatives will be able to gift into a child's account via a shared link, subject to identity verification and anti-money-laundering checks.

Cross-border gifts can have tax implications in both countries. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances — consult a tax adviser.

There's no large minimum to open an account — what matters more is building the habit. Most families start with an initial gift and then set up a standing order (from as little as €20/month) so the account grows automatically, in step with things like the monthly Child Benefit payment.

Grandparents and other family members can gift any amount up to the €3,000 annual Small Gift Exemption without tax implications.

Yes — there's no limit on the number of Child Investment Accounts you can manage from one Legacy login. Each child gets their own separate Bare Trust.

We intend to send all account holders an annual statement covering your account activity, holdings, and performance for the previous 12 months, sent electronically. We'll also keep you posted on anything material — like changes to fees or the fund lineup — as it happens via email.

Client assets will be held in segregated accounts via a Tier-1 European-regulated custodian — separate from Legacy's own balance sheet. Segregation means your investments are yours: they are not Legacy's money and can't be used to pay Legacy's bills.

Protection from operational failure is different from protection from market movements: investments can fall in value, and that risk always remains with the investor.

Because client assets are segregated with a regulated custodian rather than held by Legacy, they don't form part of Legacy's balance sheet. If Legacy ceased trading, your investments would remain yours and would be returned to you or transferred to another provider.

Few startups like answering this question. We think it's the most reasonable question on this page.

A Bare Trust doesn't depend on you personally to keep running — your co-trustee, or a successor trustee you've named, is able to step in and keep managing the account, and the money stays your child's throughout.

We're finalising the exact legal mechanics of trustee succession with our legal team and will update this answer with specifics shortly. Please refer to the Bare Trust terms and conditions for further details.

Yes. All investing carries risk: the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Long time horizons — like the 18 years of a child's account — have historically helped smooth out market ups and downs, but past performance is not a guide to future returns, and nothing is guaranteed.

If you may need the money in the short term, investing may not be right for you.

One number: total fees are capped at 1% per year, always. No exit fees, no hidden charges, no surprises. High fees are one of the quietest destroyers of long-term compounding, and we built Legacy's pricing around that fact.

We're pre-launch, so there's nothing to complain about yet — but here's our intent: every complaint gets a written acknowledgement, a fair investigation, and a clear answer within the timeframes set out in the Central Bank's Consumer Protection Code.

If you're ever unhappy with how we've handled something, you'll have the right to escalate to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman once we're authorised.

You'll have a short window after opening your account to change your mind and withdraw in full — no investment will have taken place yet, so there's nothing to unwind. We'll confirm the exact length of this opening window once legal review is complete.

Once money has actually been invested, you're holding units in the market like any other investment, and can sell them at any time at the prevailing price — that's a normal sale, not a cancellation.

The same way yours is — if anything, more carefully. We collect only what's needed to open and run the account, we don't sell or share it for marketing, and children's data carries stricter protection under GDPR. Only you, as trustee, and Legacy can see the account until your child turns 18.

The Small Gift Exemption (Section 69, CATCA 2003) currently allows any individual to gift up to €3,000 per recipient, per year, exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax. These gifts also don't erode the recipient's lifetime CAT Group A threshold (currently €400,000 for gifts and inheritances from parents).

Most grandparents know it exists; almost none use it systematically. Legacy automates it.

Subject to Revenue rules. Tax treatment may change and depends on individual circumstances. This is not tax advice — consult a tax adviser.

In most cases, yes. Growth in fund-based investments held by Irish residents is generally subject to Irish exit tax, including a "deemed disposal" charge every eight years even if you haven't sold. The exact treatment depends on the investment type, the account structure, and your circumstances — and the incoming SIA framework may change the picture.

All projected figures on our site are shown before tax unless stated otherwise.

Tax treatment may change. This is not tax advice — consult a tax adviser.

Nothing. It's free, there's no obligation to invest, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Waitlist members get priority access at launch and a say in what we build first.