KO Financial celebrates a year of excellence
Spreadsheets and pie charts were replaced by party hats and popping corks at leading local financial services start up company, KO Financial, which celebrated its first year of trading this week.
The Athlone-based consultancy, which is located at Unit 16 at the Kilmartin Roundabout on the N6 Dublin Road, was formed a year ago by two local financial services experts, David O'Shaughnessy and David Keenan. The two Davids (as they are referred to by their clients) decided to join forces with a view to providing a state-of-the-art financial consultancy service for the Midlands region.
“We are delighted with our progress in the first year,” says David Keenan. “We sensed there would be a real demand for the sort of financial services consultancy we are offering, but we were surprised by the volume of interest and take up during our first year of trading.”
David O'Shaughnessy is perhaps better known to those outside the financial services sector as a former Westmeath GAA star and Leinster champion, while his colleague David Keenan hails from a renowned Athlone family with a distinguished history in League of Ireland soccer.
KO Financial's initial focus has been on three core services that are in high demand across the Midlands region among companies and individuals alike: pension planning, investment advice and life, income and illness insurance services.
Despite the rise in living cost this year, David Keenan notes that the lion's share of KO Financial's current workload remain in the area of pension planning. A recent Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) survey found that one in every ten people between the ages of 45 and 64 does not have a pension. The survey also found that pension ownership among those in the 45-54 age bracket is lower than last year due to rising living costs. However, 69% of those surveyed said they would be happy to pay into an occupational pension scheme.
“While pension planning can be a daunting and often confusing process, and is becoming increasingly so, more and more companies and individuals are now becoming aware of the need to start pension planning sooner rather than later,” says David Keenan.
David O'Shaughnessy adds that KO Financial would be happy to help clients seeking advice about how to set up a pension plan.
The two partners in KO Financial have over 25 years experience working in the financial services industry and have combined their wealth of knowledge, deep-rooted connections and insights to provide impartial and trusted advice to clients both locally in Athlone and across the region.
KO Financial takes immense pride in nurturing lasting relationships built on trust, transparency and open communication with their clients, and stresses that the financial well-being of each is at “at the heart” of everything they do. They add that they are prepared to go “the extra mile” to ensure that the future financial security of their clients is in safe hands.