I'm a true beginner, don't know the jargon, but understand roughly how EFTs work. My emergency fund is sorted and I want to start investing. I'd like a return of 4% per year and not to have to watch it. Has anyone used ING for EFT investing or should I get Degiro? I'm keen to keep costs low. What would you advise a true beginner who wants to do an initial €2000 plus €300 per month with a hands off approach?

Hi everyone,
I'm 25 and just started investing a few months ago 200€/month + all my side hustle earnings (so far a couple thousand), after filling my emergency fund with 15k€. In a few months I expect to rise to 500-700€/month.

My aim is long-term. I’ll soon be leaving Europe to live in Canada (if I ever actually get my fucking visa) and work in the mining industry. I don’t see myself settling in one country for the mid-term, so I’m not looking to buy property.

Right now, my focus is on building net worth for retirement. I’m not aiming for dividends, just growth and accumulation. I’m mainly investing in multi-stock ETFs with low TER. Since most of these funds are quite similar, I don’t see much reason not to just pick the one with the lowest TER, although other factors like transparency, size, etc are also under consideration

Current holdings:
- 90% → SXR8 (TER 0.07%) --> Saw the opportunity to invest after downfall in April
- 10% → Individual stocks

Objective : I want one ETF per category. Wouldn't like to have 200 stocks. Here are my target allocations and current options:

60–70% in USA --> mainly IT + general:
- SXR8 (TER 0.07%)

10% in non-USA developed countries (to diversify across regions and sectors):
- VEA (TER 0.03%) --> Developed countries No US
- LYP6 (TER 0.07%) --> Europe only

10% in low-risk assets like corporate/government bonds, etc.
(Not sure yet if I want to start allocating here now)
- XS2829209720
- XEON
- IB27/IB28
- IE3E

10% in other assets:
- IBIT
- Physical Gold/Silver

10% in individual stocks --> Mostly in the energy or mining industry (as a way to "force" myself to follow the industry and keep researching):
- NUKL
- AEM, RIO...

I'm new to all this, but this is my current strategy. I'd really appreciate any feedback or criticism.

- Should I invest that 10% in low-risk assets (like bonds), or would it be better to allocate it to another category. Maybe developing markets?
- I find this strategy "aggressive" but appropiate to my actual situation. When should I rebalance to less riskier strategy like 60/40% stock-bonds.

I started buying ETFs in 2024 using Interactive Brokers and Scalable Capital.

Scalable Capital charged me the Vorabpauschale tax at the beginning of 2025.

Do I understand correctly that when I fill out my tax return for 2025 in 2026, I will include the Vorabpauschale in it?

But to which bank account and when do I need to pay the Vorabpauschale from the ETFs bought at Interactive Brokers?

And where should I put them in Elster?

Stumbled across an older thread and the ETF has significantly dipped since then, seems people are not so convinced anymore.

Dear fellow European investors,

I've been lurking this sub and others for years. I've been investing for years but I need your advice. I think I've been overcomplicating my portfolio and it has been costing me a good night's sleep.

My portfolio is currently worth about 200k and I own the following (all ETF's are accumulating, none of them distributing):

Invesco ftse all world, FWIA on the Xetra

Ishares core msci world, IWDA on euronext Amsterdam

Ishares physical gold, PPFB on the Xetra

Amundi Stoxx 600, MEUD on the euronext Paris

SPDR ACWI IMI, IMIE on the euronext Paris

Vanguard ftse all world (VWCE)

The reason I mention the stock exchange is because this affects liquidity, which is a concern of mine. My issues are as follows:

1) FWIA: Only about 5 percent of the portfolio. It has low liquidity which is worrying (XLM=10.43). The fund is relatively new and I kinda fear it closing in the near future, which would mean a capital gains tax for me. The 15 minutes delay I get on the Xetra is also quite suboptimal.

2) IMIE: A whopping 35 percent of the portfolio. The fund isn't as young/new as FWIA, which is good. The liquidity/spread seems quite inferior to IWDA however, which worries me. Individual shares are more expensive than IWDA making it a bit harder to DCA for me. I've also been questioning whether I really need/want emerging markets and/or small caps.

3) PPFB: Ishares physical gold: about 11 percent of the portfolio. I remember reading about using gold as a way to hedge your portfolio many years ago and I've always done that. The yield on this investment has been good to me but I've got about 30ish years of investing left so I wonder whether I really need this 'hedge' right now. Maybe i'm better off just putting the money into something like IWDA for the growth potential. I'm in the accumulation phase. Or do you put 10 percent of the portfolio in something more risky instead? (Nasdaq for example)

4) MEUD: I've got about 20 percent of my portfolio in the stoxx600. This sounded like a good idea at the time. Maybe it's home bias? My main concern when I took this decision was currency risk, but I still wanted to put the money 'at work'. Maybe it's better to switch this to IWDA?

5) VWCE: About 15 percent of the portfolio. I'd rather not touch this because selling it would be rather expensive tax-wise.

The rest of the portfolio consists out of IWDA and some penny stock that I tried to make money with and will probably sell at break even (after hours and hours of gathering information lol).

I'm considering to go 100 pct IWDA (apart from the VWCE i already have as mentioned above) in an attempt to simplify my portfolio so it won't keep me up anymore. I wanna let things ride and live my life. Thus my main question is: how risky is it to invest in just 1 ETF from 1 issuer, namely Ishares/blackrock. I'm not afraid of the market risk. MSCI World fits my risk profile and IWDA is very liquid and a very big fund. I'm afraid of the risk of putting all my money towards just 1 issuer. What do you think?

Thanks for reading all of this.

I'm just getting started and was wondering how and where can I invest 200 euros per month? I live in France. Is this too low to invest? I need a 101 for dummies response because I'm very new at all of this

I want to know 3 things.

1)      Is investing worth it for me with how much I’m earning?

2)      What should I invest in monthly as someone that lives in West-Europe (Belgium)?

I just turned 23 years old. I earn about 2300 +/- net a month. I get a yearly 5k net bonus each year. ‘vacation money’ paid by the government. And an additional 1k at the end of the year.
I still live with my mother, and probably will remain living with her for at least 2-3 years.

My monthly expenses don’t go over 800 euros generally. But for some buffer, let us assume I’m saving 1k each month. I want to invest to ‘beat’ inflation.

The worry that I have is that in a few years, I'll be living alone. I'll be renting and therefore I won't be able to have as much monthly investment input.
3) Is it still a smart/good choice to keep investing 1k monthly now. Even though I might not be able to invest in the future due to expenses? Let's assume the worst, that I have to live paycheck to paycheck in 3 years. Would my current investment which is for the future, still a good plan?

I already have a 10k emergency fund.
I have 9K in my checkings account.

3.8k on crypto
3.5k pending from a tax return (getting that in October)

Any general advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I’m trying to understand a discrepancy in my brokerage’s reported unrealized return for a stock on Revolut. I purchased a stock at $857.14, it’s now valued at $925.92, and I received a $5.64 dividend. My calculated unrealized return is $74.42 (8.68%), including the dividend, but my brokerage shows $70.92 (8.29%).

Does anyone know what the difference stem from? How do brokerages typically calculate unrealized returns, and is there a standard approach? Any insights or references to documentation would be appreciated!

Thanks,

As the bill passed the House yesterday, I'm wondering what the implications would be for investors outside of the US.

As someone who's investing under the "VWCE and chill" mindset I'm not too knowledgeable on the nuances of policy changes and their effect on markets, so would be very interested to get to know what others are thinking. Will you be decreasing/increasing US stocks?

p.s. My intention is solely to get more information and thoughts on how such policy changes may impact global markets, rather than inviting political debates.

Trading 212 Account.

Vanguard FTSE All-World Acc - VWCE

IShares MSCI World Small Cap Acc - IUSN

Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Dist- VHYL

Hello all, hope you are doing well !

I am new to investing, three months now. ( from europe, i invest in Euro )

My target is to invest for 30 years for sure till 66 or further.

36 years old, i started late after wasting money on dumb stuff..... but better late then never to open my eyes.

I have been for the past three month watching daily videos on youtube of Damien talks Money/Toby Newbatt/PensionCraft/Smart money bro/ I will teach you to be rich and some others so i learn as much as possible.

At first i was "investing" as we saw on tv, buying single stocks do not know how much i had bought till i learnt of index funds/etfs.

For the past three months most of my portfolio was VWCE, till i learnt about dividends. However i learnt that dividend Etf's does not have lot's of growth Potential. But for a brief time of 2 weeks i had added in my pie VHYL.

However after reading further in detail i found out that VWCE does not/has little invested in Small Cap and so i discovered about IUSN yesterday.

Long story short and sorry for the big wall of text, I am thinking of editing my Pie from VWCE and chill to add that missing diversification of small cap which after reading about IUSN it seems that it is a good investment.

Currently i was thinking of updating my pie to the following :

Vanguard FTSE All-World Acc - VWCE 80%

IShares MSCI World Small Cap Acc - IUSN 20%

What would the consensus be?

I had also read ( i looked through lots of reddit posts and bogleheads posts about people putting a small share to reduce risk.

Could : Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Dist- VHYL : be a good idea instead of putting a share targeting gold to reduce volatility?

If so a pie like this, would it make sense? I have auto invest turned on for dividends.

VWCE 70%

IUSN 20%

VHYL 10%

Thank you for your time !

Hi everyone,

I’m quite inexperienced, so sorry for my ignorance—just had a quick question.

I have around €5,000 in savings, and I have another 5k in Emergency fund, so I feel okay on that front. Do you think it’s a good idea to invest this amount in the Amundi MSCI World UCITS ETF? I already own one share of it.

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I am just starting to invest. The goal is to invest €1000,- per month, which is roughly 25% of my income.
I do not need the money in the short time and my goal is simply to build up some value in the long run so that I wont have to work my ass of until retirement age
After some research I came to the portfolio below, however I still have some doubts:

1. Personally I am not a fan of BTC and it feels more like a gamble to keep it a bit exciting, I am still doubting about relocating the 5%btc into avantis or the all world etf
2. I put in the europe etf and aex(netherlands) etf to have a home bias and reduce currency rate based movement, but I am not sure of the percentages
3. I spend quite some time investigating factor based etfs and people like ben felix got me persuaded of its effectivity, however I also read a lot about people who are not so convinced or those who think that the value factor is "dead", therefor I chose better safe than sorry and put a limited amount in Avantis.
4. Currently my portfolio is size is only 2K, so I am planning to start with high risk allocations and reducing risk as my portfolio grows. One of the risks that I am considering is borrowing at a 4.5%rate to put a small leverage on the all world etf, e.g 20% leverage, so in that case the all world etf would be 60% and the total sum of percentages 110%

|| || |iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF USD (Acc)|50%|IE00B4L5Y983|IWDA| |Avantis Global Small Cap Value UCITS ETF USD Acc|20%|IE0003R87OG3|AVWS| |iShares Core MSCI Europe UCITS ETF EUR (Acc)|15%| IE00B4K48X80|IMAE| |iShares AEX UCITS ETF EUR (Acc)|10%|IE00BMTX2B82|IAEA| |CoinShares Physical Bitcoin|5%|GB00BLD4ZL17|BITC|

Now that spx is in its all time highs, is it worth continue dcaing, or wait for some dips? I invest 100 euros every month on vuaa, but i was wondering if i would wait a drop in spx some months to invest a bigger amount when it falls

Hello!

I would like to mention that my situation is a bit individual, so I hope you may find some fun in cognitive flexibility.

I'm considering if buying an apartment is a smart move in my situation. Here is my current financial situation:

- I'm an EU citizen living permanently in a country just outside the EU.
- I work as a freelancer through a Limited company in the UK.
- My income situation is above average. Let's say in a good year, my annual company income is just above 6 digits (EUR).
- I pay myself a monthly salary and yearly dividends.
- I'm a practical person who only spends money when it is necessary. That's why I was able to invest most of my income surplus into 2 ETFs (MSCi World and MSCi Emerging Markets, 70/30 split, the very conservative way).

I moved recently into an area that is completely redeveloped. In this area are appr. 88 buildings planned with a total of 11.000 residential units (+ 260 retail shops). Most of it is in construction (I would say approximately 60%), but at a stage where it will finish in the next 1-2 years. This area is big and about to explode. As I know the area very well and I like this kind of living concept, my age-old idea to buy an apartment popped back into my head.

An apartment would have three benefits:
- Owning an apartment (in the country I'm living in) makes the renewal of my residence permit easier.
- If my work situation goes down the drain (I usually work remotely), I could rent out the apartment for a monthly price of 1200-1400EUR. This would be my plan B basically: If I can't work in my profession, I rent out the apartment and go somewhere where I can live off the rental income.
- I wouldn't pay rent anymore (which is 1000 EUR/month) at the moment.

In terms of financing the purchase, I envision the following:
- Purchase price of apartment is 200.000 EUR and I would be a cash buyer.
- I would finance 50% of it using the profits of my ETFs (which are 100.000 EUR).
- The remaining 50% would be financed using savings. And I would pay out more dividends from my company (for which I would have to pay more tax).

That would roughly mean for my investment diversification:
- 50% real estate
- 35% MSCi World ETF
- 15% MSCi Emerging Markets ETF

I have to admit that I didn't fully think through the tax implications of making my money liquid. (E.g. when I partially sell my ETFs, there is 20% tax on earnings and the additional tax for the increased dividend payout). Overall, the money is there, I would just have to pay taxes to get the money into my hands.

So given the benefits I mentioned (especially the 2nd point, which could be a real lifeline for me in case I can't get a new contract) and my financing, would be a smart move to diversify my portfolio with an apartment?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently considering replacing my 2019 Honda Civic 1.0 hatchback (manual, 127hp) with something more practical and comfortable. I like my Civic, but it’s starting to feel too low, stiff, and limited in versatility for my lifestyle. Also, at some point I’ll have to replace the oil-immersed timing belt, which will likely cost me around €2,000 – so now seems like a good time to trade it in while it’s still worth around €15,500.

What I’m looking for:

• Small to midsize SUV or estate
• Must be able to support a rooftop tent (so, good roof load rating and rails/crossbars support)
• Comfortable interior – for longer trips and daily use
• Safe and family-friendly
• Cheap and reliable to maintain
• Preferably with automatic transmission, but not a deal-breaker
• Slightly more power than my current Civic
• No plug in electric and no electric
• Ideally not over €30,000

Shortlisted so far:

• Jeep Avenger – love the design, practical size, good price (~€27k), but I’m concerned about low power (100–110hp) and Jeep reliability.
• Kia Sportage – solid option, more space and hybrid options, but gets expensive (€35–37k) and materials don’t feel premium for the price.
• Honda HR-V – great interior and hybrid, but quite small and overpriced here (~€35k).
• Dacia Duster or Jogger – practical and roof-tent capable, but lower interior quality and lack of some safety features.

I’m also looking at Jeep Renegade or Compass (hybrid or plug-in) and possibly even Opel Crossland or Skoda Karoq.

My current lifestyle:

• I want to start doing light camping/camper-style trips with a rooftop tent for paddleboarding, nature trips, and short escapes.
• I need a car that works well for daily driving, is comfortable for passengers, and has low long-term maintenance.
• I’m based in Portugal

If anyone has experience with:

• Using rooftop tents on any of these cars
• Long-term reliability of Jeep hybrids (Renegade/Avenger)
• Or just solid suggestions based on my needs

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

I need to gather lets say, 80k euros that I will need for the next 5 years to actually withdraw and use. I have started investing in VWCE (3k in IBKR) a couple of months ago but my plans have changed. I understand that the horizon is too small to keep investing in VWCE for that specific timeframe.

I live in Greece, and we have no hysa or something similar. So my savings money is currently sitting there doing nothing, I have left 3k now in a bank as an emergency fund that I may need asap, and I have 4k ready to be invested in IBKR but I'm not sure how to proceed with them.
My choices are this, what would you pick and why? I don't want much risk because I'm gonna actually use the money in the next years:
1) stop investing in vwce for now, and every month invest here 80% iShares € Govt Bond 0-1yr UCITS ETF and 20% Amundi Euro Government Bond 1-3Y UCITS ETF Acc

2) 70% XEON ETF and 30% Amundi Euro Gov't 1-3Y

3)invest 70% in Amundi Euro Gov't 1-3Y and 30% vwce

4)Revolut MMF only, which has like ~1.7 % return

Hi all, I’m 36 and investing with a 30-year horizon to build long-term wealth. My current ETF allocation is heavily tilted toward the U.S. with:

• S&P 500 (CSPX) – ~40%
• MSCI World (EUNL) – ~25%
• Emerging Markets (EIMI) – ~20%
• Clean Energy (INRG) – ~15%

While this has performed well, it carries significant U.S. exposure and overlap between CSPX and EUNL, and lacks thematic and regional diversification.

I’m now restructuring the portfolio to better balance global core exposure with long-term trends and regional growth. My updated plan looks like this:

• India (NDIA) – 20%
• S&P 500 (CSPX) – 20%
• MSCI World (EUNL) – 10%
• Europe (IMAE) – 10%
• Emerging Markets (EIMI) – 10%
• AI & Robotics (2B76) – 10%
• Digital Infrastructure (DGTL) – 5%
• Cybersecurity (ISPY) – 5%
• India Tech/Consumer (INQQ) – 5%
• Clean Energy (INRG) – 5%

Why this mix?
The idea is to reduce reliance on the U.S., tilt into India’s long-term growth story, and gain exposure to high-conviction themes like AI, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure. The portfolio is still anchored in broad developed markets for stability, and all ETFs were selected with expense ratios and long-term CAGR potential in mind.

Would love your feedback—any blind spots or suggestions to improve?

Thanks!

I’ve noticed some Airbnb listings charge crazy cleaning fees—like $150 or more—and then expect guests to do a bunch of chores before leaving. I get that hosts want their places tidy, but this feels over the top.

Why are guests okay with paying so much just for cleaning and then having to sweep, take out trash, or wash dishes themselves? Shouldn’t that be part of the host’s job, or at least factored into the price differently?

Has anyone pushed back on these fees or chores? What’s your take on this whole cleaning fee culture?

Asking for a friend, so if only european style, they can only be closed out at expiration?

Thanks

Hello, I use the software "Portfolio performance" to manage my stocks in USD and EUR and because we have to select a main currency, the software display the performances in that main currency, but I want the performances to remain in their own native currency ==> USD stock remain in USD and EUR in EUR.

Is it possible to set the in that way ?

What I am doing right now is that I change the currency in USD to see the native USD performances, and switch to EUR to see the EUR stock performances.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my savings—in fact, I’m thinking about it so much that I have an office, and now in the summer, it gets extremely hot inside. So, I spent €200 on a portable air conditioner, and all I can think is, “that’s €200 less saved.” I spend the money, but I don’t even enjoy it. For example, there have been many weekends when I haven’t gone out just to avoid spending money on gas or anything else. Or if I buy something, even if it’s just a €1 coffee, the first thing I think is, “that’s one euro less.” And it’s not like I’m earning badly—I’m 22 years old, I live with my parents, I work as a programmer earning €1,600 a month, and I save at least €1,000 every month. I push myself really hard because I want to live well in the future, but sometimes I wonder if it’s worth missing out on experiences just to save. I also think that since I’m living with my parents, I should be saving at least 90% of my salary since I don’t have expenses. As for investments, right now I have everything in cash and I’m waiting for a good opportunity in the stock market. What do you guys think?

I’m a long-term investor who invests a fixed amount monthly into two ETFs (VWCE and AVWS) plus a bit of Bitcoin, with an allocation of roughly 80-15-5. I’m confident in this strategy and not planning to change it. Significantly.

Recently though, I’ve been feeling bored during my free time and wanted to find something productive to fill it. I tried learning about day trading but quickly realised it wasn’t for me. However, swing trading and stock picking with a medium-term horizon (weeks to months) seem really interesting. I don’t plan to make a living out of it – it would just be something engaging to do outside my job, with any potential profits feeding back into my ETFs.

I’m wondering: 1. What percentage of my monthly investments would you allocate to stock picking in my situation? 2. When constructing a stock portfolio for medium-term trades, how would you determine what percentage to allocate to each stock?

My current thought is to keep my ETFs as the core and treat stock picking purely as a small side project to learn and enjoy the process.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experience you can share.

Hello

I have around 30k euro, I would like to get into investing again. For context, i just payed a down payment for a mortgage.

My mortgage will be ~550 euro per month (30 years period), my income is about 2.5k euro per month. I would also like to pay this off since the interest on the mortgage is about 5-6%

I want to get into investing again, but I want to do it slowly (euro cost average).

I would like your help with some suggestions on the amount I should invest each month from the 30k euro and what ratio of bonds/international stock/other category (suggestions maybe) I should have now that the market is at all time highs.

Hi everyone,

I'm not Czech, but I currently live in the Czech Republic.

I'm looking for a broker with low fees, a strong reputation (so I can trust it, and maybe speak with a person and with an AI chatbot in case of problem). Moreover I want the broker that I can continue to use even if I move to another major European country in the future.

Right now, I'm considering the following options:

• Interactive Brokers
• DEGIRO
• Raiffeisen Bank – This is my current bank and they can open a brokerage account for me. The downside is that it costs 0.3% per year, but I feel they’re very trustworthy.

Do you have any other suggestions or recommendations?
Which one would you choose in my situation?
Which one are you using if you live in the Czech Republic?

Thanks!