2 ms·

I'm in an European Union country. Personally, I've given up on even trying to invest when I saw all the strings attached. The bank I use has a service allowing

I'm in an European Union country. Personally, I've given up on even trying to invest when I saw all the strings attached. The bank I use has a service allowing you to put money in their investment funds, configured for different risk profiles. You need to pay some fees to opt in. There seems to be an already paid yearly(?) fee when you opt in, but you probably need to pay yearly to keep the money in the system. When you decide to cash out, you have to pay income tax. In conclusion, from my money, the bank needs to be paid, the state needs to be paid, and I doubt their 6% (assuming this is true) yearly return rate is going to net me anything than a loss unless I pump some 6 digit sum right off the bat and leave it there for decades.

WA 7y ago
I don't really understand your point. Yes, it is more complicated than simply putting money in a bank account and gain a minimum interest rate. However, it's relatively straight-forward. Not sure about your particular bank, but many banks offer some automatic payments. You simply pay monthly to acquire shares of an ETF. Of course, this costs money, because every transaction on a stock exchange costs money. But generally, this share is yours and the bank keeps it for you. Usually, you can cancel the saving plans and get to keep the shares. This already is so much easier than private retirement insurances and stuff like that where cancelling a contract comes with hefty fees. And yes, if you make money on financial assets, you have to pay tax on the returns. This is even the case for the little interest on your bank account. Fortunately, the first 801€ (in Germany) are tax-free and also, the bank handles all of this for you. I'd argue: If you read about this stuff for 1-2 hours, you know enough about the system and nowadays, it is way easier to do any of this than at any other point in the past. > and I doubt their 6% (assuming this is true) yearly return rate is going to net me anything than a loss unless I pump some 6 digit sum right off the bat and leave it there for decades. Well, 6% is the past performance and yes, this doesn't mean that it'll give you the same returns in the future. But generally speaking, it doesn't matter if you put in a 6 digit sum all at once now or acquire shares over the next 20 years. The only general rule of thumb is: You shouldn't treat this money as a saving account. Don't expect to have access to this money whenever you want, because if you need the money RIGHT NOW, you might be forced to sell your shares at a loss.

WA 7y ago

I don't really understand your point. Yes, it is more complicated than simply putting money in a bank account and gain a minimum interest rate. However, it's relatively straight-forward. Not sure about your particular bank, but many banks offer some automatic payments. You simply pay monthly to acquire shares of an ETF. Of course, this costs money, because every transaction on a stock exchange costs money. But generally, this share is yours and the bank keeps it for you. Usually, you can cancel the saving plans and get to keep the shares. This already is so much easier than private retirement insurances and stuff like that where cancelling a contract comes with hefty fees. And yes, if you make money on financial assets, you have to pay tax on the returns. This is even the case for the little interest on your bank account. Fortunately, the first 801€ (in Germany) are tax-free and also, the bank handles all of this for you. I'd argue: If you read about this stuff for 1-2 hours, you know enough about the system and nowadays, it is way easier to do any of this than at any other point in the past. > and I doubt their 6% (assuming this is true) yearly return rate is going to net me anything than a loss unless I pump some 6 digit sum right off the bat and leave it there for decades. Well, 6% is the past performance and yes, this doesn't mean that it'll give you the same returns in the future. But generally speaking, it doesn't matter if you put in a 6 digit sum all at once now or acquire shares over the next 20 years. The only general rule of thumb is: You shouldn't treat this money as a saving account. Don't expect to have access to this money whenever you want, because if you need the money RIGHT NOW, you might be forced to sell your shares at a loss.