Geldanlage: Zehn Dinge, die ich als Anfänger über ETFs gelernt habe

When I first started saving my pocket money, my financial strategy was to spend as little as possible. While my brother invested most of his in a mixed pack, I kept mine for myself. Later, all my earnings, with few exceptions on fixed-interest accounts, ended up in my current account. It probably isn't surprising that I grew up as a classic left-green humanities student, more interested in US political affairs than my financial matters.

That changed when I had to overhaul my private pension last year. After all, that's what I had been working towards since 2008, the year I graduated, with a degree in hand. At that time, I had taken out a pension insurance policy based on share funds, recommended by a friend, which, of course, was never a good idea. Everything was supposedly very safe.

I didn't think twice and signed on the dotted line. I dutifully tucked the annual overview post into the mailbox without giving it a closer look. Even a savings book would have made less of an impression. The fact that I started paying closer attention to my finances last year was likely due to my switch to The Financial Times. It's impossible not to think about one's own finances eventually, especially when you're 42.

I found out that after more than 15 years and more than 20,000 euros in contributions, I had only made a profit of 1,000 euros. Despite the stock markets performing reasonably well during that time.