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

Ten Things I Learned About ETFs as a Beginner Investor

When I first started earning my own money, my approach to finances was simple: spend as little as possible. Unlike my brother, who invested the majority of his earnings into mixed funds, I kept my cash in my pocket. Eventually, all my income, with a few exceptions of fixed-income investments, ended up in my savings account. It's probably not surprising that I grew up as a classic left-green humanities student, more interested in US politics than my personal financial affairs.

That changed when I needed to reorganize my private pension last year. After all, that's why I had been focused on obtaining my university degree in 2008. Back then, I had taken out a pension insurance based on stock funds from a friend, which, of course, was never a good idea. Everything seemed very safe. I didn't think twice and signed the papers.

I didn't hesitate for long and signed them. I simply mailed the annual overview without giving it a second thought. Even a savings book would have been more helpful. The fact that I started paying closer attention to my finances around the time I switched to working for Handelsblatt probably helped. It's hard to ignore your own financial situation after a while.

At 42, I discovered that after more than 15 years and contributions totaling over 20,000 euros, I had only made a profit of 1,000 euros. Despite the stock markets performing reasonably well during that time.