Geldanlage: Passives Einkommen mit Anleihen: Mit diesen ETFs bekommen Sie acht Mal im Jahr Zinsen

Investing in bonds can provide a steady stream of passive income, as they offer fixed interest payments over a set period of time. Unlike stocks or gold, bond prices are not subject to short-term market fluctuations since they have a predetermined maturity date. In recent months, bond prices have declined due to inflation concerns, rising interest rates from central banks, and increasing government debt, resulting in higher yields.

This is particularly true for government bonds and corporate bonds, which many strategists consider attractive because companies tend to reduce their debt compared to governments.

To minimize risks, it is advisable to invest in diversified funds rather than single, non-maturing bond funds. Expert Olaf Stotz, a professor of asset management at the Privatuniversität Frankfurt School, advises against traditional bond funds without a maturity date due to their volatile prices, which makes it difficult to predict returns. Instead, bond funds with fixed maturities are preferable. In fact, such funds have been available as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for nearly three years now.

These ETFs function similarly to individual bonds, where investors deposit funds and receive interest payments until the fund matures, at which point they receive their initial investment back. While the prices of these ETFs fluctuate, investors can ignore this volatility if they hold the funds until maturity. Most of these ETFs are offered by iShares from BlackRock and Xtrackers from DWS.

The iBonds series from iShares pays out interest in March, June, September, and December, while the Target Maturity ETFs from Xtrackers disburse payments in February, May, August, and November. This means investors can receive eight payments per year.

For investors seeking passive income, combining these ETFs can result in receiving money eight times a year. The Euro-denominated ETFs come with maturities ranging from two and a half to over ten years. The issuers have created bond indexes to match these maturities, which include bonds from companies, banks, and insurers with strong credit ratings and consider sustainable criteria.

Most bonds in these ETFs are expected to mature before the ETF is closed, at which point the funds from the matured bonds are reinvested in short-term government bonds. However, as new bonds are added when they meet the index criteria, this has the effect of adding more bonds to the portfolio over time.

The dynamics of the portfolios make calculating returns and yields for bond ETFs more complex than investing in a single bond. The annual return earned from holding bonds to maturity is the yield, which consists of interest payments and the difference between the purchase price and the redemption price (100 percent). David Wenicker, who oversees BlackRock's business with private client distributors in Germany, believes that iBonds provide "planable cash flows with broad portfolio diversification."

The issuers provide estimates of the potential returns for each of their bond ETFs. The relationship between yields and payouts is crucial in bonds because the interest rates set at issuance remain fixed and do not change. These interest payments, or coupons, are always based on a 100 percent redemption value. As bonds are traded throughout their lifecycle, their prices fluctuate.

When prices fall, yields rise because the fixed interest payments represent a higher percentage of the lower purchase price compared to higher purchase prices. Conversely, when prices rise, yields fall. Bond prices also fluctuate more when their maturities are longer, as there are more interest payments outstanding and investors must consider economic developments, inflation, and changes in central bank rates.