What difference does compound interest really make?

More than most people expect – and the longer your money stays invested, the more it matters. Compound interest means your returns stay invested and earn returns of their own.

A worked example, not a forecast: at an assumed 5% return per year, €10,000 grows to around €16,300 in 10 years. Without compounding – if the returns were withdrawn every year – it would be €15,000. After 30 years the gap is wide: around €43,200 instead of €25,000. A good €18,000 of that comes from compounding alone.

Time is therefore the most important factor. In the first years the effect is barely visible; after that it grows faster and faster, because the base keeps growing. Starting earlier gives the effect more years – and that usually outweighs a higher savings amount later.

For the effect to work, returns have to stay invested. That is why quirion reinvests interest and dividends.

Important: the example assumes a constant return. Capital-market returns vary from year to year, and returns are not guaranteed. The long-term principle stays the same.

Basiswissen zur Geldanlage

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