What does investment class or risk class mean?
People have different levels of risk appetite. If you want to achieve high returns, you also have to reckon with high losses. If you prefer to play it safe, your wealth will grow only in small steps.
The so-called risk class describes the risk appetite of a person who invests their money in a capital investment. The experience they have already gained with investments also plays a role. With the help of risk classes, banks can quickly determine how intensive the advice needs to be. They are obliged to provide such advice under the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz).
Securities in higher risk classes carry a greater risk of loss. This has various reasons, for example a higher probability of default or a higher degree of volatility. The lowest risk applies to fixed-term deposits, overnight deposits or savings deposits. They all have the investment objective of long-term and secure wealth building.
The highest risk class contains forms of investment such as futures, which can lead to a total loss but in return also promise high returns. quirion does not offer this risk class. DAX stocks lie in the middle.
quirion requires that you have gained at least two years of experience with securities (fixed-income securities, bonds, equities, equity funds, currency-related equities/bonds, certificates, warrants and alternative investments). You should have carried out at least two transactions per year with invested assets of 3,000 euros. If this is not the case, please read through the Basic Information on Securities Transactions, which you can also find in the download section, and confirm on registration that you have understood the risks of securities.
More questions in “Investing basics”
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 Without compounding – if the returns were withdrawn every year – it would be €15,000.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.
Is a children's account worth it?
The advantages come down to time, ownership and your child's own tax allowances.
Time: there are many years until the 18th birthday, which is time enough to sit out market swings – so a high equity share is possible at the start. Getting in: a savings plan from €25 a month, one-off payments with no minimum. And anyone can pay in – grandparents, godparents, friends: all they need is the IBAN.
Ownership: the account is in your child's name, and the assets belong to your child from the very first instalment. That separates them from your own assets – they count neither in your initial nor in your final assets for equalisation of accrued gains, and if a creditor enforces against you, your child can defend its property. Tax: your child has allowances of its own, among them the €1,000 annual saver's allowance; with a non-assessment certificate roughly €13,384 of investment income a year stays tax-free (as at 2026).
And as with every investment in securities: prices fluctuate and losses are possible.
What is an ETF savings plan?
With a "normal" ETF savings plan at a bank or a broker, you usually invest your money in just one ETF, i.e. a single index. As a rule, you have to pick this one yourself. At quirion, you always invest – in the savings plan too – in a complete ETF portfolio made up of several ETFs as part of a managed portfolio. These are selected by a team of investment professionals on the basis of current financial market research. In this way, we bring almost the entire world market into your portfolio. That is not possible with a single ETF. In addition, our experts constantly monitor whether cheaper or even more suitable ETFs come onto the market and then adjust the portfolios accordingly at no extra charge. And: before you invest, quirion determines your personal risk-return profile and ensures that your portfolio matches this profile – not only at the time of investment, but also on an ongoing basis through regular rebalancing.
What is a non-assessment certificate (NV-Bescheinigung)?
Instead of an exemption order, you can submit a non-assessment certificate (NV-Bescheinigung).
You can obtain this from your tax office. In this case, you do not need an additional exemption order.
How can I request that church tax be deducted directly?
If you are liable for church tax, we automatically pay the church tax portion of your withholding tax to the tax office on your behalf. This is what tax law requires.
How can I set up an exemption order for capital gains?
You can submit an exemption order in your customer account under Settings > Exemption order.
If you have any questions, call us (+49 (0)30 89 201-400) or send an email to info@quirion.de.
What is an exemption order?
A portion of your capital gains (interest payments, price gains and dividend payments) always goes to the tax office. With the exemption order, you instruct your bank to exempt any capital gains that arise from the automatic tax deduction – to "release" them.
However, if you do not submit an exemption order, or if the capital gains exceed the statutory maximum limit, the credit institutions must pay 25 percent capital gains tax and 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge, and sometimes church tax as well, to the tax office on your behalf.
Depending on the product, the capital gains tax is calculated and paid to the tax office at different points in time. In the case of stocks, this happens when price gains or dividend payments have been credited to your account. Since 2023, the tax-free allowance has been 1,000 euros per person.
What is the Securities Trading Act and why does it matter to me?
The German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz, WpHG) governs securities trading in Germany. Its main purpose is to oversee service providers that trade in securities as well as financial futures transactions. This protects you as a customer.
The WpHG requires securities services firms to advise you appropriately as an investor. The adviser must find out what experience you have with investments, what goals you are pursuing, what your financial situation is like and how willing you are to take risks. Only in this way can they recommend forms of investment that truly suit you.
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