Low interest rates and unattractive savings products are driving citizens into shares. "Evidently, more and more people are recognising the advantages of investing in shares for building wealth over the long term and for retirement provision," says Christine Bortenlänger, managing director of the German Share Institute (DAI). In 2017, more Germans than at any time in ten years were able to call themselves shareholders: around one in six citizens owned shares or equity funds. That is, on an annual average, around 1.1 million more shareholders than in the previous year.
That said, share ownership is not distributed evenly across all age groups. "Only 10.5 percent of the 14-to-39 age group are shareholders, and within this group the proportion is smaller the younger the investors are," the study states. People in this age group typically have less income than older people. However: an increase was recorded even in this still-young group of investors.
Politicians and investors both have a responsibility
For the trend towards investing in shares to continue, politicians have a responsibility. "Money for retirement provision must finally flow into instruments that generate sufficient returns," says Bortenlänger. "Nations such as the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden show us how shares can be put to use - namely over the long term, for building retirement wealth virtually without any risk of loss." A demand and a scenario that the current coalition agreement gives little hope of fulfilling.
"Nations such as the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden show us how shares can be put to use"
Share
So it is the investor themselves who is called upon - and in a position to get a lot wrong. If you opt for an actively managed, forecast-driven fund, for example, hidden costs and high fees lie in wait and erode the boldly promised return prospects. By picking individual shares or focusing on particular markets, you bring incalculable risks into your portfolio. And once a portfolio is exposed to major swings, investors' own emotions throw a spanner in the works, prompting them to sell shares hastily at heavy losses.
We protect you from mistakes like these by consistently investing according to the scientific findings of financial-market research. Take quirion as an example: the digital investment adviser does not invest only in individual selected regions, segments or even companies, but spreads the money very broadly. Through what are known as ETFs - low-cost, exchange-traded funds that track an index - investors bring virtually the economic strength of the entire world into their portfolio. Regular rebalancing ensures that the securities weightings match the investment goals. This way, shares become not just a trendy investment but one you can be happy with.
