Interest-bearing offers are especially popular in Germany, even though they yield very little. In truth, they are only suited to one purpose – namely, your emergency fund. We explain why that is and what the smart alternatives are.
Germans are diligent savers. This becomes clear when you compare the so-called gross savings rate across different countries. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, this rate stands at 20 percent in Germany. The EU average is 14.6 percent, and in the US it is just 10.8 percent.
However, many people still hoard money in current accounts instead of investing it. Or they turn to interest-bearing products. But there, the money doesn't yield much. According to an analysis by the consumer portal Verivox, the average interest rate on nationally available overnight money offers stood at 1.28 percent in October, for example. At the same time, the average real interest rate on overnight money – that is, after deducting the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation – fell to minus 1.12 percent, its lowest level in over a year and a half.
One advantage of interest-bearing products such as overnight money is that they are comparatively safe. There are no fluctuations in value. But before you invest money in them, you should think carefully: What goals do I actually want to achieve? And when?
Define your goal first
The optimal investment is different for every goal. The longer your time horizon, the better you can absorb temporary fluctuations in value – and take advantage of superior long-term return opportunities. Anyone who wants to build wealth, for example for goals such as retirement provision, can hardly avoid the equities asset class. In the „Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2025“, UBS, in collaboration with the London Business School, looked back over 125 years of capital markets: with their average performance, equities outperformed bonds, government money market securities and inflation in every single one of the 35 countries analyzed.
Investing in equities carries various risks: individual companies can fail, and individual sectors and regions can slip into prolonged crises. That is why, when investing in equities, you should spread your portfolio as broadly as possible. The global ETF portfolio is diversified according to scientific criteria and contains around 8,000 equities from over 70 countries. This way, you take advantage of the return opportunities of the asset class without taking on unnecessary risks.
Investment goal: your emergency fund
The shorter your time horizon, the more you should focus on keeping the likelihood of price fluctuations as small as possible. This applies especially to your own emergency fund, which should be available at short notice at any time. Even so, it is of course nice if it also earns some interest.
For your emergency fund, quirion offers two alternatives: an overnight money account (Verrechnungskonto Plus) and Cash-Invest. While overnight money counts among the so-called sight deposits, Cash-Invest is an ETF portfolio. It combines ETFs covering various segments of the money market, where price fluctuations are usually very small. The target return of Cash-Invest is close to the ECB deposit rate, which in turn is usually higher than banks' overnight money offers. At the same time, the flexibility of Cash-Invest is entirely comparable to overnight money. And it lets you avoid the frequent „hopping“ from one promotional offer to the next. A smart alternative to overnight money, in other words.
Compare both solutions now and invest your emergency fund.
