Hello fellow Redditors,

I'm a 34-year-old professional contemplating the idea of opting into my company's pension plan, which is in collaboration with Allianz. I've got some specifics about the plan and its impact on my finances, but I'd really appreciate some insight into the broader picture.

Here's the breakdown:

Plan Details:
My company offers a pension plan through Allianz, with investment options in either "VORSORGEKONZEPT InvestFlex" or "VORSORGEKONZEPT KomfortDynamik."

Financial Implications:
There are two scenarios I'm considering:

1. Monthly Contribution: €230
   • Employer Contribution: €30
   • Personal Contribution: €200
   • After-tax Salary Deduction: €109.38
2. Monthly Contribution: €302
   • Employer Contribution: €39.39
   • Personal Contribution: €262.61
   • After-tax Salary Deduction: €143.86

Questions:

1. Is a company pension a good option? I'm weighing the long-term benefits against the immediate reduction in take-home pay. Are the potential retirement benefits worth the decrease in monthly income?
2. Is Allianz a reliable provider for company pensions? Trust in the provider is crucial. Does Allianz have a good track record with pension plans? Any experiences, positive or negative, to share?
3. Which investment option is better: InvestFlex or KomfortDynamik? I'm torn between the two investment options. Are there significant differences in performance, risk, or other factors that I should consider?
4. Are the tax benefits worth it? Saving money on taxes sounds appealing, but I want to ensure it's a wise financial move in the long run. Any insights into the tax implications and their impact on overall savings?

I'd greatly appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or insights you can offer on these questions. Making decisions about retirement planning can feel overwhelming, and I value the perspectives of this community. Thank you in advance for your help!

Hey, which app or website is the best option for investing, buying crypto and other? What about Revolut? Where and how to start all this things?

So this is a portfolio I am striving towards. And before anyone asks I can’t have any of my etfs above 20% due to my brokerage rules on investment loan interest rates. What do you think of my ideal portfolio and what would you change?

World - 70%
$SPYI 17.5% $IUSQ 17.5% $VWCE 17.5% $FWIA 17.5%

Small Cap Value - 20%
$ZPRV 10% $ZPRX 10%

Home Bias - 10%
Swedish equity fund 5% Finnish equity fund 5%

Hi, I'm currently living and working in Czechia. I receive my wage on 8th day of every month and I pay my rent on 1th day of every month. For the 22 or so days in between the rent money just lies in my bank account. Is there some sort of liquid investment possibility that could utilize this money and where the fees (especially withdrawal) would not be greater than the interest? Also keep in mind that we are talking about Czechia, so the amount is less than 1000€ and it's in CZK. Does it even makes sense to be thinking about investing this kind of "pocket money"? Thanks for any ideas

Hello all, I am new to Europe ( Married 35 yr old, 2 kids), I plan to settle in Germany for good.

So need a new savings strategy My goal is to buy a house within 10 years max ( better earlier) now to reach that with 4K available as savings every month where should the split be.

2.5 k euro Mutual funds ( expecting 10%) 1 k ETF ( expecting 7-8%) 500 euro private pension

Some suggested on some products like Bausparvertrag, life / income protection insurances not sure about how worthwhile these are - any suggestions?

Hello everyone, I am looking for an alternative for revolut’s multi-currency account. I need a single IBAN that will accept at least USD and EURO transactions. I tried Monese which accepts USD transactions and then convert it into EURO but it charges me monthly and for every transaction, is there any better alternative? Thanks in advance.

How does it work in Belgium for taxes on investment (stocks, cripto, gold).

Let me specify that my strategy is buy&hold, hence no capital gains until now. Do I have tod e l'area what I hold?

For stocks I use de giro, which should do the work by themselves directly.

Hi there! I run a company in Estonia (banking is done with Wise Business at the moment). I was wondering if there’s a corporate (or personal) credit card I could use to benefit from credit cards rewards. Mainly, I’ll use it for ad spend for my company and then reimburse the card.

I keep seeing online that people are using cards like Chase Sapphire and the only way to pay your bill is with Wise and a US bank account. That's fine because I have both but it seems like the Wise fees for transferring money from international account to US account out pace the benefits I receive from the Sapphire card.

Maybe I'm missing some key information of why this is a benefit instead of just using a local debit/credit card or even a mileage airline card that is weaker compared to the US card but I can at least pay it from my local account. Idk I know I'm probably missing something that's obvious to others.

Other than investing in index funds, what is a good source of getting passive income. not interested in real estate.

Any recommendations for p2p lending sites (not huge sums of money but seems a good deal to throw in 1/2K for 12%) ? Ideally ones that do not complicate taxation issues and deduct tax.

I am a non-French resident of France who is currently living for a few months in my home country to save money. I came to France as a student and then did an end-of-studies internship (paid) for 5 months and have a french residence permit (autorisation provisoire de séjour) for another year.

I file taxes in my home country, even though I am currently not earning anything, just as a habit. Does that make me a taxpayer of 2 countries (was exploring options on Revolut, which asked me if I am a tax resident of another country)

I want to start investing in France. But I need a numéro fiscale for it which I can obtain only when I file a tax return.

What should I do? Is this something I can even do as a foreigner living in France ?

Help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance

Hi all,
I don't know how to start or where to start properly investing on monthly basis. I haven't been a fan of investing every month. Rather focus on Market dips but then it is a game of waiting and my patience level is tested pretty much. I want to invest 4K now. What is the best ETF and stocks I can consider, the only thing in my mind is EQQQ, VUSA and VWCE. XAIX as well as it is AI based ETF.

Hello everyone,

My portfolio allocation. 50% SXR8: iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc) 30% Emerging Markets (15% EMVL + 15% EIMI) 20% ZPRV MSCI US Small Cap Value

2 notes.

• I have a PPR (Portugal) for tax efficency with 75% stock (64% MSCI Worl and 11% MSCI EM) and 25% bonds)
• SXR8 for tax reasons it is better to keep it

I´m looking forward to your feedback and i´m also happy to receive constructive criticism.

Thank you.

Let's say I have identified a couple of companies and/or ETFs that I believe will be profitable over long term, although not necessairly short-term. In the beginning I invest same amount of money into each of these positions.

Now, each month i invest more money, but I only do that for "red" positions (proportionally). If everything is green, I invest in the smallest gainer.

Does it make any sense or is it batshit-crazy? Does this strategy have a name? Is it literally just DCA but I am overcomplicating things?

Hi, I have been getting messages from TR the whole day with verification codes I didn’t request. Did this happen to anyone else and what could it mean? Is someone trying to get into my account and what can happen if they succeed since I believe you can only transfer the money back to the one account you use to transfer money to TR. I also changed my PIN number but still got a new message.

Thanks

Hi, im new in investing and would like to know what is the difference between NASDAQ100 USD and EUR? I know the managing fund is iShares for USD (975 euros cost right now) and Amundi for EUR (67.76 euros), therefore the annual cost is different. Is there anything else different?

I've seen numerous posts here about people living in a EU country and wanting to work through a company set up in Estonia. Since the work has been done primarily in the country of residency then the tax agency could claim its a taxable event and trying to charge for it from another country is tax fraud.

Then what is this good for? is this only good for digital nomads, moving between countries all the time?

Hi, I’m a dual German/Latino citizen living in Germany, and I have 2 goddaughters living in the Latin American country as I born in.

My 2 goddaughters also have a German passport.

I’m trying to do research if I can open an investment account where I can put a small amount like €200 on ETFs to their name for when they become adults. Is this possible? I tried researching on the platforms/banks I already use (Trade Republic, Commerzbank) but couldn’t find anything.

Or you just say that you will invest X per month and then you randomly pick a day in that month?

Hi everyone.

Right now I've been living in France for almost a year (I'm 24), working as a freelance (autónomo in Spain). Although I don't know what my future will look like, as I'm planning on travelling a lot, I think about what would be economically more efficient.

I'm paying taxes in Spain, so my healthcare system is in Spain, I'm only covered in France by the European Card (but still have to pay for everything and then ask for reimbursement). I'm about to go above the 45€/year barrier which is not worth being an "autónomo" in Spain and then it's better to become a society (SL).

What would you advise on doing? If in the short-medium term, I'm staying in France or working with international clients, continue being tax-wise in Spain? Move everything to France? Is there any way to get full private health insurance in France (like I had in Spain)? 

It's difficult to find people who know about both financial systems. Also, good to point out that I've just moved to living in a camping car as I spend a lot of time travelling for work and going to hotels, so I don't even have an apartment in France anymore.

Thanks!

What would be the best countries to change your financial residence to, given the following criteria:

• you have 500 k eur invested in sp500 and want to live off a 4% yield
• you want to pay the least amount of taxes possible
• you can get by with English language
• affordable health care
• cheap cost of living

Edit: thanks for the replies! It seems from most comments that it would be pretty much impossible.

And given that I don’t even have that money, even though I live in a nordic country where after 15-20 years of work as an engineer it would not be possible to save much over that amount (people here suggest 2.5m), it’s safe to conclude that the dream of an early retirement plan is over.

Pretty much the title.

Lets say you have a portfolio like :

• 80% allocated to an all world index (DM + EM) IUSQ
• 10% allocated to ZPRV
• 10% allocated to ZPRX

If the intention is to invest €1000 a month, does it make sense to do:

a) buy €800 IUSQ, €100 ZPRV, €100 ZPRX

b) buy €800 IUSQ, (every other month alternate between €200 ZPRV & €200 ZPRX)

IMO, scenario b seems to be preferable because the transaction cost is limited but I am curious to see if my understanding is correct.

Hey guys!

Maybe this question has been asked tons of times here but I think mine differs a bit from others. I'm a Spanish citizen, and I'm moving to Czech Republic soon. The company I work for -which is based in Spain- with a permanent contract has given me the option to work as a freelance if I wanna live there. I have more or less solve the contractor part -I'll most probably create the company in Estonia with an e-Residence- but what is ticking me is the salary thing, because if I'm not mistaken I will get it as an 'employee' of this company that will act as a contractor for the current company I work for.

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly, but because I will live > 6 months in Czechia I will need to have my tax residency there - and tax-wise I think it's the best idea. Is this correct? Thanks in advance for your help. I see a great and helpful community here :)

I'm 19 with $30K in a HYSA earning 5.25%. Already maxed out my Roth IRA for the last two years with a Bogleheads strategy, and have $4K in qqm and $3K in VT for taxable brokerage accounts,
Considering my low expenses at this age, I’m thinking about moving $20K into more ETFs or individual stocks for potentially higher returns, given my ability to handle risk. But, I'm also wondering if it's smarter to keep ALL money in the HYSA as a safety net.
Would love some advice on whether to invest more or keep saving. Thanks!

I try to be as quick as possible with my question. Yesterday I bought exactly one share of Philip Morris CR at 589 EUR. I thought that everything should be alright and stuff but then I double checked and I realised that I was charged 601 EUR. I know that one EUR is the fee but why did they charged me 11 Euros too much?? Like what?? You may think that the stock went up minutes later or stuff but later the price of the stock dropped to 575 EUR so I don’t understand why I got overcharged. Please help and tell my why

Link to ETF Profile: iShares S&P 500 Information Technology ETF (QDVE)

Ticker for EUR: QDVE
ISIN: IE00B3WJKG14

While it’s often advised not to focus solely on specific sectors when investing, I’m interested in diversifying my portfolio.

My current holdings include:

• SXR8 + IMAE (over €100k)
• 12 independent dividend-paying US stocks (over $100k)
• VUSA (S&P 500) - distribution (over €100k)

I'm heavily invested in the US, particularly in the S&P index.

Although I'm aware that the iShares S&P 500 IT (QDVE) sector overlaps with my existing portfolio, I'm considering it as I aim to add a more risky ETF to my holdings, diversifying beyond individual stocks. The 12 stocks I've chosen are from various sectors such as consumer staples, utilities, and finance, unrelated to the IT sector. Given the inherent risk in IT stocks, I see investing in this ETF as a safer option.

I'm particularly drawn to this ETF due to its low Total Expense Ratio (TER) of 0.15%, compared to the alternative Nasdaq 100 (iShares Nasdaq 100, IE00B53SZB19, CNX1) with a TER of 0.33%.

Do you have preferences for other ETFs? Would you recommend investing in the Nasdaq ETF over the S&P 500 IT? Why or why not?

I'll start by saying that my parents haven't invested a single euro in me since I was born. And even though we've never been badly off as a family, they've spent most of their money and haven't even thought about investing for themselves or for me.

Did your parents make any investments, open minor accounts, or save money for you and your future when you were little?

Obviously, we're only talking about the financial side of things, and we're not going to touch on the personal and emotional aspects at all in this thread. Far be it from me to discuss other aspects, let's just talk about the economic and financial side.

If so, has this helped you a lot when you became adults?

How did you use this resource?

If you found this thread interesting, upvote it if you want.

PS.

I don't blame my parents for anything, except for not believing much in studying and therefore not supporting me much in this area.

In their own way, they have always helped me in the best possible way, but they have never planned anything since I was little, but have made do from time to time. I consider this a mere financial mistake that they could have managed better, but I have never lacked anything.

Hi There!

I am a Dutch citizen and currently (financial) resident in Portugal under the NHR-regime.

I am currently in a situation where I am planning to establish an operational company in the Netherlands with a business partner. The ownership structure will be divided between us as 90% for them and 10% for myself at the start. I will be appointed as the statutory director of this company.

I have been advised that it would be wise to set up a Holding company in light of potential future considerations such as the sale of the company, transferring assets between the operational company and the holding, and segregating ownership, etc.

At the operational company, I will have a management agreement between the company and my holding.

In addition to this role, I also engage in freelance activities from my Portuguese freelance entity.

As I am officially no longer a resident of the Netherlands but reside in Portugal, where I benefit from the NHR status, I am seeking the most tax-efficient way to establish this structure

In discussions with my accountant in Portugal, we concluded that it might be most advantageous for me to bill the Holding company from Portugal as a freelancer. This Holding company would then invoice the operational company under my management agreement. This arrangement would mean that I do not draw a direct salary from the Holding company (as an employee/director) but instead distribute some of the revenue to myself by invoicing the Holding.

I'm exploring the possibilities of where to create this holding to set it up in a financially interesting way. If I start the holding in Holland i'll have to pay myself a salary of approximately 51K yearly before being able to take out any dividends, so that's not preferred..

Does anyone have any experience being financial resident in one country and having a company in another? Struggling a lot with finding the right setup!

Hey! What do you think of the following allocation, would it be good for long-term investing?

• USA 42,25% (VWCE has +60%)
• European Union 26,75%
• Europe (non-EU) 9,6%
• Emerging markets 16,57%
• Japan 5,02% (VWCE has 6,3%)

Hello!

I am 27 years old and live in Estonia. I’m planning to invest long term (20+ years) and I have recently been researching the best investment options.

I currently have positions in 3 funds of my bank:

• Swedbank Robur Access Edge EUR (fees + costs 0.45% yearly)
• Swedbank Robur Access Edge Japan (fees + costs 0.35% yearly)
• Swedbank Robur Access Edge USA (fees + costs 0.37% yearly)

These are all index funds and after doing some research I’ve realised that the costs are pretty damn high for an index fund.

I have a couple of questions that I would love to hear your opinions on:

1. Does it make sense to cash out these positions and reinvest them in something cheaper, like any S&P 500 funds (VUAA) or World index funds (VWCE)?

2. Should I invest in different markets separately, like I did before, or simply invest in a broad world index fund to have the easiest way of diversification?

My current JP market position is a bit too big to my liking and it’s been underperforming recently.

If I should move my funds away from the bank, the most obvious choice would be a broker. I’ve done some research and it looks like the most trusted option is IBKR. However, it has rather high fees for transactions and an extremely over complicated UI.

I’ve also been using Lightyear for my smaller investments. It’s a smaller broker that has been operating for about 4 years and I really liked the design and simplicity. You can buy ETFs with no fees with them and they promise that in case of insolvency all ETFs and Shares will be given back to the clients. Is being new on the market something that I should be worried about? They are regulated in both UK and Estonia, is that good enough? Have you had any experience with them and do you think it’s safe to keep more than the law-protected 20 000 € with them?

tldr: my bank’s fees are high for index ETFs, should I move to brokers? Which ones?