Investing in Europe: start here, ignore the American advice
Why your broker blocks US ETFs, what UCITS does for you, how to vet a broker and read an ETF label. Plus a six-step setup for one afternoon.
Read// 0x01 investing
Own the world. Pay almost nothing for it.
Most investing advice online is written for Americans. You can’t buy their funds, you don’t have their accounts, and your tax office has its own ideas. Lots of them. And your bank adviser? He’s a salesman with a nicer chair. So here’s the European version: UCITS funds, local tax, and a setup you can build in one evening.
// read these first
The short list.
The everything bubble: why I think it pops, and a plan for when it does
Shares, property and debt are all too expensive at once, I think. The numbers, the prophets’ track record and a crash plan that works even if I’m wrong.
ReadMSCI World vs FTSE All-World: the fight that barely matters
Four global indices, fact sheets of 31 August 2026. Holdings, US share, emerging markets. And why your costs matter more than the logo on the index.
Read// do the maths
Tools for this topic.
$ compound --monthly 300
Compound interest
What a boring monthly savings plan turns into. Before and after inflation.
Open
$ fees --compare
Fund fees
What 1.5% a year costs you over 30 years. Sit down first.
Open
$ dividends --monthly
Dividend income
How much capital a monthly payout needs. And how it grows.
Open
// everything else
More on investing.
Accumulating or distributing ETFs: same engine, different exhaust
Same index, different cash flow. How both ETF types work, what the German taxman does to them in 2026, and which one suits your temperament.
ReadDividend investing, minus the fairy tale
Dividends aren’t free money. What a payout really does to your shares, your tax bill and your risk – and the few cases where dividends still make sense.
ReadETF tax in Germany 2026: what the state takes, on one page
Flat tax, partial exemption, advance lump sum, allowance: German ETF tax in 2026 without the legalese. Two worked examples you can check yourself.
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