The sensible use of saved capital in retirement requires good planning. Especially if you want money to flow out of it regularly to secure or sweeten the third stage of your life.

Financial brokers then like to offer pension insurance based on a single payment, often called an immediate annuity.

With a normal life expectancy, the return is usually not generous because insurers usually invest very conservatively. In addition, the costs and profit margins of the insurance company further reduce the return. Consumer advocates point out that you usually have to live to be 94 years or older before you receive the investment sum back via guaranteed pensions.

It is often more profitable to park the money in a call money account.

Investments with regular distributions are an alternative. Investors are spoiled for choice between several thousand dividend-paying equity funds.

What are the relevant selection criteria? Quality and cost structure.

For some, the level of distributions may also be an important criterion in the selection process. But caution is advised here: For example, the payout ratio of the Global X Super Dividend ETF $SDIP (-0,73%) is currently over nine percent. With an investment sum of 100,000 euros, this results in a monthly inflow of around 750 euros before tax.

This is possible because the ETF invests stubbornly in the 100 companies with the highest dividends worldwide, but without any consideration of the sustainability of these distributions and the quality of the companies.

This in turn means that, without the dividends, the ETF generated a return of zero over one year and even minus 14% over three years. Investors therefore received high regular payouts, but the investment capital decreased significantly at the same time.

Savers should therefore always pay attention to how the ETF invests. There are various positive counter-examples, such as the Invesco Euro Stoxx High Dividend Low Volatility ETF $EUHD (-0,1%). Although this also focuses on high-dividend companies, it also selects according to qualitative criteria. Result: Although the payout ratio is currently "only" 5.1% per year, this amounts to around EUR 425 per month before tax for an investment sum of EUR 100,000.

However, the ETF has also achieved growth of almost 36% over the past three years, and including distributions, the gain was even over 60%. There are similarly good ETFs for various other investment regions or sectors.

Bond ETFs, on the other hand, are rarely a real alternative for private investors. Although distribution rates of four or five percent can be achieved, this is ultimately only possible with high-risk bonds or US securities with a corresponding currency risk. In addition, a positive return can rarely be achieved over and above the distribution.

A (possibly riskier) alternative is to invest in individual shares with high dividends. However, quality is even more important here. "We value companies with a strong balance sheet that are characterized by a high equity ratio and above-average returns on capital and sales," says Franz Kaim from Kidron Vermögensverwaltung in Stuttgart.

Continuity is also important. "The so-called dividend aristocrats are the gold standard for income-oriented investors," says Rainer Laborenz, Managing Partner of Azemos Vermögensverwaltung in Offenburg. "Companies that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years are included in this select group."

There are currently around 150 dividend aristocrats worldwide, 117 of which are from the USA and 33 from the rest of the world. The best-known names include Coca-Cola $KO (+0,33%)Procter & Gamble $PG (-3,45%) and Johnson & Johnson $JNJ (+0,27%) from the USA, Fresenius from Germany $FRE (+0,08%) and Unilever $ULVR (-6,32%) from Great Britain.

Other attractive dividend stocks recommended in a WELT survey of ten leading asset managers in Germany include Allianz $ALV (+0,78%)BASF $BAS (-1,11%)Beiersdorf $BEI (-2,66%)Deutsche Post $DHL (+0,62%) and Munich Re $MUV2 (+0,43%).

In other European countries, they rely on BAT $BATS (+0,61%), BP $BP. (-0,62%), Nestlé $NESN (-0,97%), NN Group $NN (+0,93%)Shell $SHEL (-0,49%) and Swiss Life $SLHN (+0,2%).

In the USA, names such as Altria $MO (+0,18%), Chevron $CVX (-0,96%)Cisco $CSCO (+1,23%), Coca-Cola, Kimberly-Clark $KMB (-0,76%) , McDonald's $MCD (-0,21%) or Pepsi $PEP (+0,81%).

Source: Text (excerpt) & table: Welt, 05.12.25

$ALV (+0,78%)

Allianz reports robust nine-month figures and raises its outlook for the full year 2025 on this basis. The insurance business continues to show high profitability, supported by stable capital markets and a low-loss environment.

Key points of the ad hoc release:

- 9M25 operating profit: €13.1 billion (previous year: €11.8 billion)

- New annual outlook for 2025: operating profit of at least € 17 billion

- Expected target range: € 17-17.5 billion

- Original target range at the beginning of the year: € 16 billion ± € 1 billion

- Increase based on strong operating performance in all segments

As usual, the forecast is subject to extraordinary natural disasters or major market distortions.

Good morning,

I am generally very focused on dividends and am looking for quality German dividend stocks, (also go international, but want to save some tax), hence German stocks.

Something like Allianz etc. Of course everyone knows them, but I think they have run a bit hot.

Do you have any alternatives? Of course fundamental and qualitative stocks with at least 2.5% dividend. I am invested in Volkswagen, but I am interested in more.

#deutschland
#dividende
$ALV (+0,78%)

Have a nice rest of the week :)

$MNDY (+3,3%)
$TSN (-1,64%)
$OXY (-2,53%)
$WULF (+3,2%)
$PLUG (-2,12%)
$RKLB (+4,98%)
$CRWV (-2,37%)
$9984 (-4,51%)
$IOS (-1,81%)
$MUV2 (+0,43%)
$SE (-4,12%)
$NBIS (+2,37%)
$RGTI (+0,62%)
$$BYND (-6,67%)
$OKLO
$IFX (+0,19%)
$EOAN (+0,44%)
$TME (+0%)
$VBK (-0,05%)
$HDD (-0,92%)
$ONON (-2,66%)
$JMIA (+0%)
$MRX (+0,19%)
$HTG (+5,84%)
$DTE (-1,65%)
$R3NK (+7,83%)
$HLAG (+0,51%)
$JD (+0,59%)
$700 (-0,29%)
$DIS (+2,18%)
$ENEL (+0,01%)
$AMAT (-0,13%)
$NU (-0,17%)
$ALV (+0,78%)
$SREN (+1,18%)
$BAVA (+0,08%)

I am currently in the process of restructuring my portfolio and would be pleased to hear your views.

Total approx. 400 k €currently divided as follows:

• $VWRL (-0,3%) ≈ 55 %
• $JEGP (-0,16%) ≈ 10 %
• $TDIV (-0,22%) ≈ 9 %
• $ALV (+0,78%) ≈ 6,5 %
• $BATS (+0,61%) ≈ 4 %
• $PEP (+0,81%) ≈ 4%
• $BTC (+0,13%) ≈ 9 %

From the beginning of next year, I will start a sabbatical / longer travel phase (1-2 years) and during this time have no income during this time. I plan to start with about 2.000€/2.500€ per month per month.

My aim is to keep the portfolio running for the long term - i.e. clearly return-oriented - but at the same time not be completely tied down completely if investment opportunities arise in 1-2 years.

I am therefore looking for the the right balance between long-term wealth accumulation, liquidity and moderate risk.and I'm curious to know how you would approach this in my situation.

🥷 The term "shadow banks" sounds sinister - and to some extent it is. It refers to financial players that conduct bank-like transactions but are not subject to the same strict supervisory rules as traditional credit institutions. These include investment funds, hedge funds, private equity companies and special purpose vehicles for securitizing loans.

💪 Why did they become so powerful?

After the 2008 financial crisis, regulations for traditional banks were tightened worldwide, while more and more capital flowed into the less regulated sector - where higher returns beckoned. Today, it is estimated that shadow banks handle more than half of the global credit volume outside the traditional banking system.

However, their growing influence increases the systemic risk: if the sector comes under stress, for example due to liquidity bottlenecks or market distortions, shockwaves can shake the financial architecture. Shadow banks are part of the same capital flows, but without the stabilizing buffers of traditional banks.

Conclusion: Shadow banks fill important financing gaps, but at the same time act like an uncontrolled nervous system of the money market. Their growth makes the financial system more flexible - but also more fragile.

🏦 The best-known listed shadow banks include BlackRock $BLK (-0,95%)KKR & Co. $KKR (+0,48%) and Allianz $ALV (+0,78%) :

➡️ BlackRock: The world's largest asset manager, managing over 13 trillion US dollars in capital. BlackRock acts as a financial intermediary and performs tasks such as lending, risk transfer and capital allocation - but without the strict banking regulation. It is precisely this size and systemic relevance that make BlackRock a shadow bank.

➡️ KKR & Co.: Originally a private equity firm, KKR now also lends directly to companies and uses complex financing structures - often with considerable leverage and without traditional deposit protection.

➡️ Allianz: Allianz is active as a massive lender and institutional manager through its asset management division PIMCO. Its activities in structured finance make it an important shadow bank outside the traditional banking system.

All three companies show how shadow banks today are not just niche players, but global market leaders with enormous systemic relevance, many of which operate outside of direct banking supervision.

💬 What do you think? Does global financial supervision urgently need more transparency in this gray market?

Hello everyone,

I was asked by my parents how they should invest around 50k that has so far just been sitting in their bank account. Both are rather risk-averse, which is why I first thought of an All World ETF $VWRL (-0,3%) . They still have about 15 years until they retire and want to make provisions. Are there any suggestions or similar cases here where someone can speak from experience? I was also thinking of a split like 70% $VWRL (-0,3%) 15% $ALV (+0,78%) 15% $DTE (-1,65%) thought. Or just put everything consistently in the All World?

I am grateful for any help. :)

Today, my portfolio broke through the €10,000 mark for the first time.

I've been active on the stock market since the end of 2022, i.e. since the start of my training.

I'm really glad that I started looking into investing back then.

Not only do I enjoy it, but it has also completely changed the way I deal with money and my view of wealth accumulation. 📈

Of course, not everything went perfectly at the beginning.

I often swapped back and forth, sold or bought shares due to short-term fluctuations and sometimes just traded on instinct.

As a result, I also had quite high fees in the first year.

But I learned a lot from that.

I now have a clear strategy that suits me well:

Buy & Hold invest for the long term and give companies time.

Here are two more suitable quotes:

As Buffett said: "Our favorite holding period is forever."

Or as Graham said: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine."

My savings plans:

ETF:

• Vanguard FTSE All-World ($VWRL (-0,3%) )
• Fidelity Global Quality Income ($FGEQ (-0,22%) )
• iShares Physical Gold ($IGLN (-0,3%) )

Equities:

• Microsoft ($MSFT (+1,5%) )
• Apple ($AAPL (-0,67%) )
• Visa ($V (-1,26%) )
• Coca-Cola ($KO (+0,33%)
• 
  Alliance ($ALV (+0,78%) )
• Realty Income ($O (-1,89%) )

Crypto (small share):

• Bitcoin ($BTC (+0,13%)
• 
  Ethereum ($ETH (+0,15%) )

I am very happy about this first milestone and will stay on the ball. 🚀

After everything that's happening on the stock market, it's quite possible that my portfolio value will soon fall below €10,000 again. But that's just part of it. 📉

Hello everyone,

I have cleaned up my portfolio a bit and trimmed it to 30 positions (please ignore the very small positions, it is more expensive to sell them than to keep them). The different ETFs on msci, msci em, dax and NASDAQ are due to historical reasons (sub. Deposits, change from synth. To physical replication, too many taxes with complete change). At the end of the year I will sell the 2 DWS old funds and then have the tax refunded promptly --> grandfathering. I just don't know where to switch to.

I am currently saving:

$TDIV (-0,22%) 250/m

$IWDA (-0,17%) 600/m

$IEMA (-0,22%) 250/m

$EQAC (-0,06%) 250/m

$ALV (+0,78%) 50/w

$KO (+0,33%) 50/w

$PEP (+0,81%) 50/w

$UNH (-1,97%) 50/w

$V (-1,26%) 50/w

$ULVR (-6,32%) 50/w

And I reinvest the dividends from $O (-1,89%) and $MAIN (+2,55%) monthly

I try to have all positions that I want to hold long-term at 2-4 percent (exceptions: ETFs, $EWG2 (+0,07%) and $BRK.B (-1,32%) )

At the moment semiconductors ($AMD (+2,87%)
$PLTR (+0,12%)
$MU (+5,11%) and $MPWR (+2,82%) ) are my "yield positions", which I would like to sell if the price continues to rise.

But at the moment I'm lacking inspiration. What is my portfolio missing in the long term? Which themes could I "play" to achieve short-term returns. Or just leave everything as it is.

I would be grateful for any opinions.

Greetings 👋