My goal with this article is to use the framework I shared earlier on “How to choose a stock broker” to understand a broker, DEGIRO. This isn’t a review of DEGIRO but an overview of the things you should consider if you plan to use it. Note that the information in this article may only […]
If you live outside of the USA, the world’s largest financial market, investing in a globally diversified portfolio means you are getting significant exposure to foreign currency, typically USD. This means that changes in exchange rates between currencies will affect your returns. Should you expose yourself to these risks? Should you buy ETFs hedged to […]
The common advice among EU based Bogleheads is to suggest a globally diversified low-cost portfolio which includes the following funds: iShares MSCI World – for developed markets (large cap) exposure iShares MSCI EM – for emerging market (large cap) exposure (optional) iShares MSCI World Small Cap – for developed markets small/mid cap stocks exposure. But […]
There are so many brokers out there. Different levels of service, different pricing schemes, different domiciles. How do you decide if a broker is “bad” or “good”? How do you go about choosing one suitable for long term, passive investing through buying ETFs? Different people may choose different brokers due to different preferences. This post […]
It is natural to feel overwhelmed by all the information when starting out. Specially when everybody recommends you to read 30 different things before even starting. One may get the impression that a Masters degree is a requirement to be able to grow your savings. There are many great books about personal finance and investing. […]
The decision that will have the biggest impact on your investment returns is your asset allocation – the percentage you assign to equities and the percentage you assign to fixed income. Bonds are a popular way to generate predictable returns with lower risks – fixed income – but they aren’t the only one. A few […]
You live in Europe, don’t earn in USD and don’t spend in USD. Should you have significant investments in funds with American holdings? Should you bear the currency risk associated with having assets in a different currency? You are highly invested in US stocks whenever you invest in a S&P 500 index fund (100% US […]
The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and Vanguard’s Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) are often recommended in personal finance literature as reasonable options for bond ETFs. What would be the comparable choices available for European investors? Similarly to my recommendations for equity funds, I think these suggestions may be useful for many investors but they […]
You’ve finally reached a decision regarding the equity component of your portfolio but aren’t sure on how to proceed regarding the fixed income part. You are looking to reduce the volatility of your portfolio but are not sure how to go about choosing a bond ETF. You shouldn’t invest in anything you don’t understand. The […]
So, you decided you want to invest in index funds but are not sure which specific funds you should pick. Or rather, you read a few personal finance books, saw the recommendations for funds like VTI or VXUS, realized that those funds aren’t available to European investors and are not sure how to proceed. I will […]