Investment Calculator for Expats in Germany
Estimate how your wealth grows over time using low-cost ETFs, and discover how avoiding bank commissions changes your long-term trajectory.
Understanding Your Wealth Projection: The Fee Gap Explained
The line graph in the 'Fee Leak Analyzer' tab visualizes a costly financial reality in Germany: the long-term impact of product charges.
While two different investment strategies might start at the exact same point, their trajectories over 15, 20, or 30 years diverge drastically because of what happens behind the scenes.
The Independent ETF Line (The Power of Minimal Drag)
The top line represents a globally diversified portfolio built exclusively with low-cost, institutional-grade Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Because Foundations operates strictly as a fee-only independent consultant under a Paragraph 34h GewO license, I do not sell products or take kickbacks. You pay no upfront sales commissions, and internal fund fees are kept to a bare minimum (typically around 0.2% annually). As a result, your money remains inside your depot, compounding fully over time.
The Structured Products Line (The Impact of Layered Costs)
The lower line tracks a traditional German structured product (such as standard commission-based private pension insurance policies or active bank funds sold by 34f/34d brokers).
These products often look attractive on paper but are burdened with heavy layered costs:
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Upfront Commissions (Abschlusskosten): Frequently totaling 2.5% of your entire projected lifetime contributions, deducted in the first five years.
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Effective Annual Costs (Effektivkosten): Ongoing administrative and fund management fees that commonly eat away 1.5% to 2.5% of your returns every single year.
As the line graph clearly demonstrates, this seemingly small percentage difference creates a massive 'wealth gap' over time—frequently costing you tens of thousands of euros in lost returns by the time you reach retirement.
I wrote about it in details here and here as well.
Portability for Expats
If you are an international professional, your timeline in Germany might be uncertain. The wealth accumulation model shown above is built on the assumption of using portable, liquid retail depots. Whether you stay in Germany, move back home, or relocate to a new country, your ETFs move with you without heavy penalty fees or lock-in periods common in traditional German private pension contracts.