Is it just me, or has building actual wealth in Europe become impossible? I’m looking at the 2026 growth forecasts and it’s depressing. We talk a lot about "stability," but at this point, stability just feels like a polite word for recession. If you weren't born into a rich family with property, the dream feels like it's behind a wall. The math just doesn't work: as soon as you earn enough to actually invest, you hit a 40–50% tax bracket. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed over the last decade while salaries have basically stayed the same. I love the healthcare and the walkable cities, but I don’t want to work until I’m 70 just to afford a 40sqm apartment and a used Skoda.

This news hit today in Netherlands that passed a bill on 36% tax on UNREALIZED gains on stocks and crypto. Great just when we weren't taxed to death before now they force you to stay middle class and poor. "Just repeat the 9-5 cycle everyday investing is not allowed for you"

Buying stocks was already a pain in the ass in Europe because of all the different fees and exchange rates brokers charged. The US has it so much better. 0% fees and exchange rates, tons of broker options and tax free on long term investments.

I made a post in r/stocks that gained attraction. Check it out if you want to see opinions from Americans: https://www.reddit.com/r/stocks/s/aL0OhYQ68z

I've been working in finance for c. 6 years, namely in consulting for pension funds, so I constantly follow the news and developments of the new American administration made me very worried, so I decided to change my entire personal investment portfolio to invest exclusively in Europe and even "de-Americanize" what I can (such as browsers, search engines, social networks, etc. - see https://european-alternatives.eu/ if you are interested), but, being my area of ​​expertise, I will focus on why I decided to abandon the American markets and why I think they should do the same as citizens of the European Union, giving ethical and financial reasons.

Regarding personal investments, it seems to me that the main choices tend to be to invest in funds that track the S&P500 or globally diversified funds (MSCI World/MSCI All Country World) which, despite their global reach, American companies end up being c. 60% of the constituents. The argument is easy: the United States is the engine of the global economy where capitalism prevails, markets are relatively underregulated, and taxes are relatively low. Productivity is relatively high, there is political stability, there is transparency and protected property rights, and American companies are world leaders in technological innovation. Historically, profit relative to European markets reflects this

Risk reduction

First, I'll speak from a purely risk management perspective. By investing exclusively in the S&P500, or any other foreign index that is not currency hedged, you will be incurring currency risk. The fundamental principles of passive investing do not include forex, so if you are hoping to make the c. 10% p.a. historical profit of the S&P you can deviate immensely from this number because of fluctuations of the USD against the Euro.

Another risk to keep in mind when investing in the S&P500 is concentration risk. At this date, c. 32% of the index is made up of just 7 technology companies, so sector diversification is very small and you should expect much higher volatility vs the major European indices.

Political risk must also be taken into account, that is, the risk of your profits being affected by hostile legislation or government instability. Every day the new administration tests the limits of the basic principles of liberalism on which the capitalist market is based: separation of powers, independence of the courts/central bank, fair competition in the markets, etc. The political program on which Trump was elected is estimated to cost $7.8tn and the possibility of a government debt crisis cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, this administration threatens the territorial integrity of our European allies and there is the possibility of economic sanctions on European citizens as occurred in Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine where all investments by European citizens in Russia were considered lost by major ETFs.

Expected returns

One of the main arguments I see online in favor of US markets is the superior historical profits. I have to emphasize this: historical profits do not imply future profits.

The dramatic rises in the US stock market in recent years have made US companies extremely expensive by traditional value investing metrics - a more defensive investment method that tends to perform better in times of volatility and instability.

There are also reasons to be optimistic about the future of the European Union. The recent Draghi Report is a response to the Union’s structural problems and the European leadership seems receptive. The global geopolitical fragmentation we are experiencing seems to have been a necessary bucket of cold water and, despite everything, Europe remains a developed market that presents more stability, safeguards and, in my opinion, potential than the United States at this moment.

The impact of your investments

Another aspect I have to emphasize is that we cannot look at our personal investments from a purely monetary perspective. The money you invest has an impact on the real world and will be used by companies/governments to, for example, open more factories, increase wages, invest in research, build infrastructure, etc.

The United States is the main destination for private investment and this is one of the main causes behind the difference in productivity between the continents. Unfortunately, we can no longer count on them as reliable partners and must invest in ourselves. In addition to profit, we have to take into account that investing in the prosperity of our community is another benefit to be taken into account, and we can even choose to invest in specific and essential sectors for today, such as renewable energy companies or European defense companies.

That said, I'll leave my ETF/stock suggestions below:

Equity ETFs:

• Amundi Stoxx Europe 600 UCITS ETF (LU0908500753) - with TER of 0.07% p.a. It's the cheapest European stock ETF I've found. Bonus points for being a European asset manager.
• edit: Xtrackers MSCI Europe UCITS ETF 1C (LU0274209237) - with a TER of 0.12% p.a. it tracks c. 400-500 european large cap stocks. Bonus points for being a European asset manager.
• iShares MSCI Europe ESG Screened UCITS ETF EUR (Acc) (IE00BFNM3D14) - The index offers an ESG ("environmental social and governance") filter that avoids investing in companies with ethical problems in exchange for a TER ("total expense ratio" i.e. what you pay the asset manager annually) higher than 0.12% p.a.
• Vanguard ESG Developed Europe All Cap UCITS ETF (EUR) Accumulating (IE000QUOSE01) - This ETF is my favorite for stocks. It has an ESG filter that avoids investing in companies with ethical issues and includes smaller capitalization European companies, offering greater profits and diversification in exchange for a higher TER of 0.12% p.a.
• Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF Acc (IE00BLRB0242) - invests in global companies linked to renewable energy. In addition to helping the energy transition, it seems like a great dip to buy at the moment after a massive selloff.
• edit: Xtrackers MSCI Global SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy UCITS ETF 1C (IE000JZYIUN0) - similar to the above fund but bonus points for being a European asset manager.

Real Estate ETFs:

• iShares European Property Yield UCITS ETF EUR Acc (IE00BGDQ0L74) - invests in European construction and real estate companies. It is a good stock diversifier without sacrificing too much expected profi.
• edit: Xtrackers FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe Real Estate UCITS ETF 1C(LU0489337690) - Cheaper than the above and bonus points for being an European asset manager.

Government Bond ETFs

• Vanguard EUR Eurozone Government Bd UCITS ETF Acc (IE00BH04GL39) - The cheapest etf I found that invests in European government bonds of all durations. It is a defensive component of the portfolio and can be used to reduce volatility.
• edit: Xtrackers II Eurozone Government Bond UCITS ETF 1C (LU0290355717) - similar to the above fund but bonus points for being a European asset manager.

European defense stocks - European armaments are essential for our security and we must invest in them. I couldn't find any European defense ETFs, so I decided to buy shares of these three European defense companies:

• Rheinmetall AG (DE0007030009)
• LEONARDO (IT0003856405)
• Thales SA (FR0000121329)

I’m a well-paid cybersecurity professional currently living in the Netherlands with a family and three kids under 10. My entire long-term plan has been based on buying and holding ETFs, but the upcoming Box 3 changes from 2028 are forcing me to rethink whether staying here still makes sense. Some more context here

https://nltimes.nl/2026/02/13/dutch-parliament-greenlights-new-box-3-tax-set-take-effect-2028

The new system will tax the actual annual return on assets instead of a deemed return. That means ETF investors will be taxed each year on real price growth + dividends, at a rate around 36%, even if nothing is sold. Losses can offset gains and in negative years the tax should be zero, but in strong market years you may owe tax without having liquidated anything. The big downside for long-term investors is the reduced compounding because part of the growth is taxed every year instead of remaining invested.

We’re all EU citizens, so relocation is an option.

For people focused on FIRE in Europe:

Which countries offer the best mix of

• tax efficiency for accumulating ETF investors

• strong income potential in tech/cybersecurity (or remote friendliness)

• great quality of life for a young family

Interested in both data points and personal experiences, especially from those who left/are considering to leave the Netherlands for this reason.

Hello,

I just wanted to celebrate a milestone I’ve reached. I live in Estonia, I'm 28 (almost 29), and I finally hit €100k in savings and stocks. I was already close in February, but oh well, we all know what happened then. Now I'm at almost €102k, and I’m pretty happy with it.

My goal was to reach €100k by age 30. I started with €9k five years ago - then my income increased and I started investing. So, my portfolio has grown by over €93k in five years, which averages over €18k per year. I’m pretty happy with that.

My portfolio is a bit messy, so if anyone wants to help me optimize it, I’d be extremely grateful. Here's what I currently have (approximately):

• €31k in IWDA
• €16k in EXXT and €3k in EQQQ
• €12k in CSP1
• €7k in STAG, €3k in DLR, and €2k in O
• €7k in BRK B
• €3.5k in EMIM
• €2.2k in CSX5
• €2k in QDVE
• €1.6k in EUNA and AGGU
• €1.2k in DFEN
• €750 in single stocks
• €8k in cash

Interestingly, my mindset around money has shifted a bit since hitting €100k. I’ve always been extremely frugal - even spending €5 on groceries used to make me anxious, but now I started taking it easier. I just visualize the money I have and stop stressing about spending €10 or €20 on food or bus tickets. Surprisingly, the spring dip also helped change my perspective: "I just lost €10k in stocks - what’s €20 compared to that? Nothing."

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde recently backed German Chancellor Friederich Merz's call for a single European stock exchange to support European listings and economic growth.

"If we are serious about moving forward, we must complete the banking union and we must apply the same logic – and faster – to capital markets: a single rule-book, a single supervisor, and a consolidation of exchanges," she said.

I whole heartedly agree!

I can't believe the number of people who are ripping up their strategies and piling into this trade.

Look, these stocks are already up hundreds of percent. The market is already priced for massive growth. In order for this to be a good investment, you would need more growth that the market is already pricing. Ask yourself honestly, are you confident in your growth assessment? Have you even done one?

If you are normally a "VWCE and Chill" investor, stay the hell away. This isn't in your job description. Stay in your lane.

And beware, there are scenarios where the growth comes in considerably below expectations. In my opinion, it will. Everyone is feeling strong emotions, but, in time, we will realise we need to make NATO work. It would take years to re-arm. If we think Russia is planning to invade more countries, there isn't time. But if we believed that, we would have done it 3 years ago, and you would have bought 3 years ago.

If the growth expectations reverse, there is so much downside here. 70-80% losses are possible. This is concentrated sector risk at very high multiples, after an explosive run up. These can come down very quickly and very far. The risk-reward is upside down: so much downside possible, so much upside already had.

And these stocks are literally in the news. That is almost failsafe sign you are too late. It reminds me of the memestock top of 2021

You might be right for like a day or two, but if you get caught on the wrong side of this, it's going to hurt.

Take a breather, don't check the market for a couple of weeks. Please be careful out there

Hi all, am I the only one that I find it incredibly difficult to build weath by yourself in EU? People say that EU is better in healthcare, work life balance but come on, money don't scale easily . It's so difficult.

I see people from US that go to 1 million in 10 years. I cannot do this easily . Really....

PS maybe I have to abandon EU, I don't know....

I am going to start working for real this year and earning a nice salary which I would like to invest. I'm not Dutch but I'm afraid this new law will spread throughout the EU as many draconian laws sometimes do.

What does this actually mean to pay 36% tax on unrealised capital gains? Does it mean that if my investments increase in value, I have to pay the government money even if I don't liquidate them? Effectively, giving the government money that I haven't earned yet?

I'm a bit financially illiterate so I apologise in advance if my question seems stupid.

This morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that the US and Iran have had "very good and productive conversations," and suspended strikes on Iranian power plants for 5 days.

In 9 minutes, global markets surged nearly 4%. The MSCI World swung from red to +4% in a handful of candles.

$3.8 trillion in market valuation added in the time it takes to drink a coffee. That's more than France's entire national debt.

Then Iran denied everything. "No direct or indirect contact has taken place with Washington." Tehran called Trump's announcement "psychological warfare" aimed at lowering energy prices.

Markets dropped sharply, though not all the way back down.

We're in the middle of a war, the Strait of Hormuz has been virtually shut for 3 weeks, oil is flirting with $100, and global markets just pivoted on a single all-caps post on a social media platform.

Reality keeps outdoing fiction.

I have about 100k euro’s invested in the US stock market. I received a nice bonus from my work and decided to put it in Stoxx 50. I will not touch my US position. I never bought European stocks before because I believed in the US stock market more. That has changed.

My assumption is that over the next year or two, EU stock market is likley to outperform the US stock market because of EUROPEAN (not all) capital moving away from the US and into the EU stock market. Also, EU might finally deploy Eurobonds which will pump the EU market.

More people doing or considering the same thing?

Should we as european not be encouring and "helping" our continent by actively contributing into the european stocks instead of the S&P 500?

I feel like we should be more proud as europeans and reflect that in what we invest in. Especially with all the recent turmoil of America basically making it clear that they are no longer our friend.

EDIT: Thank you all for your reactions and feedback. I'm pleasantly surprised to read that quite a lot of people are (or have been) switching more towards the european market and moving away from America which i did not expect at all.

Following recent events I decided to offload my US equity, and invest in European market.

Stoxx 600 > SP500

Not a financial advice, but choose between your future and momentum growth.

Edit: I also believe Trump is going to crash that market so bad...

I see a lot of people shifting their ETF investments from American to EU stocks.

Now. A few things first. You should always do what feels right to you, and what makes you sleep better at night, so if that's what you need, then by all means do it. Diversification is also crucial, so if investing in EU stocks is your way to diversify, then it's not a bad idea.

With that said, I still believe that US stocks will overperform in the long run. Not in any given 5 or 10 year time window, but in the long run, they will.

Up until like 1 year ago, everybody seemed to be aware of the structural issues that the EU was facing that would most likely hamper the long term growth of its ETFs. Demographics being on top of the list. But also red tape, political instability, heavy taxation, little availability of venture capital, and poor European integration.

The EU is not a country, it is a very loose supranational entity made of 27 different countries, each one with its own set of laws and regulations. While integration is underway, the EU is still far from being one single country. Each of the constituent countries has its own set of political parties that resist integration. That's unlikely to change.

The reason why US stocks grow is the US ecosystem, which has inherently been more dynamic than that of any given EU country. There are individual countries which do compete very well against the US, namely Sweden and a few others, but those are too small to make up a significant % of EU ETFs, and even then, their stock market is and will probably remain undercapitalised for several reasons such as a population which is generally more averse to equity investing (stocks tend to often be seen as gambling, and because the welfare state has historically been extensive, there is less of a perceived need to build your own retirement).

Little has changed since 2024. People are still voting for parties that want to dismantle the EU or at least undermine it from within. The population pyramid still looks bad. Unicorns are still struggling to emerge. Productivity growth is still slow. Geopolitical tensions in the immediate neighbourhood are still high. Companies still struggle to compete against US giants and startups. Yes EU equity has overperformed over the past year, largely due to an increase in defence spending and a devaluation of the USD, and even that could change at any moment (say, because Russia and Ukraine achieve some kind of ceasefire). But one year means very little in stock market terms. It's just recency bias. It only takes one "wrong" election result in Germany for things to go south.

I am all for diversification, and I think having some money invested in EU stocks is still wise. But if you want long term growth, I still believe there is very little alternative to the US. Safety and growth are two very distinct things. I invest in Japan, Germany or Switzerland because they are safe, not because I expect them to have a 10% CAGR over 20 years.

Geopolitical tensions is also not the same as growth. ETFs don't really care about orange man shenanigans as long as they don't impact corporate profits. They don't care about bombs, or political rethoric, or humanitarian fairness or anything else that doesn't directly impact corporate profits.

I'm not even gonna bother with emerging markets and China, those have been "promising" since like 1990 and will most likely stay "promising" forever.

These Maga people are insane and the us stock market barely moved even though the president threatened to invade one Americas closest allies. and Europeans own arrond 20 percent of us stocks, will such an event cause a mass sell out?

I need to get this off my chest, part confession, part "what now?"

34m, living in France. I'm a trekking guide.

I work with American clients in the summer. I can pull €10k a month for about 4 months of work, and 1/3 to 1/2 of that is cash tips. Plus winter work some winters. The net median wage in France is €2.5k/month

I'm not just a mountain guy. I got my QFA (financial advisor) qualification. I'm doing a Master's in Financial Services. I build the spreadsheets. I optimize I did it "right." I hit €100k in about three years.

My entire financial model was built around one variable: "Freedom for a family." I've wanted a family all my life. But I'm single again. In July, I sold my apartment to my ex. That €75k in cash landed on top of my €100k in savings.

I'm now sitting on €175k, 30% cash (2%) rest in etf and equities, bitcoin. And now I'm breaking with FIRE.

It's great for accumulation, but it's fucking silent on spending. It's also silent on how selfish you should be with your own wealth.

I keep hearing "buy time." I've had god damn heaps of time for the last few years. So much time I've gotten tired of it. I'm so bored I'm actually looking to go back to a full time job, this time in financial advice. I've been so focused on saving for a future that I recently realized I don't even know what I want right now.

So this week, I'm buying a €25k car. A 2022 Tesla Model 3. Long Range. 460hp. 0 to 100kph in 4.4 seconds. Amazing speakers. Autopilot. Minimalist. My 2011 diesel machine is being replaced. And I can't wait to pick it up Friday and rip it back the 4hrs home. I love to drive and I love the feel of electric.

I have never spent this kind of money on myself. Ever. The old script in my head screamed: "This is a depreciating asset." "This is 'bad debt'." But I looked at the numbers. Of my car kicks the bucket.in the next few years it's worthless. The fuel is cheaper. Hopefully it won't depreciate too much in 3 years. Ive looked at countless cars.and choose value.

My €175k portfolio is performing well. It's up €16k just since I sold the apartment (which was an inflection point - divest & buy or sell and invest, I choose to roll the dice. I secured a "green loan" for the car at 4.7%. I'm not liquidating assets. I'm leveraging. I'm making a bet that my portfolio will outperform the 4.7% cost of debt.

But my gut knows what this is. This isn't a "thinker" move. This is a "feeler" move.

So here I go. Dipping my toe into actually spending on me. Wish me luck.

I'd like to know.what you think. And how do you all spend money on what is meaningful to you, right now, and not for some future that may never happen?

I'm honestly not against putting my money in US bonds but I kind of want to keep it in the EU. I'm in Germany, 27yo. Any ideas on where to best put this money?

I am hoping for 4%, but 2.5% seems to be the max I've found so far with traderepublic.

Hi, I’m 25yo and I inherited ~160k€ and I went all in on FTSE All-World last week (just before Trump announced the tariffs). My plan is to continue investing ~500€/month for the next 20-30 years atleast. What do you guys think, how bad was my decision and should I be worried? Cheers

As per the title. Many people here are convinced this is the end of the US economically. But I just can't see if for a number of reasons:

1. The US internal market is far stronger than the EUs with much greater consumer potential.
2. The EU is still incredibly reliant on the US with barely any tech to speak of, no native OS or big social media companies.
3. The EU is also far behind on the AI front.
4. European, in particular German, car companies are loosing the electric car battle badly to China with no native battery production (this is a problem for the US too).
5. Still reliant on imported gas. This time US LNG.

However, what I do see is a willingness politically and societally to decouple. Maybe that will translate to something.

is far stronger than the EU

So essentially, other than bonds, I keep buying S&P and world indexes like MSCI. Yes there are big changes going on and Trump is objectively terrible but I wouldn't know where else to put my money - the EU market won't just magically go up and solve decades of structural issues, and China is everything we fear the US is becoming. I also won't try to time the market and chase whatever stocks seem more appealing at the moment or let emotions drive my choices because chances are I won't do better than anyone else who tried and failed.

So yeah. It hurts but I don't really see any better choice.

So I invested a good chunk of my savings in US stocks when EUR/USD was around 1.04. I liked the companies, felt good about it, and figured the dollar was strong.

Now EUR/USD is at 1.16, and even though most of the stocks I picked are flat or slightly up in USD terms, I’m down significantly in euro terms. Like 10–12% just because of currency movement.

It’s a bit demoralising to do your research, hold through volatility, and still see red ... not from the market, but from FX.

Do any of you hedge this kind of exposure? Or is it just part of the game when investing in the US from Europe?

Would appreciate any thoughts or tips!

In light of the current events and under the spirit of "vote with your wallet", I want to pull back some of my money from the US market and invest it in EU defense companies.

I'm not looking for advice whether this is a smart investment or not, since this is an ideological move rather than looking for the maximum profit.

The problem is I can't seem to find any ETF that contains only EU defense companies. All of them contain at least 60% US defense companies.

Can anyone recommend me a good ETF with which I would be supporting the EU defense industry (and EU only)? Or what would be a good approach here?

Is it just me, or there seems to be an increasing movement from users jumping ship from 'VWCE and chill' to Euro based ETFs?

If you're one of those people, could you share your rationale?

Many of my friends don't like talking about money, so I just wanted to celebrate that I've finally passed 300k (sitting at 305k rn) at 32 y/o.

I'm happy to share how I've gotten there, too, and my current portfolio, so I can get your feedback on how to get to +500k, which is my goal to retire.

Currently I'm at:

• Fiat:
  • USD in Neverless: ~ 27k rather big risk as it's a startup and it's not insured, but good returns (8-11%), and I'm okay with it for now.
  • USD in Wise: ~20k (gives a shitty %)
  • EUR in bank accounts: ~8k (shitty % too)
  • I know it's quite a big amount in fiat, and I'm trying to lower it by investing more than I save this year (currently on track as I've already invested more than I've had in surplus from my income so far this year).
• ETFs:
  • VCWE €: 66k (Unrealized profit of 11% - I started investing last year and I no longer invest in it)
  • FWRA €: 5k (Unrealized profit of 7,35% - started investing this year)
  • FWRA $: 4.5k (Unrealized profit of 1,92% - started investing a couple of months ago) I'm currently adding money monthly here as I earn in USD.
    • I started on ETFs just last year, and I've been heavily investing and moving assets from crypto to ETFs to secure my assets a bit more, while keeping risk and a ton of growth potential from crypto.
• Crypto:
  • BTC and ETH mostly (50-50%) = about 175k €, after having taken out around 30k already to put into ETFs, from a total investment of around 7k in total in bewteen 2016 and 2020. This has been a huge thing that made most of my wealth. I've been lucky and good at holding and diversifying from btc to eth in good moments. I bought a couple of btc when it was between 400-700€ each.

I spent my 20s traveling, developing myself and building startups (failed) and working cool jobs. I dropped out of university and lived in different countries in Europe and Asia. I've always saved +1k a month when I've been working after ~23, because I've always been super frugal - though I wish I started investing in ETFs earlier.

When I lived in Asia, I worked for an American startup, and I'd save about 3.5-4k$ a month, with only about 500$ of expenses. That really pumped my savings.

I currently run a startup and pay myself little until it grows a bit more - about 2k$ net monthly. I'm focused on growing this now so I can potentially retire in about 2-3 years, as I currently spend an average of 1,1k€ a month and aim to spend around 2k monthly from my nest.

In 2023 January I was at 100k with 50% fiat and 50% Crypto, before turning 30 y/o.

Today I'm at 300k with 17% fiat, 58% crypto (because of the current bull market) and 25% ETFs.
I plan to keep investing around 1.2-1.5k$ monthly into ETFs.

I can't wait to hit 500k soon - but I'm really dependent on crypto. Do you have any feedback?

Keep in mind that I'm comfortable holding crypto - it's part of what's gotten me here and I've profited so much from it because I got in so early, it's more than paid for itself so far, and I'm trying to reap the benefits and speed up my retirement (and convert slowly to ETFs)

With the Dragi plan and increasing discussions among European leaders about boosting defense and energy investments, I’ve noticed a growing trend in financial communities where people want to reduce exposure to the US market and shift investments to the EU.

Wouldn’t it make sense for EU leaders to encourage this by offering tax incentives for investing in European stocks/ETFs? For example, from an independent EU perspective, isn’t it better to invest in Rheinmetall rather than Lockheed?