ETFs, Funds & Long-Term Investing
Learn how funds, ETFs and the indices behind them work, what they really cost, and how to build, maintain and document a diversified long-term portfolio that fits your goals and risk level.
Self-study course Self-study course: written lessons, videos and downloadable materials for independent learning. There is no supervision, assessment, individual feedback or tutoring. Self-check quizzes are evaluated automatically in your browser — we do not see your results.
All 13 lessons free
Before you start
- Basic percentage calculations
- An emergency fund or a plan to build one
- No prior investing experience required
What you will be able to do
- Match each financial goal to a time horizon and a suitable level of risk
- Explain how funds and ETFs are structured, protected and traded
- Compare ETFs by index, replication method, distribution policy and total costs
- Calculate portfolio risk and a stress-tested equity share for your accepted loss
- Plan savings plans and rebalancing rules and estimate the long-term effect of fees
- Write a personal long-term investment policy with a review routine
Lessons in this course
Investing versus Saving and Trading: Time Horizon, Goals and Risk Capacity
Separate saving, investing and trading, and match each financial goal to a time horizon and a level of risk you can actually carry.
What Investment Funds and ETFs Are: Structure, Special-Asset Protection and How They Trade
Understand who manages, holds and prices a fund, why fund assets are protected if the fund company fails, and how an ETF price stays close to its fair value.
How Indices Are Built: Market-Cap Weighting, MSCI World, FTSE All-World, S&P 500 and Concentration
Calculate free-float market-cap weights, compare the major equity indices behind popular ETFs, and measure how concentrated an index really is.
Replication and Distribution: Physical vs Synthetic, Accumulating vs Distributing
Compare full, sampled and swap-based replication, understand swap counterparty limits and securities lending, and see how accumulating and distributing units treat dividends.
The Real Costs of a Fund: TER, Tracking Difference, Spreads and Order Costs
Separate the costs inside a fund from the costs of buying and selling it, and use tracking difference to compare ETFs that follow the same index.
Diversification and Correlation Inside a Portfolio
Use correlation and the two-asset volatility formula to see how much risk diversification removes, and spot hidden overlap between ETFs.
Asset Allocation: Mixing Equities, Bonds and Cash for Your Risk Level
Turn your acceptable euro loss into a concrete split between equities and a defensive part, using a simple stress-test formula.
Bond ETFs and Money-Market Funds: Interest-Rate and Credit Risk
Measure how much a bond ETF or money-market fund can move when interest rates or credit spreads change, and choose a fund that fits your time horizon.
Savings Plans and the Cost-Average Effect: What the Maths Really Shows
Calculate the average purchase price of a savings plan and understand when regular investing helps and when a lump sum ends up ahead.
Rebalancing: Why, When and How
Use calendar and tolerance-band rules to bring a portfolio back to its target mix, and calculate the trades or new savings needed.
Compound Growth over Decades and How Fees Reduce It
Calculate long-term growth of a lump sum and a regular saving amount, and measure in euros how much yearly fees and front-end loads take away.
German Taxation of Funds: Abgeltungsteuer, Sparerpauschbetrag, Vorabpauschale and Teilfreistellung
Get a general orientation on how distributions, the Vorabpauschale and sale gains of funds are taxed for private investors in Germany, with step-by-step calculations.
Writing and Maintaining Your Long-Term Investment Policy
Write a one-page investment policy with goals, allocation, product rules, stress test and review routine, and learn how to change it in a controlled way.
Trading Psychology & Discipline
Once your long-term plan is in place, continue with "Trading Psychology & Discipline" to learn how emotions and biases affect financial decisions and how to keep to your rules.
View course outline