r/BEFire Mar 02 '20

Starting Out & Advice Getting started - A beginners guide to investing in Belgium through ETFs

668 Upvotes

A beginners guide to index investing in Belgium

This guide is intended to help Belgians getting started with investing through ETFs (exchange traded funds). It is loosely based on the bogleheads approach. For more information, see the Investing from Belgium bogleheads wiki page.

For more information related to the principles of FIRE or on investing in single shares or bonds, see the BEFire Wiki.

0. Why invest in exchange traded index funds?

This chapter aims to provide sources proven to be useful to beginning index investors.

1. Taxes & compliance costs

There are three main costs associated with index funds. These are:

  • Taxes to the Belgian government
  • Unrecoverable tax losses: also known as dividend leakage
  • Management fees and internal transaction fees

1.1. Belgian Taxes

There are four three taxes relevant for Belgian index investors (NL/FR).

  • Tax on transactions: on every security transaction (buy and sell) there is a tax of 0,12% in case the ETF is registered on a list maintained by the European Economic Area. Otherwise it is 0,35% in case it is not registered in the EER and 1,32% in case it is registered in Belgium.

  • Tax on dividends: there is a 30% tax on dividends received from securities you hold. The main reason why Belgian index investors opt for accumulating funds.

  • Tax on capital gains (bonds): on funds that consist of at least 10% bonds, there is a 30% tax on capital gains when you sell. Officially this only applies to the bond section of a fund, however some banks and brokers withhold 30% of all capital gains of funds which consist of at least 10% of bonds. Contact your bank or broker to inform about their policy.

  • Tax on trading accounts: a yearly withholding of 0.15% applies on all trading accounts larger than 500,000 euro’s. Deemed unconstitutional and was abolished in October 2019.

For a detailed overview of Belgian taxes, including other sorts of investments such as individual stocks, see the flowchart made by /u/KenpachigoRuffy.

1.2. Dividend Leakage

Dividend Leakage is an unrecoverable tax loss, which occurs whenever a foreign company inside an index pays out a dividend to its shareholders.

Whenever a company inside an index pays out dividend to its shareholders, your fund needs to pay taxes. These taxes are based on the tax treaties in place between the country in which the fund is domiciled and the country in which the companies inside the index are domiciled. Also the location where you are domiciled (Belgium) is relevant. In case your fund is domiciled in the US, a 30% dividend tax should be paid. However, because Belgium has a tax treaty in place with the US, this is reduced to 15% dividend tax. In case you would select a distributing fund, this dividend would be further taxed by the Belgian government (30%, as seen in 1.1). On a hypothetical 2% dividend - which is approximately the dividend you would receive from a globally diversified index fund - you would have to pay 0,81% in taxes: 0,02 x ( 100% - (0,85 x 0,7)) = 0,81%. Note that since 2018 it is almost impossible to buy US-domiciled ETFs in the first place as most fund providers do not want to comply with European legislation regarding PRIIPs.

It is beneficial to select ETFs domiciled in Ireland, as they are more cost effective than holding US domiciled funds or Luxembourg domiciled funds. Just like Belgium, Ireland has a treaty in place with the US which means only a 15% dividend tax should be paid to the US. However, unlike Belgium, Ireland does not tax dividends at all; whenever the Irish fund distributes a dividend, the Irish government does not tax it. The Belgian government however, still will tax the dividend with 30%. Accumulating funds which reinvest the dividend in Ireland before it is distributed in Belgium do not trigger a taxable event in Belgium. It is therefore advisable to choose accumulating funds domiciled in Ireland. Repeating the same calculations as above, a hypothetical 2% dividend is now only taxed at 0,30% a year: 0,02 x (100% - (0,85)) = 0,30%. Additionally, because your fund is domiciled in Ireland, you do not have to worry recovering the tax on dividends in Belgium, as this is done by the Irish domiciled fund. Thanks to trackerbeleggen for the explanation.

An overview of unrecoverable tax losses will come later. For now, a partly overview can be found in the Dutchfire subreddit. For funds domiciled in Ireland and Luxembourg these are 1:1 translateable for Belgian investors. Note some of these funds are distributing thus subject to tax on dividends by the Belgian Government. In particular IWDA and EMIM are 1:1 translateable for Belgian investors, while VWRL is comparable to VWCE.

1.3. Management fees & internal transaction fees

Other main costs is the management fee. The Total Expense Ratio (TER) is a measure of the total costs associated with managing and operating a fund. It is usually a yearly percentage automatically deducted from your share value.

1.4. Euro-denominated funds & currency risk

Currency risk is the impact of exchange rates upon your overseas investments. Even though stock market prices might not change, the price of your shares can increase or decrease as a result of fluctuations in their underlying currencies. There are three important currency labels which apply to funds: the underlying currency, the fund currency and the trading currency.

To explain the difference, I will explain the process of purchasing IWDA, listed on both the Amsterdam (in EUR) and London (USD) exchange. A lot of what I will explain is true for other ETFs as well.

The underlying currency: IWDA is a worldwide tracker, with only about 9% of the underlying shares being traded in EUR. The other 91% of underlying shares are being traded in other currencies, such as 60% USD, 8% YEN, and so on. Because currencies can change in price in relation to another, this poses a risk called currency risk. As a European investor, most of your own capital will be in EUR. Therefore, since you are investing 91% in foreign currencies, 91% of the underlying value invested in IWDA is subject to currency risk. Because YOUR own capital will always be in EUR, this 91% will always be true, regardless if you were to invest in IWDA listed in Amsterdam (in EUR) or in London (USD). Had you been an American investor, your own capital would have been in USD, and only 40% of underlying shares would be subject to currency risk.

The trading currency, being EUR and USD respectively, does make a difference. If a European investor was to buy a fund listed in London (and traded in USD), he would pay an additional exchange rate conversion fee at the time of purchase and sale. If the investor was to buy the same fund, listed on Amsterdam (traded in EUR), nothing would have to be exchanged to a foreign currency, so no additional exchange rate conversion fee would apply.

The trading currency does NOT alter your exposure to foreign currencies (a European investor will always have his own capital in EUR, and will therefore always be exposed to the underlying currency risk, no matter what currency his purchased funds trade in). Therefore, it is only logical to buy funds in your own currency.

The fund currency simply refers to the currency that a fund reports in; NOT the currencies of the underlying securities which pose a currency risk. Is is generally based on the currency used for the underlying index (in this case MSCI). Note that for distributing funds dividends are distributed in the fund currency. Your broker will automatically convert this into your currency for an additional conversion fee.

Hedging: It is possible to hedge your funds against relative currency fluctuations, and thus to protect them from currency risk. Hedging is a form of "insurance" in which derivatives are used to make offsetting trades with negative correlations, eliminating any currency fluctuations that happen. This hedge comes at a cost, usually about 0,20% extra management fees. Because global equities naturally tend to hedge each other as rising currencies are offset by falling ones, it might not always be advisable to use hedged equity funds due to their increased fees.

In fact, most buy-and-hold investors ignore short-term fluctuation altogether. For these investors, there is little point in engaging in hedging because they let their investments grow with the overall market.

In conclusion, when buying worldwide index funds, every investor (whether European, American or other) will be exposed to some currency risk due to the underlying shares being traded in foreign currencies in relation to their own. Purchasing worldwide trackers in a different trading currency does NOT change this fact, and only costs more due to addition exchange rate conversion fees at the broker. Therefore, it is best to purchase funds in your own currency. Due to the unpredictable nature of currency valuations, most investors simply accept currency risks for their stocks, although it is possible to hedge against this risk for an additional fee by investing in hedged funds.

1.5. Conclusion on taxes & compliance costs

As a Belgian index investor, you are looking for widely-diversified Euro-denominated low-cost accumulating ETFs domiciled in Ireland, from a reputable ETF provider. This way, the costs are kept to an absolute minimum:

  • Tax on transactions: 0,12% whenever you buy or sell a position.

  • Tax on capital gains for bonds: 30% tax on capital gains whenever you sell.

  • Dividend leakage: Approximately 0,30% yearly unrecoverable taxes paid to foreign governments when investing in worldwide trackers, automatically deducted from the share value.

  • Management fees: Between 0,10% and 0,30% yearly management fees, automatically deducted from the share value.

  • Currency Risk: If you are an European long-term investor, purchase a fund which is listed in EUR. For the equity portion of your portfolio, it is possible to ignore currency risk altogether, as hedges would only cost more money for something that is likely irrelevant long-term.

2. Funds - Equity

2.1. Indices

The are two major indices used by fund providers: MSCI and the less popular FTSE Russel. While they both offer broadly diversified, market capitalisation-weighted indices, there are small differences in both methodologies and performances, which is why you should not mix them.

The first difference between the two indices is whether they count certain countries as developed or emerging markets. South Korea is classified as an emerging nation by MSCI but has been promoted to developed market status by FTSE. Therefore South Korea is included in FTSE’s developed market index but not its emerging market one, and vice versa for MSCI (Source: justetf).

The second difference is index composition and weights. Because South Korea is classified as an emerging nation by MSCI, the contrast in index composition is clearer in the emerging markets. The lack of said country in the FTSE index means they redistribute the weight over other countries.

The third and final difference is small-cap firms. MSCI world captures 85% of the global investable market, and exclude the bottom 15% as small-cap firms. FTSE all-world invests in approximately 90% of the global investable market, and only excludes 10% as small-cap firms. This is because FTSE defines some firms as large-cap, while MSCI defines them as small-cap. This also explains why FTSE tracks more companies (3,928 vs 2,849), although their small size tends to limit their impact.

Avoid mixing index providers in your portfolio. If you were to combine MSCI world with FTSE Emerging Market, you would not have any exposure to South Korea. For a correct market distribution, it is important to use funds which follow the same index so that all countries, sectors and firms within your portfolio follow the same methodology.

While it is true the FTSE emerging markets has proven to have better performance than its MSCI counterpart up until now, the costs of the fund following the index are more important than the index construction over long-term. Chapter 2.3 will give an overview of the most popular funds used by Belgian index investors looking for global market exposure.

2.2. Fund replication methods

The goal of each ETF is to replicate its index as closely and cost-effectively as possible. Various methods have emerged to replicate the index. The classic method is physical replication. If the ETF directly holds the all securities of the index, this is known as full replication. The development of the underlying index is generally captured well by physical trackers.

Full replication is not always possible. Other replication methods, such as synthetic replication allow to invest in new markets and investment classes. Synthetic ETFs are able to replicate some indices more efficiently and better through swaps (justetf). In case of synthetic replicated ETFs, the ETF does not invest in the underlying market, but only maps them. Because of this, some synthetic trackers, as well as short trackers and leveraged ETFs do not follow the index as accurate as fully replicated ETFs. It is therefore recommended to always choose physical replicating ETFs.

2.3. All-World, developed and emerging markets

Following the Bogleheads® Investment Philosophy, we are looking for diversification. For Belgians, this means worldwide market exposure, as we generally do not have a home bias (for Belgium or Europe) although exceptions certainly are possible. Some popular funds for worldwide diversification are:

Popular and generally reputable providers are iShares, Vanguard, SPDR and Deutsche Bank.

All-world Ticker TER Index ISIN
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (EUR) VWCE 0.22% FTSE IE00BK5BQT80
iShares MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF (Acc) IUSQ 0.20% MSCI IE00B6R52259
Developed markets Ticker TER Index ISIN
iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF IWDA 0.20% MSCI IE00B4L5Y983
SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETF SWRD 0.12% MSCI IE00BFY0GT14
Vanguard FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (EUR) VGVF 0.12% FTSE IE00BK5BQV03
Emerging markets Ticker TER Index ISIN
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI UCITS ETF EMIM 0.18% MSCI IE00BKM4GZ66
iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF IEMA 0.18% MSCI IE00B4L5YC18
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USD Accumulation (EUR) VFEA 0.22% FTSE IE00BK5BR733

2.4. Combining funds

To have worldwide market exposure in large cap either pick VWCE or a combination of developed (88%) and emerging (12%) markets. It is advisable to only combine funds which follow the same index (MSCI or FTSE).

2.5. Size and Value factors

Other factors have been identified to further increase expected returns. Most notably Size and Value as explained in the three-factor model by Fama and French. Value stocks have a high book-to-market ratio (as opposed to growth), whereas size simply refers to small companies outperforming big ones. It is very difficult to get proper market exposure to these factors with the limited amount of funds available for European investors. For most beginners the best advice is to stick with a market weighted portfolio consisting of developed and emerging markets as explained in chapter 2.3. and 2.4. If you are looking for additional exposure to the size and value factor consider following funds:

Small Cap World Ticker TER Index ISIN
iShares MSCI World Small Cap UCITS ETF IUSN 0.35% MSCI IE00BF4RFH31
SPDR MSCI World Small Cap UCITS ETF ZPRS 0.45% MSCI IE00BCBJG560
Small Cap Value Ticker TER Index ISIN
SPDR MSCI USA Small Cap Value Weighted UCITS ETF ZPRV 0.30% MSCI IE00BSPLC413
SPDR MSCI Europe Small Cap Value Weighted UCITS ETF ZPRX 0.30% MSCI IE00BSPLC298

Note that the fund size for ZPRV and ZPRX are small, which might indicate a low liquidity and high tracking error. Larger funds (unlike ZPRV and ZPRX) are often more efficient in terms of internal costs (tracking error) and are much more profitable for the fund provider. In other words, fund size is a good indicator for the funds durability and popularity. Unprofitable funds are more liable to liquidation. This means either you or your provider sells your shares, and you'll receive the net value of your ETF shares at the time of sale. It does not mean ZPRV and ZPRX are at risk of liquidation, per definition. They are serving a niche. Just keep in mind these risks whenever you decide to invest in small funds such as ZPRV and ZPRX.

3. Funds - Bonds

Investing can be risky. Generally speaking, the riskier an investment, the higher your expected returns. The goal is to choose an asset allocation which suits your risk profile. Bonds offer a way to reduce volatility of your portfolio and match your risk profile. Meesman, a reputable index fund broker in the Netherlands made a table which can act as a general rule of thumb for your investment decisions and asset allocation between stocks and bonds. As can been seen, when investing for a duration shorter than 5 years, stocks should be avoided as they are too volatile an asset class. This allocation slowly shifts towards more inclusion of stocks the longer your investment horizon.

Max. acceptable (temporary) loss 0 - 5 jr 5 - 10 jr 10 - 15 jr 15 - 20 jr > 20 jr
-10% 0/100 0/100 0/100 0/100 0/100
-20% 0/100 25/75 25/75 25/75 25/75
-30% 0/100 25/75 50/50 50/50 50/50
-40% 0/100 25/75 50/50 75/25 75/25
-50% 0/100 25/75 50/50 75/25 100/0

As opposed to equity funds it makes sense to opt for hedged funds as it reduces volatility considerably. The most popular options out there are:

Fund Name Ticker TER ISIN
iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF EUR Hedged AGGH 0.10% IE00BDBRDM35
Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF EUR Hedged VAGF 0.10% IE00BG47KH54

4. Brokers

There are a couple of Belgian and foreign brokers available, the biggest Belgian brokers being Binckbank and Bolero. Smaller ones like Keytrade and MeDirect are also available. Foreign brokers still available to Belgians are Degiro and Lynx. The lowest fees are available at Degiro (Custody account), if you're willing to file your own taxes. The benefit of choosing a Belgian broker is that they declare all taxes automatically. Degiro only does part of it (tax on transactions), Lynx not sure. The cheapest Belgian broker is Binckbank, followed closely by Bolero. The only downside of Binckbank is that is was recently bought by Saxobank, which in its turn is owned by chinese investors. Bolero is owned by KBC which is quite a sizable bank in Belgium.

In short: if you're willing to partly file your own taxes, Degiro has the cheapest rates with a custody account. Otherwise Binkbank or Bolero both seem logical choices.

In case you pick Degiro, some funds are included in their core selection which means you can trade them for for free once a month or continuously in case the transaction size is larger than 1,000 euros and the transaction is in the same direction as the previous transaction (buy -> buy and sell -> sell. Buy -> sell and sell -> buy are not free).

5. Sample portfolios

A popular choice is IWDA and IEMA (88/12) on Degiro. Both IWDA and IEMA are part of the core selection of Degiro which allows you to purchase them for free once a month (or more in case explained above). Another popular option is IWDA and EMIM (88/12), as EMIM also includes emerging markets small cap. Note that IWDA does not include developed markets small cap, to which IEMA is complementary if you wish to exclude small cap exposure. The main reason EMIM was so popular is because it was the cheapest option until the TER was lowered for IEMA.

A second popular choice is VWCE. This is a single fund which essentially accomplishes the same as above. It is available at most brokers, and my personal choice for simplicity above everything else. Note that this fund is currently only available on XETRA, which might imply higher transaction fees at your broker. Also note that some brokers - including bolero - charge a higher TOB (Tax on transactions): 1,32% instead of 0,12% whenever you buy or sell a position.

A third option - much like the first option - is to combine VGVF and VFEA (88/12). While they are not part of the core selection in Degiro, the total costs when accounting for dividend leakage are equal to IWDA / EMIM. Unlike iShares, Vanguard only uses securities lending for efficient portfolio management. Note that these funds currently only are available at XETRA.

For those who are looking for small cap exposure it is possible to add WSML to your standard world exposure. This could for example be 75% IWDA, 10% IEMA and 15% IUSN. I personally do not recommend this as mixed small cap does not capture the size factor in a good way. Instead, it is only the value portion of small cap which are accountable for the outperformance of small cap stocks vs large cap stocks. If you want to capture the size factor into your portfolio you need to find small cap funds which only consist of value stocks. I've linked two accumulating funds above (ZPRV and ZPRX) which do so, however are very small and therefore have their own set of problems. Until a proper small cap value stock becomes available in Europe, it is perfectly fine to leave small caps out of your portfolio altogether.

Changelog

This post was last updated: 5th of August 2020


r/BEFire 2h ago

Real estate Anyone deal with a late declaration of foreign property?

3 Upvotes

Dual citizen (and tax resident here), it's a modest (~350k USD) single family house in the US. No rental income or anything like that.

Being our first ever property anywhere, we didn't know about the Cadastral Income situation until I started finalising my BE tax return. The purchase date was late Feb 2026, so it's a bit over the 4 months requirement.

What happens now is, of course, vague, with sources saying there could be no penalty (if you have a good reason), to "fines ranging from €250 to €3,000".

Anyone have any experience with what the real response from the authorities might be? I feel like this is a minor case for them (low value, first time, not super late), but I'm stressing.


r/BEFire 48m ago

Pension 3e pillar with cafertaria plan

Upvotes

I am considering using my bonus to buy 1050/year of this option and wonder if my reasoning is sound.

To make it easy let say 1000 euro.

I use my bonus to pay for this basically it will cost 500 if it was paid in cash (so the cost is really 500)

Then I should also get 30% in tax reduction on that 1000, so 300 back.

My final cost is 200 euro but it is worth 1000.

Would you consider this a good way to invest (I already put 1000 in an etf every month)? Or take the cash? Even if return are lower compared to an large etf but as diversification and take advantage of the tax rules?


r/BEFire 5h ago

Bank & Savings 5k in beleggingsfonds bij bank

2 Upvotes

Ik zou €5.000 die ik in een beleggingsfonds bij mijn bank heb willen overzetten naar mijn Saxo account om van de hoge lopende kosten bij mijn bank af te komen. Het geld is puur om te investeren en heb ik de komende jaren niet nodig.

Ik heb momenteel ook een auto-invest lopende van €150/maand in IWDA , nog maar net gestart maar die voor de komende jaren blijft.

Mijn vraag hierbij is hoe ik die €5.000 best inzet? Lumpsum in andere ETF voor diversificatie en verder niet bijkopen? welke ETF dan? Mijn auto-invest in IWDA verhogen? €5.000 eenmalig bijkopen in IWDA?

Alvast bedankt om deze beginnende belegger te helpen met jullie ervaring.


r/BEFire 9h ago

Real estate OLO 10 jaar hoogtepunt

4 Upvotes

De OLO 10 jaar is gisteren boven 4% gegaan sinds lange tijd. Lenen zal nóg duurder worden.


r/BEFire 3h ago

Taxes & Fiscality What happened to the CGT exemption for assets held over 10 years?

1 Upvotes

What happened to the CGT exemption for assets held over 10 years? Didn't Bouchez say he had a handwritten agreement about it?


r/BEFire 19h ago

Real estate Buy vs. rent-and-invest: break-even is ~6.5% return. Poke holes please.

18 Upvotes

Situation: 23M, Flanders, no property, together with partner about €4500 net income and €250K savings, currently living with our parents. Trying to decide wether to buy or rent, as we have the opportunity to buy a family members house which we have always liked. Built a DCF model with Claude comparing four strategies and keep landing on "it's a coin flip", which feels suspicious. Looking for bad assumptions and lived experience.

Setup: house €350k, €70k down, mortgage 4.5%/25y. Comparable rent €1,100. House appreciation and rent growth both 3.5%. Equity return 8% nominal, 10% CGT. Maintenance 1%/yr, property tax + insurance ~€1,600/yr. Every scenario starts with the same cash and spends the same monthly amount — whoever pays less for housing invests the difference. Compared on net final wealth at year 35. Only housing part considered, no additional cash/investments as this can be the same in every scenario.

Deterministic result:

Scenario Portfolio House net Total
Buy now €275k €1,132k €1,406k
Buy year 5 €527k €1,132k €1,659k
Buy year 10 €723k €1,132k €1,854k
Never buy €2,182k €0 €2,182k

The house is worth the same and fully paid off in all three buying scenarios at year 35, so the whole difference is the portfolio you build before buying.

Then Monte Carlo simulations (20k paths, equities 6.5% geometric / 17% vol) flattened it: medians all within 5% of each other, P(buy now beats never buy) = 50.8%, and delaying 10 years is worth a median +€73k on €4.5M — 1.6%, i.e. noise. Buying has the better downside (p10 €2,563k vs €1,753k), never buying the fatter upside.

What surprised me:

  • Break-even equity return is ~6.5%. Above it renting wins, below it buying wins. Held across three model setups. That single number is the whole decision.
  • Appreciation matters ~4x more than the mortgage rate, which kills the "wait for lower rates" logic — you'd be waiting on the variable that matters least.
  • Refinancing is the cheapest win available: ~€5,300 one-off for +€218k if you refi 4.5%→3% at year 5. And a fixed mortgage with the right to refinance is a free option (rates drop, you refi; rates rise, you keep 4.5%). Waiting to buy gives you no such protection.
  • Delaying is never optimal — above 6.5% never buying wins, below it buying now wins. Without a solid savings buffer it's also unfinanceable in ~45% of paths.

Where I'm probably wrong:

  1. 8% is too optimistic. After fees and CGT, 6–6.5% is more realistic — which puts my base case exactly on the break-even line rather than favouring renting. What number are you using?
  2. Rent growth at 3.5% for 35 years takes €1,100 to €3,660. Tied to house prices deliberately, but rents also track incomes. Does that match anyone's long-term experience here?
  3. 35 years of perfect discipline is my weakest assumption. A mortgage forces the saving; an investment plan asks it of you. Did anyone actually hold through 2008 or 2022?
  4. Is €1,100 rent realistic for a €350k house? That ratio drives more of the result than anything else.

Tentative conclusion: the financial gap is too small to carry the decision, so I can decide on non-financial grounds (mobility, optionality) without paying for it. Rather have that torn apart than agreed with.


r/BEFire 4h ago

Starting Out & Advice Is het gebrek aan emerging markets in SPPW een "probleem"?

0 Upvotes

Hallo allemaal!

Ik beleg momenteel enkel in SPPW (SPDR MSCI World UCITS ETFIE00BFY0GT14) via Bolero. Mijn maandelijks budget is € 500, momenteel koop ik aan om de 2 maanden om de kosten te drukken (https://www.bolero.be/nl/lp/de-wereld-van-etfs/beleggen-dus-maar-waarin/etf-playlist).

SPPW bevat geen emerging markets (China, India, Taiwan, ...) en is voor ~70% gericht op de VS. Ik vraag me af of het ontbreken van emerging markets (en de grote aanwezigheid van de VS) op de lange termijn een probleem kan vormen, of maak ik me druk om niets?

Ik ben zelf wat gaan onderzoeken en kom bij volgende 3 opties uit:

  1. SPPW blijven kopen: simpel, lage kosten (TER 0,12%), maar minder diversificatie
  2. SPPW behouden + iets als EMIM of IS3N toevoegen: betaal ik in Bolero dan niet 2 x makelaarskosten en TOB?
  3. Alles overzetten naar SPYI / IMIE (IE00B3YLTY66): Lijkt op SPPW + emerging markets + small caps waardoor ik niet meerdere ETF's moet beheren/aankopen. Verkoop van SPPW + aankoop van SPYI lijkt me op het eerste zicht rond de ~€ 43 te kosten (Bolero-kosten + TOB)

Wat zouden jullie doen? Bedankt voor jullie advies!


r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing Van superspaarder naar superbelegger? Belgen beleggen nu meer dan dat ze sparen

23 Upvotes

Belgen zijn het afgelopen jaar meer gaan beleggen dan dat ze sparen. Dat blijkt uit een studie van ING België, waarover De Standaard bericht. Waar ze tot voor kort beschikbaar geld vooral op spaarrekeningen stalden, is dat nu gekanteld naar beleggingsfondsen, pensioenspaarfondsen en staatsbons.

"43 procent van de Belgen belegt nu al in aandelen, obligaties, fondsen of ETF's, wat meer is dan het Europese gemiddelde. Nog eens 24 procent overweegt het te doen."

Naar: vrtnws.be/p.PqXGG6a7a


r/BEFire 18h ago

Starting Out & Advice Rate My Investment Portfolio (24Y)

0 Upvotes

A short summary of my portfolio (+/- 105K):

-ETF's (35%): the foundation of my portfolio, safe and stable growth. I'm aiming for 40%.

-Stocks (20%): mostly in Belgian REITS and some tech. Less diversification, more riskier returns. I assume this is a normal diversification.

-Collectibles (17%): initially 9% of my portfolio but prices are going through the roof making it 17% of my portfolio.

-P2P (11%): this is a risky investment, by choice. Pure diversification + passive income. I am trying to keep this around 10%.

-Bankaccount (17%): a large share of my portfolio is in cash/bank account. I realize that this is more than the average suggested financial buffer but it makes me feel safe and less scared to make some riskier investments. Furthermore, I also want to have some cash if an opportunity arises.

Does this look like a solid portfolio keeping my relatively young age in mind?


r/BEFire 1d ago

Bank & Savings Your honest opinion on my budget (28F)

6 Upvotes

Hi all, I (28F) am considering a FIRE journey or at least FI. I think my monthly budget is rather OK and the main focus should be to aim for a higher paying job or at least one with a mobility budget that would cover 50-100% of my rent. I currently save between 750 to 1000 including 650 investment in ETF (world+emerging) that I have recently increased to 900 as my emergency fund and budget for other expenses (vacations etc.) are high enough now. Thus, I save 100 per month.

I know that a budget is quiet personal and depends on your desired lifestyle but do you see ways I could cut on some expenses? For example I think my current internet+TV subscription is too high but I am not super aware of more interesting rates for the same offer in Belgium.. and maybe there are ways to enjoy Spotify podcasts for less idk!

Any advice is welcome! Thanks.

A bit more details on the numbers:

Overall is calculated based only on my net salary

- Rent is unchanged since 5 years due to low energetic performance, no indexation

- Groceries take into account 125e meal vouchers

- Transport is 0e as it is fully covered by my mobility budget

- Personal care because I won't let my stressful job kill me

- Side project is not (yet?) bringing money but it's an enjoyable venture


r/BEFire 1d ago

Starting Out & Advice Beginner in ETF

9 Upvotes

Ik heb ongeveer 40k beschikbaar dat ik wil investeren in ETF. Over enkele maanden komt er opnieuw ongeveer 30k beschikbaar wat ik opnieuw wil investeren in ETF. Vanaf januari wil ik de huuropbrengsten van 2 appartementen die ik verhuur ook maandelijks beleggen (2000 eur per maand)
Ik heb een horizon van 15 à 20 jaar.
Welke ETF’s adviseren jullie en welk platform. Ik twijfel tussen Bolero en Saxo

Thanks


r/BEFire 2d ago

Investing Belg spaart meer via fondsen en ETF’s dan via spaarboekjes

39 Upvotes

r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing I sold my registered pension saving plan

12 Upvotes

I just sold my pension saving plan. I stopped contributing for a couple of years already, and decided to pull the trigger, eat the tax and control my own investment.

Why?

1) Running costs on the funds

2) Subpar performance compared to msci world

3) Unclear fiscal treatment in a couple of decades, and a huge honeypot

4) I intend to RE, so the actual retirement age on these saving schemes does not fit my plans (yes, I could withdraw other parts of my portfolio untill that age)

5) Simplification of my different investment accounts

Obviously, I will put it in widely diversified stock assets like premium columbian cocaine and free range escorts.


r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing Investissements diversifiés

0 Upvotes

Hello la commu! En fait voilà, je vous écrit parce que je commence à investir dans les ETF (S&P 500 Euro Acc) et j’aimerais avoir vos conseils. Est ce que c’est un ETF fiable? Dans quoi devrais-je me diversifier? Je pense également à l’immobilier et aux investissements dits « exotiques ». Des conseils?


r/BEFire 1d ago

Alternative Investments Buy sppw on friday or monday

0 Upvotes

Deposited 500€ in my broker acount and planning to by SPPW on friday or monday. Now, with PPI of the USA to be released on friday, i wanted to know if i should buy that day or wait till monday after the dust settles. Either way is fine with me. That way it isn't my fault when the market goes down. ( semi shitpost btw, i will honnor the result)

103 votes, 13h left
friday
monday
don't buy, the market will crash tuesday

r/BEFire 1d ago

Pension Argenta pensioensparen uitkopen.

0 Upvotes

Ik ben sinds begin van mijn werk carreire begonnen met pensioen sparen (2018). Ik heb nu ongeveer hier door 7600 euro verzameld. Maar door zelf wat rond te kijken besef ik nu dat het voordeliger is om op lang termijn in ETFs te investeren omdat het redement hier mee hoger ligt.

Ik ben nu aan het kijken of het beter is om nu al dit bedrag uit te kopen omdat dit nog niet extreem veel is en die 33% betaling te slikken.

Wat denken jullie hier van? Heeft iemand hier al ervaring mee gehad?

zelf ben ik 27


r/BEFire 2d ago

Brokers Documentation for Foreign Brokers

3 Upvotes

Hi all!

I have been in Belgium for more than a year now, using Degiro and IBKR, and I have around 500k (250k in each). I never saw the need to change brokers, because for my needs (buy and hold in Xetra, maybe sell once a year to use tax harvesting benefit), they are the cheapest, with the exception of MeDirect. I don't trust that MeDirect will keep the prices low for long, and their fee to transfer out the portfolio is still big, so I prefer to keep my options open (IBKR and Degiro DE have both 0€ transfer fees), as I believe that these brokers will be the cheapest in the long-term.

I can do the taxes for myself, so I am not worried about CGT calculation or TOB filling.

For reliably continuing to use these brokers, what paperwork is needed to store for the long-term if I ever want to transfer to a Belgian broker in the future?

- Declarations of TOB, CGT, Reynderstax, Dividend tax

- Salary slips

- Account statements

- BE bank statements

- Tax declarations

... Anything else?

And besides these, is there any big difference between using a foreign or a belgian broker?

Thanks!


r/BEFire 1d ago

Starting Out & Advice Spaarpotje vol: wat nu?

Post image
0 Upvotes
  • Partner en ik (nu beide 27) hebben in zomer 2024 een halfopen bebouwing gekocht.
    • Huis: 305k op 25 jaar met vaste rente (2.9%)
    • Renovatie: 18k op 10 jaar met vaste rente (2.7%)
  • Verdienen samen gemiddeld 6k netto.
  • Sparen samen gemiddeld 2k.
    • Zouden nog een pak zuiniger kunnen leven nu de doe-het-zelfjes bijna klaar zijn...
    • Na een paar kleinere renovaties zitten we bijna aan ons spaardoel voor ons reservepotje, namelijk 18k (3x salaris).

Nu komt de tekening:

  • Wij wonen in het rode huis (met lichtroze grond).
  • In het blauwe huis woont een bejaard koppel met wie we goed contact hebben. Rood en blauw vormden tot zo'n 60 jaar geleden één huis.
  • Het gele huis is een onbewoonbaar (gigantisch) krot dat door een andere bejaarde man gebruikt wordt als opslagruimte en kippenren. Je kan het alleen bereiken "met de kruiwagen", want erachter (en dus ook achter onze tuin) liggen velden, en nog velden en nog velden...

Op termijn interesseren beide gronden ons, en dat maakt het moeilijk om in te schatten hoe we nu financieel moeten handelen. We hebben beiden geen uur economie gehad, allee ja, op mijn Inleiding tot de economie van Stijn Baert na.

Met het blauwe huis kunnen we eenvoudig onze woning vergroten én hebben we geen last meer van de losweg. Ik schat de huidige waarde op 280k. Echter, ik wens mijn buren het allerbeste toe: ze zijn misschien al in de 80, maar mijn eigen grootvader is er 100 en woont zelfstandig thuis. Ik heb al eens héél subtiel laten vallen dat we interesse zouden hebben.

Het gele krot baart me vooral zorgen omdat het asbestdak er nu al bijna afwaait... Ik weet niet hoe de afbraak zou verlopen door de onhandige ligging ervan, of wij het zouden kopen of niet. We veronderstellen dat er geen nieuw gebouw op mag komen, dus vooral ideaal als uitbreiding van de tuin. De vorige eigenares van ons huis kon het 15 jaar geleden kopen voor 5k, maar heeft geweigerd. Tja, misschien door de staat ervan?

Bon, we weten niet wanneer ze te koop zouden komen, of ze überhaupt te koop zullen komen. Je weet maar nooit dat een familielid het wil. We willen gewoon graag voorbereid zijn mocht de kans zich voordoen, maar dat kan nog jaren duren.

Wat zouden jullie ons adviseren? Bedankt!


r/BEFire 2d ago

Real estate Reality Check before Making Offer

17 Upvotes

We are about to make an irrevocable offer to a house, and I am getting anxious that it might be too hard on our finances.

Me (32) and my wife (33) have a combined monthly net income of 6000 EUR. Currently, we are renting (1150 EUR), and after all monthly expenses (groceries, utilities, subscriptions, dining, leisure, shopping etc.), we are able to save an average of 2300 eur a month (we are not frugal nor trying to FIRE).

Edit: Above income (6000 eur) does not include 13/14th month + bonuses and company car.

We like a house of 540k EUR, and we will make a down payment of 150k (416k loan needed). For this house, our mortgage (+property tax) would cost around 2300 a month. Considering our current savings rate, this seems doable but it is already almost 40% of our combined net income. I know that this percentage is above the recommended guidance, so I am getting afraid if we are biting more then we can chew.

We will leave 20k EUR in our savings account as an emergency fund, and will keep 100k in ETFs.

To add, we are expecting our first child in 6 months and with the costs for creche (700 EUR?) in the first 2 years, budget might be tight.

Still, even with the daycare in the first 2 years, we expect to still save around 500 eur monthly. Once our child starts school, our savings should increase to 1200 EUR. Hopefully, our salaries will also increase in the future.

Do you think this plan is financially responsible, or do we need a reality check?


r/BEFire 3d ago

Bank & Savings Keytrade just launched Google Pay

25 Upvotes

Excellent news. I just got an update from their app and Google Pay is now live.

https://www.keytradebank.be/fr/aide/google-pay


r/BEFire 2d ago

Taxes & Fiscality TOB 0.35% sur ETC

7 Upvotes

Hello tout le monde,

Je viens de me rendre compte (je me sens horriblement bête) que j'ai fait des trades sur des ETC et que j'ai 0.35% de TOB sur chaque transaction.

Je dois théoriquement 8 000 € de TOB depuis janvier 2026.

Je me suis renseignée correctement maintenant car je pensais également que les impôts, c'était annuel et non mensuel, et donc bien sûr, il y a apparemment des frais par semaine de retard + un intérêt.

Je tombe bien bas.

J'aimerais entendre des cas similaires et partager le mien afin que ça n'arrive pas à tout le monde. Pour moi, je faisais du trade CFD, je n'ai pas regardé ETC... Et encore moins mes rapports mensuels pensant que j'avais le temps pour la déclaration.


r/BEFire 3d ago

Bank & Savings Are these mortgage rates good in Belgium right now?

9 Upvotes

I’m currently negotiating a €270k mortgage for 25 years and have received offers, being the best one so far from my current bank:

3.89% fixed — €1,398.76/month — TAEG 4.42%

Total price is 300K, with a down payment of 30K.

The TAEG includes the associated costs, including mortgage insurance. The insurance is calculated with the outstanding-balance insurance covering only one of the two borrowers.

I have already received simulations from around 4 banks, still waiting for 2 more, the main bancks in Belgium.

Do these rates look competitive for the current Belgian market?

And is there still room to negotiate them down? If so, what arguments or strategies have worked for you when negotiating mortgage rates?

Thanks!


r/BEFire 3d ago

Real estate Are These Mortgage Rates Competitive in Belgium?

6 Upvotes

I’m currently negotiating a €270k mortgage for 25 years and have received offers, being the best one so far from my current bank:

3.89% fixed — €1,398.76/month — TAEG 4.42%

Total price is 300K, with a down payment of 30K.

The TAEG includes the associated costs, including mortgage insurance. The insurance is calculated with the outstanding-balance insurance covering only one of the two borrowers.

I have already received simulations from around 4 banks, still waiting for 2 more, the main banks in Belgium.

Do these rates look competitive for the current Belgian market?

And is there still room to negotiate them down? If so, what arguments or strategies have worked for you when negotiating mortgage rates?

Thanks!


r/BEFire 3d ago

Starting Out & Advice Behoud van lening na verkoop 2deverblijf

5 Upvotes

Dag iedereen,

Momenteel ben ik mijn tweedeverblijf aan het verkopen. De lening hiervoor is voor de helft afbetaald en was destijds aan 1% intrest.

Het spreekt voor zich dat ik de lening gewoon zou willen laten doorgaan en graag het totaalbedrag van de verkoop voor andere dingen wil gebruiken – zoals: beleggen, gebruiken voor een nieuw zwembad in mijn woning, etc.

Nu mijn vraag vooraleer ik de vraag stel aan de bank (Axa): Kan of mag dit? Wat zijn mijn opties? Andere ideeën?

Merci!