The 8th Ludwigshafen Finance Talks with the topic "ETFs, index funds and asset class funds" - obviously struck a chord with the times: the introductory lectures and subsequent expert discussion led by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Walz from the Department of Services and Consulting attracted around 300 guests to the university on April 4, 2019. In addition to event initiator Hartmut Walz, three renowned experts - Dominique Riedl from the ETF internet platform justETF, Markus Weis from index fund provider Vanguard and Christoph R. Kanzler from global asset manager Dimensiona - shed light on the topic and then answered questions from the audience.
The 8th Finance Talks at the HWG Ludwigshafen were all about investment vehicles, which are currently on everyone's lips: "ETFs, index funds and asset class funds: relaxed and low-cost investment success" was the topic that event initiator Dr. Hartmut Walz, professor at the university's Department of Services and Consulting, explored together with three proven experts: Dominique Riedl from the ETF internet platform justETF, Markus Weis from index fund provider Vanguard and Christoph R. Kanzler from global asset manager Dimensional.
What are ETFs, index funds or asset class funds? Why are they so recommended for private investors? - Hartmut Walz kicked off the evening with these introductory questions and the appropriate answers: "An index fund is a compilation of securities such as shares, bonds or others that is intended to replicate a specific stock market index as closely as possible," explained Walz, adding: "Insofar as index funds are admitted to trading on the stock exchange, they are referred to as ETFs. Just like their passive asset class fund variant, they are cost-effective, broadly diversified and impress with their simplicity." With these products, the investor is also investing in a special asset; in the event of the investment company's insolvency, the investor's assets are therefore protected, Walz continues.
Dominique Riedl, founder of justETF - Europe's leading ETF portal - then explained how to build up a sensible ETF portfolio and which factors need to be taken into account. "Private investors can use the portal to search for, analyze and compare ETFs easily and clearly," explained the expert. Investors can also invest their money in a one-off or ongoing savings plan and structure their ETF portfolio with various building blocks: Equities, bonds, commodities, precious metals, real estate or currencies (money market). As a comparison and analysis platform with neutral information, justETF is a good decision-making aid, said Riedel.
Markus Weis, Head of Germany and Austria at the major fund provider Vanguard, then presented his company's special concept, which is based on a cooperative-like structure. The company effectively belongs to its investors; surpluses are passed on to customers in the form of price reductions. According to Weis, the advantages of index funds for private investors are implemented particularly consistently in the Vanguard funds: a worldwide diversification of the individual securities in the fund at low cost.
Christoph R. Kanzler, Head of Germany and Switzerland at Dimensional , another global asset manager, also recommended ETFs, index funds and asset class funds in his deliberately provocative presentation. Every working person makes a daily contribution to economic prosperity and should therefore also share in the returns generated. However, while the stock markets have seen an average increase in returns of over 9 percent in recent decades, German investors have only received around 1.5 percent of this, Kanzler explained the current investment situation. "The comparatively low-cost and high-performance range of ETFs, index funds or asset class funds offers a way out of this situation, as they allow private investors to receive a significantly higher proportion of the market return," said Kanzler.
In the second part of the evening, the focus was on questions from the audience: in line with the motto "You ask, we answer", the speakers answered questions in a knowledgeable and generally understandable manner - a format that the audience greatly appreciated at the financial talks: "There is no substitute for a direct exchange with the experts," said one member of the audience. "It's great that the speakers are so open to critical questions," said another participant. It makes you feel taken seriously.
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Walz teaches business administration at Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences; his specialty is the interface between economics and psychology. He is the author of over 200 publications in specialist journals and several specialist books. His latest book "Einfach genial entscheiden in Geld- und Finanzfragen" was published by HAUFE-Verlag in its 2nd edition in 2018.
The next Finance Talks will take place on November 7, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society and will be dedicated to the topic: "Constructive crash thoughts - facts, scenarios and feel-good strategies". Registration at: Finanzgespraeche@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de.
Would you have liked to take part in the 8th Ludwigshafen Final Talks, but were unfortunately unable to attend? No problem - you can now find a recording of the event from 4.4.2019 on YouTube.
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Departments Services and Consulting
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Walz
E-Mail: Finanzgespraeche@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
