New study: How Germans tick financially

How do Germans invest their money? Are they even interested in financial markets? Where do they get investment information and do they really trust it? We asked these and more questions in a survey of more than 1,000 people.

"Safety First" - protection is the top priority

For one in two Germans, security is the top priority when it comes to investment and wealth planning. While the need for security grows, more hedonistic and risky approaches have decreased, too. Their relevance has shrunk by about a third in the past three years. Most respondents want a secure pension and more reserves for special expenses.

Less skepticism despite troubled times

Despite the current status of the financial markets, Germans' concerns about the overall economic situation have not increased compared to previous years. 22.9 percent of the respondents even state that they are not at all afraid of a deterioration in the overall economic situation in Germany. The majority of Germans (70.4 percent) have the feeling that they have their finances “under control” and consider themselves well secured.

Classic savings are on the rise

The interest in real estate as an investment remains unabated. For more than half of Germans, buying property is an attractive form of investment. A third of the respondents classed a property as a very relevant investment.

There is also great interest in real estate when it comes to using the system: More than 40 percent of those surveyed live in an apartment they own. Nevertheless, half of all Germans still rely on the classic savings account and savings deposits. 43 percent of the respondents use a debit account for this.

All results of the study can be found in our research area.

Johanna Schallehn

BurdaForward Communications

For more than eight years I have been writing texts about our company and our brands, organising trade fairs, talking to journalists and being chronically in far too many meetings. Whether at home or in the office - it doesn't get boring and sometimes I just put out the fire. If not, then I am most likely to be met in the mountains, with my daughter on the Isar or in my home country and the most beautiful city in the world: Hamburg.