Invest yourself or have someone do it for you: do you have to choose?

You have decided for yourself that now is the time: you finally want to take your first steps into the investment market. But where should you start? The first question you have to ask yourself: will I invest myself or have someone do it for me? Both are possible at Keytrade Bank, or even a combination of the two. In this article, we guide you through the different options, to make your first step an excellent one.

You can invest your assets in savings funds, bonds, shares, ETFs (trackers), etc. In addition, each of these investment products offers an immense range of options, depending on what type of investor you are.

DIY investing, also known as active investing

Be aware that there are many different ways to invest your money with the aim of achieving a good return. How do you feel about active investing or an investment plan where you are fully in the driving seat? You decide:

• How much you invest
• How frequently you do so
• If relevant, which specific investment fund(s) you invest in

And you do all this within the investor profile assigned to you on the basis of objective, accurate testing, verified and monitored by our internal investment experts.

Rely on experts or passive investment

Perhaps you are someone who finds it hard to handle the stress of too many decisions. Or you just don't have the time to keep up with the constantly shifting prices and market trends.

In that case, passive investing – having someone else invest your assets for you – may be more to your taste. At Keytrade Bank, we do not do this through individual shares or funds, but through ETFs or trackers.

It’s all about... diversification!

Why use trackers and not actual equities? As at Keytrade Bank we believe 200% in a diversified investment portfolio. Because, diversification means an ideal balance between cost efficiency and returns. Without you needing to take any major risks.

And in the same way that it is crucial not to allocate all your resources to one type of investment, the same applies to trackers. You can consider a tracker as being a basket of interesting shares that track a certain index:

• Indices such as the Nasdaq or BEL20
• Bond indices
• Commodity indices, e.g. gold
• Do you prefer Belgian, European, North American, or other... ETFs?
• Diversify across sectors and themes, such as healthcare or renewable energy

The possibilities are endless. We can even put together a collection of trackers for you that are linked only to sustainable companies, services and products.

Trackers come in many forms. Would you like to invest in ETFs for the diamond sector, for example? That’s also perfectly possible.

Passive investment as a guarantee of a diverse portfolio

In other words, can you choose between investing yourself or having someone do it for you? In the second scenario, with Keyprivate you will always be sure of a diversified portfolio of trackers. Moreover, our ultimate goal is not to (way) outperform the index they track, but simply to stay safely in its vicinity. Consequently, the risk for you as an investor is also more limited than with investment products that are determined to leave the index in the dust. You don't have to worry about any aggressive investment moves.

Your portfolio is in the very best of hands, namely those of our investment committee. This committee consists of our in-house investment experts who closely monitor the worldwide investment markets on a daily basis and have just one task: to optimise your tracker portfolio non-stop.

Because no matter how diversified your portfolio is, the stock market is constantly moving and affected by whatever is happening in the world. Completely risk-free investment is therefore never the goal – it is impossible anyway – but you can rest assured that our experts will make adjustments rapidly when they seem necessary.

We will keep you informed of your earnings and losses

What’s more, our experts update you on a monthly basis on your current earnings, losses and future expectations , so that you as an investor are fully aware of the decisions taken. As a Keytrade Bank customer, you also have access to your own dashboard, where you can check the latest status at any time.

Speaking of earnings: 2023 was a more than rewarding year in terms of trackers. For example, Keyprivate clocked up net yields with gains of between 7.38% and 14.06% depending on the type of investment profile. Sounds good, right?

What about the costs?

As with any form of investment, passive investment also involves certain costs, such as management fees and taxes. Although these costs are reduced in comparison to the costs associated with traditional investing. All you pay is:

• Taxes on the purchase and sale of your trackers
• Fixed management fee

In total, you pay two to three times less with Keytrade Bank than with a traditional asset manager.

At Keytrade Bank, we believe 200% in a diversified investment portfolio. Because diversification means an ideal balance between cost efficiency and returns.

Investing yourself, having someone do it for you or the best of both worlds?

Diversifying your investment does not stop with the various types of investment, their terms, risk profiles, indices, prices, etc. If you decide you want to hand over some of your investment choices, but at the same time define some of your investment choices yourself, we can easily set this up for you. We look forward to hearing from you!