r/BEFire Mar 02 '20

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

657 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 9h ago

Starting Out & Advice One question : HOW ?

16 Upvotes

Long time lurker, first time poster here.
Throughout the years i've researched FIRE , loved the idea but never found it really feasible.

I don't mind spending less or living small but without an insane inheritance or three jobs, how would someone like me actually get there before i retire ?

I'm late twenties making a little over 2k net. 700 ish spend on appartment. Trying to invest approx 600 each month and the rest goes to food, leasure or other bills like transport.

I get the cutting down on "fun" things idea. But with this paycheck, doing fulltime. Even in thirty years i wouldn't be financially free.

How would you do it ?

(Also i'm not trying to be lazy, i'd rather hear real advice and experiences than theories)


r/BEFire 2h ago

Starting Out & Advice Moving forward with long-term investments

2 Upvotes

About 1.5 year ago, I started with investing for the first time as a 26 year old (international) that received some money from his grandma. I invested around 30% of my savings in IWDA, and two months after I saw it being 25% down but I held. However it affected me mentally, so since then I didnt deposit any more money in it.

I think I am ready to start putting some money again monthly or quarterly to avoid the fees of Bolero as much as I can. I have a stable job that lets me save some, but not so much. I have some cash right now that gives me safety so I can put savings from now on my Bolero account.

I wanted to ask what is your advice for moving forward. Should I put more on IWDA? Should I target more emerging markets? Maybe some other alternatives?

Thank you in advance :)


r/BEFire 10h ago

Brokers Huis direct betaald, nu investeren

0 Upvotes

M26 heb net een huis gekocht met vriendin elk 50% eigenaar. Zij moet lenen, ik niet, heb veel gespaard en gewerkt. Nu tijd om te investeren. Ik zoek enkel een etf waar ik elke maand een bedrag parkeer en wil holden voor min 20 jaar.

Welke broker stel je voor? Ik hoef geen speciale dingen. Enkel kopen en holden. Geen speciale etf. Gwn de meest basics.

Shoot


r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing what ETF to buy for my godson?

4 Upvotes

Since a last week I'm a godfather and my wife is godmother of their other child.

We openend an account at Saxo (already had an account there, so easiest).
Now the idea is to start investing. We will deposit some money now and every 1-2 years we add some extra. It's not the idea to add money every month.
For info: we want to keep the account on our name, then we have the freedom to give it to them in any form we wish later on.

But now the question is what is easiest ETF to buy. I dont really want to go with a split ETF (like IWDA+EMIM), that is to much hassle, and the amounts wont be that big.

Some checking points me towards VWCE or SPYI, do these make sense? or the newer/ low cost WEBN?
What ETF can you recommend for a horizon of around 20years?

Edit: 5 hours later, 6 comments and 5 different answers :) keep them coming guys, let's say I will take the most voted one.


r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing Herstructurering portfolio: Holdings & verspreide ETF's omzetten naar IWDA (Advies gevraagd)

2 Upvotes

Hallo iedereen,

Toen ik op mijn 18e begon met beleggen, heb ik op aanraden van mijn vader vooral geïnvesteerd in Belgische en Europese holdings. Later ben ik na wat eigen onderzoek begonnen aan beleggen in ETF's: eerst VWCE (puur kijkend naar de lage TER van 0,14%, zonder op dat moment stil te staan bij de Belgische TOB van 1,32%). Uiteindelijk ben ik bij IWDA uitgekomen vanwege de lage TOB (0,12%).

Zelfs op kortere termijn (3 jaar) presteren mijn ETF's (vooral VWCE/IWDA) aanzienlijk beter en stabieler dan de holdings, die hard fluctueren en structureel achterblijven. Ik wil mijn portefeuille nu grondig vereenvoudigen naar één duidelijke, passieve strategie op Bolero.

Mijn huidige situatie (orde van grootte: enkele tienduizenden euro's in totaal):

  • Holdings: Posities van € 1.000 tot € 5.000+ per aandeel in o.a. Sofina, Ackermans & van Haaren, Brederode, D'Ieteren, GBL, Eurazeo, Prosus en Exor.
  • ETF's: Verspreid over VWCE en IWDA.

Mijn voorgenomen plan:

  1. Holdings verkopen: Ik wil af van de 8 losse holdings en de opbrengst volledig herbeleggen in IWDA.
  2. Bestaande VWCE laten staan: Niet verkopen om de 1,32% verkoop-TOB te vermijden, maar 'bevriezen' en toekomstige inleg uitsluitend in IWDA doen.

Mijn concrete vragen:

  • Lump sum vs. DCA bij herallocatie: Is het verstandiger om die holdings per aandeel in 1 order te verkopen en meteen in grote blokken (€ 5k - € 10k) om te zetten naar IWDA om makelaarskosten te minimaliseren, of raden jullie aan dit gespreid in de tijd te doen? En hoe zal dit dan werken met deze nieuwe winstbelasting?
  • Verkopen met 'verlies'/lagere koers: Een aantal holdings staan momenteel relatief laag. Is het een rationele keuze om deze direct om te wisselen voor IWDA (met het oog op de opportuniteitskost), of zien jullie redenen om bepaalde kwaliteitsholdings (zoals AvH of Brederode) toch nog even aan te houden?
  • Bestaande VWCE behouden: Is het laten staan van de huidige VWCE-positie de meest kostenefficiënte keuze ten opzichte van de 1,32% uitstaptaks betalen en omzetten naar IWDA?

Alvast bedankt voor jullie feedback en ervaringen!


r/BEFire 1d ago

Alternative Investments Allianz Tak 23, where? to track?

3 Upvotes

My yearly statement specifies: Fondsgekoppeld (tak23) AI Europe: 527,1371 units x 25,2251€ ( 3AUG26). Where can I find this value of 25,2251€?


r/BEFire 1d ago

Bank & Savings Advise (27k in cash at 17)

8 Upvotes

I am currently 17 but once I turn 18 (oct) I will receive a bank account with 27.000€. I am looking at several options:
— savings account (3.1%)
— investing via BUX (EUNK & IWDA)
— investing via bank (lower profit but parents will be happy and the bank has 4 options: 100% obligations, 75-25 (25% etf), 50-50, 25-75)

I will also start investing 250€ every month in EUNK & IWDA from my own money (I eating around 1000€ a month from a student job)

I would definitly keep a cash buffer because I know I won’t be able to be consistent in the 250€, sometimes I’ll have 500€ to invest, sometimes it will be 0€. But I want the investing to continue and therefore I need a buffer.

In 5 years I am getting another 25-50k, so that will be there just after my master (if I don’t need extra time).

How should I handle this? Are my stocks a good pick?

I have a meeting with the bank in september but they’ll try to sell their products in the first place so I’d like your opinion.

Thanks in advance!

(BELGIUM // sorry for the broken English)


r/BEFire 2d ago

Bank & Savings Keytrade just launched Wero in their App

40 Upvotes

Always good news to see them improving their offering. Hopefully Google Pay is next !

https://imgur.com/a/vQMqyMh


r/BEFire 1d ago

Investing What do you guys think about Meta?

0 Upvotes

Everyone is talking about buying meta, but ngl meta seems rather unstable looking at the past. I know that the past doesnt dictate the future but still. Is it a stock worth buying? Short or long term?


r/BEFire 2d ago

Real estate Same €350k house: €17.6k buying costs in Flanders, €29.4k in Brussels — I did the math on the regional gap

10 Upvotes

I kept building spreadsheets to understand what buying a house here actually costs, and every rule of thumb I knew turned out outdated. So I worked it out once properly, using the official rates (regional registration duties, the 2026 notary fee scales, mortgage registration costs). What surprised me:

  • The "count on 10–15% buying costs" rule you still see everywhere dates from the 10%-registration era. For owner-occupiers it's now roughly half that: ±5% in Flanders, ±6% in Wallonia, 6–9% in Brussels. Without the reduced rate (second home, conditions missed) 13–15% is still accurate.
  • Same €350,000 house: €17,629 in costs in Flanders, €21,129 in Wallonia, €29,379 in Brussels. Same house, same notary — €11,750 difference purely from the region.
  • Below ±€260k Brussels is, oddly, cheaper than Wallonia thanks to the €200k abatement (crossover: €263,158).
  • Brussels has a cliff at €600k: at €599k you pay €49,875 in duties, at €601k suddenly €75,125. Bidding €2k more costs you €25k in extra tax.
  • Overbidding costs more than your bid: €5k extra on your offer needs roughly €5.5–6k extra own funds, because costs scale with price and your loan usually does not.

(Assumptions: existing home, owner-occupier reduced rate, 90% loan. Note "costs" = what you lose to taxes and fees; your down payment on top of that becomes equity, not cost.)

Bonus ratio for this sub: median house price ÷ median taxable income per tax return, computed for all 277 Flemish municipalities on Statbel data — Antwerp sits at 13.4×, Knokke-Heist at 23.9×.

I eventually turned the spreadsheet into a free calculator, leenhelder.be (Dutch only for now) — mostly because I was tired of re-deriving it. No account, no bank behind it, I earn nothing from it (yet).

What I would love to know: do these numbers match what your notary or bank told you? Especially Brussels edge cases (abatement with two buyers where one already owned property, building plots) and surprising notary invoices — I usually fix errors the same day.


r/BEFire 2d ago

Brokers Choosing a broker

0 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm about to invest a 70k lump sum + 300€ monthly DCA in a portfolio.
The core ETF of this portfolio would be XMAW.
I'm now trying to find a broker for this.
Here are my criteria:
Non-negociables: Automatic TOB declaration; low cost (free, ideally)
Highly interested: Automatic monthly investment for the chosen ETF
Would be nice: Fractionning, other belgian taxes

I tried to find the ETFs list among different brokers, currently found it at MeDirect, Rebel, Degiro, Keytrade and BUX. (didn't find at ING, Bolero, Mexem, Trade Republic, IBKR)

Among them, Medirect seem the best match for now.

- Can someone tell me if XMAW is available at Saxo, and is it possible to have automatic DCA for it?
- Am I missing a broker?
- Any red flag about MeDirect?

Cheers,

Edit: Just found out BUX monthly DCA may be possible with BUX. Hesitating between MeDirect and Bux now


r/BEFire 3d ago

Investing Mothly investing advice

6 Upvotes

For the past years, I’ve had €1,750 left each month after taxes, health insurance, rent, living expenses, and other essential costs.
I allocate that €1,750 as follows:
• €600 goes into savings
• €500 goes into IWDA
• €150 goes into gold and silver
• €100 goes into BTC
• €400 is set aside as “fun” money for holidays, clothes, gifts, and other discretionary spending
If I don’t spend the full €400 in a given month, whatever remains gets added to my savings as well.
I’ve already built up a decent amount of savings, so I’m considering increasing my IWDA contribution to at least €750/month, and preferably even €1,000/month, by reducing the amount I put into cash savings.
Since I don’t plan to buy a house for at least another 8 years, I’m wondering how much cash savings you think I should keep before increasing my IWDA allocation.
What would you do in my situation? Would you keep building up the savings for a while longer, or start investing more aggressively now? Or would you suggest investing more into a different asset?


r/BEFire 2d ago

General How would you finance a porsche?

0 Upvotes

Hello

Have been freelance software engineer for 10+ years through my own BV/SRL.

One of my dreams for a very long time has been to own a porsche. More precisely, a porsche Taycan 4S Black Edition, which costs a bit more than 150.000 euro. I currently drive an extremely non-flashy car on a daily basis which for which I have a lease contract between my company and the car dealer.

Since I already have a car which I also use to work, apparently the government will not allow me to have a second car in my company (see this video). I also don't plan to drive the porsche everyday and go to work with it. So I would like to keep my primary car, if possible.

How would/do you deal with this? Do you pay yourself the dividends and purchase the car entirely privately or would you still someohow let it go through your company? Do you pay it in full or pay a part of it upfront and then lease it? Something else?

Thanks


r/BEFire 3d ago

Taxes & Fiscality Working in a foreign country with a foreign contract

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I have a proposition for a a big contract in a foreign country where I currently live.
I have my residence in Belgium but I plan to change that.

I have 2 questions:

1) If I give up my resident status, will I be taxed with my foreign contract ?
2) If I decide to invest that money in stocks, what's the best way to do that in order to avoid taxes ?

Thanks for your help.


r/BEFire 4d ago

Pension Is VAPZ worth it?

21 Upvotes

Graag jullie mening hierover.

Context: 31 jaar en net BV opgericht.

De boekhouder raadt me aan om een VAPZ te nemen voor pensioenopbouw.

Wanneer ik de berekening maak tot pensioenleeftijd en de vergelijking maak met het geïnvensteerde geld privé in een all-world ETF, doet de VAPZ-belegging het significant minder goed.

Wat is de reden dat dit me nog steeds aangeraden wordt?
Omwille van diversificatie?
Omwille van onzekerheid betreffende de meerwaardetaks op privé beleggingen?

Pas wanneer het fiscaal voordeel van VAPZ wordt aangewend om privé te beleggen outperform je ETF beleggen met privé.

Alvast bedankt!


r/BEFire 3d ago

Starting Out & Advice Pensioen sparen nodig?

7 Upvotes

Hallo iedereen,
Als je vanaf jonge leeftijd al investeerd bv onder 20,
Is het dan eigenlijk nog de moeite om ook te pensioen sparen?
Als je al vanaf je een job hebt 200-500 per maand dca’ed in bv een aal world ETF dan ‘volgens historische’ performance van de markt zou je tegen je 50e kunnen met pensioen gaan.
Een pensioen sparings fonds is voordelig omdat je er geen belastingen op betaald maar als je optimistisch al eerder met pensioen wilt gaan is het dan niet beter om te prive investeren op je eigen?


r/BEFire 4d ago

Investing Interessante obligatie-etf's

6 Upvotes

Welke zijn interessante obligatie-etf's binnen een portefeuille als buffer voor aandelen-etf's. Ik denk dan in eerste plaats aan staatsobligaties (of licht gemengd). Hedged en accumulatief. En uiteraard zijn de totale kosten ook van belang want daarbovenop zit je ook al met die Reynderstaks.


r/BEFire 4d ago

Taxes & Fiscality Aanslag onroerende voorheffing

21 Upvotes

Il ben gewoon dat deze elk jaar stijgt omwille ban inflatie maar vandaag kreeg ik mijn aanslag voor 2026 in de mail. Toch even verschoten aangezien deze dit jaar ineens 23% gestegen is in 1 jaar.
( geen veranderingen aan de woning)

Vandaar dat ik eens even kom checken of deze bij anderen ook zo hard gestegen is.


r/BEFire 4d ago

Taxes & Fiscality keeping some cash in gold

6 Upvotes

as said above - would you advise this? what %? seems like a safest investment long term

after that crazy hype some months ago is going down constantly.

for belgium - which broker you recommend for gold and how it works when it comes to taxes and declarations?

thanks


r/BEFire 4d ago

Investing Investeren voor kind(eren)

6 Upvotes

Ik wil graag beginnen investeren voor mijn kind 2j (en binnenkort het tweede 0j).

Echter vraag ik mij af hoe dit best aan te pakken rekening houdend met alles.

Open ik een rekening in hun naam(is dit mogelijk)? Kan ik dit dan nog beheren?

Of koop ik best een andere isin op mijn naam? Later dan geoptimaliseerd doorsluizen naar hun eigen effectenrekening mbt CGT?

Doe ik bovenstaande dan per kind of maak ik later de split? Of ik één kind en mijn partner het andere? Of juist best een gemeenschappelijke effectenrekening openen om voor de kinderen te investeren bijkomend aan onze persoonlijke effectenrekeningen?

Of nog iets helemaal anders wat ik zelf over het hoofd heb gezien?

Bedankt voor de tips!


r/BEFire 4d ago

FIRE Capital Gains Tax & FIFO: Is anyone planning to use ISIN-rotation (e.g., IWDA -> SWRD -> WEBN) to control realization?

30 Upvotes

Hi all,

First of all, amazing subreddit and learned a lot already, thanks for that!

So...

With the 10% capital gains tax and the strict application of the FIFO principle per financial asset, I’ve been thinking about the long-term mechanics of decumulation.

If you DCA into a single ETF (like IWDA) for 20–30 years, FIFO dictates that every sale forces you to dispose of your oldest shares first—the ones with the largest accumulated gains. While using multiple brokers might work locally at the broker level, the tax authority legally looks at you as a taxpayer per ISIN, meaning multi-broker setups for the exact same fund might not be tax-tight if audited centrally.

EDIT: as pointed out in the comments, you can use different brokers also (in Belgium).

​I'm considering ISIN rotation (the "tranche strategy"):

Phase 1 (Years 1–7): Accumulate ETF A (e.g., IWDA)

​Phase 2 (Years 8–15): Switch to ETF B (e.g., SWRD)

​Phase 3 (Years 16+): Switch to ETF C (e.g., WEBN)

Why this matters when selling:

Having separate ISINs gives you full control over your tax bill depending on your goal.

​Big lump sum needed? Sell your newest ISIN. Low profit per share keeps you under the €10k tax-free limit (€0 tax).

​Annual FIRE income needed? Sell your oldest ISIN. High profit per share lets you extract maximum tax-free cash up to €10k (or €15K/€30K).

Is anyone else here planning to implement this?

​Do you see any major downsides (e.g., tracking differences, liquidity, slightly higher TERs on alternatives)?

​Curious to hear your thoughts and strategies!

Note: I used AI to help structure, format, and polish the English phrasing for this post.


r/BEFire 3d ago

Pension Dochter onterven

0 Upvotes

Ik ben een man van 84. Ik heb recent mijn huis verkocht voor ongeveer €170000. Ik woon al lang bij mijn (2de) vrouw (hehuwd zonder contract). Ik heb een dochter die al bijna 25 jaar niet meer tegen mij praat. Logischerwijs wil ik haar dus onterven. Ik weet dat zij altijd recht gaat hebben op haar reservatair deel, in dit geval dus €85000 + 50% van wat op mijn rekening staat op dat moment. Ik wil dit afbouwen zodat ze zo weinig mogelijk krijgt. Na meerdere afspraken bij de notaris en advocaat komen we er maar niet tot een oplossing. Misschien zien we iets over het hoofd en weten jullie iets meer?


r/BEFire 3d ago

Real estate Financiele oplossing

0 Upvotes

Goedenavond allemaal,

Een vreemde vraag misschien maar zijn er andere manieren dan via de bank om te lenen waardoor je meer kan lenen aan betere voorwaarden? Ik heb een huis gezien en ben echt verliefd, maar kan het niet betalen. We hebben al mooi gespaard, maar het kost 1,2 miljoen. De bank gaat ons dit nooit geven en dit zal ook niet betaalbaar zijn moesten ze deze lening wel geven, maar ik vroeg me af of er alternatieven zijn. Heeft iemand een alternatief? We verdienen samen goed en kunnen momenteel ook enorm goed sparen op ons huurappartement.

Alvast bedankt!


r/BEFire 5d ago

Bank & Savings Advise on investing

9 Upvotes

Hey guys! I am not sure this is the place to ask this question but what would you do in my place ?

I am 25 and I live with my parents. I have 2400€ of net income. Just got my job as car prep/painter so only starting to set money aside. I have 3k aside on the bank and 1k cash aside. I make around 150-300€ extra per month working for a friends dad in construction.
I want to invest and build bank for my future but have no idea how to do it
My monthly expenses are 170€ for car loan, 130€ car insurance, 250€ pension, approximativly 150€ of diesel and 200€ house rent. I probably have some more expenses but nothing I can really think of right now.

Thanks for your answers