FAQ

6% a year before costs is an assumption to calculate with, not an expectation or a forecast. It is the starting value in the calculator, and you can change it from 1% to 15%. Real returns differ from year to year and can be negative, so try a lower or higher return as well.

The starting amount is there from the beginning. The monthly contribution is added at the end of each month. More on How the ETF Calculator works.

Yes. Choose ‘Enter your own costs’ in the list of funds and enter the ongoing costs (TER), from 0.01% to 2.5% a year. A fund’s TER is in its key information document and on the provider’s factsheet.

Yes. The share button copies a link with all your settings. Anyone who opens the link sees the same calculation. The settings sit after the # in the address, which browsers do not send to the server. The worked examples use such links too.

Nominal return is the percentage growth of an investment on paper before adjusting for price increases. Real return is what remains after deducting inflation, reflecting the actual change in your purchasing power. For example, if a portfolio grows by 6% while inflation is 2%, the real increase in purchasing power is approximately 4%. You can test how inflation alters simulated outcomes in the purchasing power calculator.

There is no fixed or mandatory minimum amount required to invest in ETFs. A common guideline is to only invest money that can remain untouched for a long investment horizon of many years. Before starting with regular investing, it is prudent to establish an emergency buffer in a readily accessible savings account. Practical steps for planning monthly contributions are outlined in the getting started guide.

Adding money every month spreads purchases across different market moments throughout the year. This form of regular investing prevents the urge to time the market, which is unpredictable and difficult to sustain. Over long periods, steady monthly deposits allow compound return to accumulate on both older gains and newly added capital. Learn how monthly contributions compound over time in how the ETF calculator works.

In the early years of an investment journey, growth appears slow because returns on a modest deposit are small. As the investment horizon extends past fifteen or twenty years, accumulated earnings begin generating their own returns. This acceleration is the defining characteristic of compound return, which curves upward as time passes. A complete walkthrough of this growth pattern is in the article on compound growth.

The Total Expense Ratio, also called ongoing charges: what a fund costs per year, as a percentage of the amount invested. You do not pay it separately; it comes off the fund’s assets continuously. More in the glossary.

Gross is the balance without fund costs, net the balance after the TER. The difference is the fee erosion: what fund costs take over the whole horizon, including the return that money would otherwise have earned.

The costs (TER) come off your return every year, and what you miss because of them no longer grows either. With the example settings (€5,000 start, €500 a month, 25 years, 6% gross a year) the difference at 0.14% costs is about €8,134; at 0.20% about €11,555. See also the worked examples.

Investing involves risk of loss. The figures presented by this calculator are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

No. The calculator uses only the fund’s ongoing costs. What your broker charges per purchase, the spread and currency costs are not included. With small monthly amounts fixed transaction costs can weigh heavily: €1 on a €100 purchase is 1%.

Tax on dividends that a fund pays in a company’s country and cannot reclaim. It lowers the return but is not in the TER. The calculator leaves it out. More in the glossary.

The costs come from the fund providers’ documents, such as the factsheet. The last check was in November 2026. Costs may have changed since: for the current costs, see the fund’s key information document or the provider’s factsheet.

The tracking difference measures the total divergence in return between an ETF and its benchmark index over a full year or holding period. The tracking error, by contrast, measures the volatility of those return differences from day to day, showing how smoothly the fund hugs the index. While ongoing charges predictably lower returns, tracking difference reflects the actual performance you experience. A full explanation of these metrics is available in what does an ETF cost.

The spread is the price gap between the bid price (what buyers offer) and the ask price (what sellers ask) on a stock exchange. This difference is an indirect trading cost earned by market makers rather than an ongoing fund fee. Higher trading volume and greater market liquidity generally lead to a narrower, smaller spread. Learn more about trade execution costs in what do stocks cost.

Currency costs arise when you buy an investment traded in a currency that differs from your account’s domestic currency. Brokers typically charge a conversion surcharge, at a rate that differs per broker, whenever euros are exchanged for foreign currency. The fund’s internal base currency can also trigger conversion friction if your trading currency does not match it. More details on currency costs and other hidden charges are explained in what does an ETF cost.

Yes, a fund’s tracking difference can be smaller than its stated ongoing costs (TER). Fund managers sometimes generate supplementary revenue by lending underlying portfolio securities to institutional borrowers against collateral. This income helps offset internal management expenses, narrowing the performance lag against the benchmark index. Detailed mechanics of index tracking performance are covered in what does an ETF cost.

Securities lending is the practice where a fund manager temporarily loans out portfolio holdings to market counterparties in exchange for a fee. The borrowing institution provides collateral to back the transaction while the loan remains active. Net revenues from securities lending are credited back into fund assets, partially dampening the impact of the TER. How funds disclose lending activities is detailed in how to read a factsheet.

No. The calculator works without taxes, transaction costs or dividend withholding tax. Tax rules differ per country and per person: check with the tax authority of your own country or a qualified tax adviser.

This is general information, not tax or investment advice. For your own situation, consult a qualified tax adviser, a financial adviser licensed by the AFM (the Dutch financial markets authority) or the Belastingdienst.

Only if you choose to. By default none of the amounts are adjusted for inflation. Under ‘Advanced’ you can enter an inflation rate per year; all amounts are then shown in today’s money. That rate is an assumption you choose: the calculator uses no real inflation figures.

European ETFs are commonly established in Ireland or Luxembourg because neither country levies local withholding tax on fund distributions to international investors. For global equity funds, Irish domicile offers a notable advantage due to the US-Ireland tax treaty, which halves US dividend withholding tax from 30% to 15%. This structural treaty benefit reduces internal dividend friction for European retail fundholders. Information on fund domicile across major offerings is listed in the ETF overview.

No. Foreign withholding taxes are deducted at source by host governments before dividends ever reach the fund’s cash accounts. Because this deduction happens inside the fund, both an accumulating fund and a distributing fund suffer the exact same level of dividend leakage. The choice of share class determines only how remaining net dividend cash is handled, not how much tax was deducted upstream. You can read more about this mechanism in what does an ETF cost.

Over extended time horizons, persistent inflation steadily erodes what a given sum of money can purchase in daily life. Even if an investment experiences solid compound return on paper, rising prices mean that future euros will buy fewer goods than euros do today. Evaluating financial goals through real purchasing power provides a clearer picture of your actual future spending capacity. You can model this difference directly using the purchasing power calculator.

Funds for retail investors in the EU fall under the European UCITS rules and have a key information document. US ETFs usually do not, so they are not offered to retail investors in the EU. The calculator only lists funds you can buy here.

One fund often has two share classes: an accumulating class and a distributing class. Both hold the exact same portfolio of investments and charge the exact same ongoing costs. The difference is what the manager does with dividends: reinvest them directly back into the fund, or pay them out periodically to your account. You can see how this works across popular funds in the ETF overview.

The ISIN is the unique identification code of a fund. A fund can have completely different ticker symbols depending on the stock exchange or trading currency, but the ISIN never changes. That makes the ISIN the most reliable way to find the exact fund you want at a broker. You can find the ISIN codes for popular index funds in the ETF overview.

The KID (Key Information Document) follows a legally required format under European PRIIPs regulations, has a fixed layout, and is at most three pages long. The factsheet is the issuer’s own monthly overview and is not standardised by law. The KID always follows the exact same structure across providers, while the factsheet provides practical monthly updates such as the fund size and top holdings. A step-by-step breakdown of both documents is explained in how to read a factsheet.

The summary risk indicator is a scale from 1 (lower risk) to 7 (higher risk) that combines market risk and credit risk. A lower score reflects smaller price swings in the past, but a rating of 1 is never completely risk-free. In that same section of the KID, the document also states the indicative holding horizon for the fund. More details on how this section is built are in how to read a factsheet.

In a market-cap weighted index like the MSCI World, companies are weighted by their free-float market capitalisation. This means the largest companies and countries have the greatest impact on the total index return. The index provider reviews the composition periodically during a rebalancing to adjust for company growth or new listings. You can read how this works in practice in the guide to the MSCI World index.

The S&P 500 tracks approximately 500 large companies exclusively from the United States, representing a single country. A global index like the MSCI World or FTSE All-World provides broader diversification across thousands of companies in multiple countries. Investing solely in the S&P 500 brings geographic concentration risk and currency exposure in US dollars. The trade-offs are detailed on the S&P 500 index page.

No. An emphasis on a higher dividend yield does not automatically protect against a stock market downturn. Share prices still fluctuate with the broader market, and companies can lower or suspend their dividend payments during difficult periods. A high-dividend fund simply holds a different composition of companies rather than a sheltered portfolio. Read more about how these funds behave on the All-World High Dividend page.

This list shows brokers that serve retail investors in the Netherlands. The order is alphabetical and the same for every fund, regardless of any compensation.

An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a listed investment vehicle that trades continuously throughout market hours on a stock exchange. Most ETFs operate as a passive index fund, holding a basket of hundreds or thousands of securities that mirrors a published market benchmark. By buying a single share of an ETF, you obtain broad ownership across all the underlying constituent companies. An overview for beginners is available in the getting started guide.

An ETF trades on a public exchange throughout the day at changing market prices, while a traditional mutual fund trades only once a day directly via the fund issuer at closing net asset value. Traditional mutual funds are frequently managed by active managers attempting to beat the market, which usually results in higher ongoing charges. Passive index ETFs simply replicate a fixed benchmark ruleset, maintaining a lower TER. A comparison of these fund models is outlined in the getting started guide.

Physical replication means the fund manager directly purchases and holds the physical shares that compose the underlying index. Synthetic replication uses a derivative contract known as a total return swap with a financial institution to match the benchmark performance without owning each share. Both structures operate under European UCITS regulations that enforce strict collateral standards, though physical replication avoids counterparty swap risk. Methods for checking fund replication are shown in how to read a factsheet.

The MSCI World index tracks large and mid-sized companies across 23 developed markets, deliberately omitting developing economies. In contrast, the FTSE All-World index encompasses both developed economies and emerging markets across dozens of countries globally. While both indices weight holdings by market size and share many identical top holdings, FTSE All-World provides broader geographic coverage in a single fund. See detailed breakdowns on the MSCI World page and the FTSE All-World page.

The FTSE Global All Cap index provides an expansive sweep across global equity markets by including large, mid-sized, and small-caps companies. It covers thousands of companies across both developed and emerging regions. Companies are proportioned by their free-float market capitalisation, keeping the largest enterprises prominent while adding broad small-cap exposure. Discover how this comprehensive benchmark operates on the FTSE Global All Cap page.

Buying a global fund quoted in euros does not insulate an investor from currency movements against foreign currencies. The fund’s underlying shares trade in foreign currencies, so the value in euros changes as foreign exchange rates move against the base currency. When the euro strengthens against the US dollar, dollar-denominated assets convert into fewer euros on your statement, adding price volatility. You can explore how international exposure behaves on the S&P 500 page.

Under European financial law, brokers are obligated to maintain strict asset segregation for all retail clients. This statutory separation ensures that your investment portfolio is held in a distinct custodian foundation or nominee entity, isolated from the broker’s own balance sheet. In the event that a broker enters bankruptcy, your segregated ETF shares are meant to stay outside the broker’s estate. An explanation of custodian accounts and nominee structures is presented in how brokers work.

An emergency fund is a pool of accessible cash kept in a savings account to cover unexpected expenses like vehicle repairs or home maintenance. Maintaining sufficient cash liquidity ensures you will not be forced to sell investments during an untimely downturn. Because market assets require a patient investment horizon, it is commonly suggested to set aside cash reserves before deploying money into equities. Guidelines on preparing your finances appear in the getting started guide.

Index providers conduct periodic reviews, known as index rebalancing, to maintain an accurate representation of the market. During these scheduled intervals, growing enterprises may be added or assigned higher weights, while shrinking firms see their influence reduced. Because index funds follow market developments, changes in constituent market capitalisation dictate portfolio adjustments by the fund manager. An explanation of how index weighting is maintained can be found on the MSCI World page.

The calculator is built for ETFs: it works with an assumed return per year and with a fund’s ongoing costs (TER). An individual stock has no TER and its own price path that you cannot predict, so the result does not fit it. For a broad, diversified fund it does give a picture. You can read more about the difference at ETF or individual stocks?.

A stock is a small piece of one company. An ETF is a fund holding pieces of many companies. An explanation with a made-up example is at ETF or individual stocks?.

No. Broad diversification across many companies reduces the impact of any single company failing, but it does not remove overall market risk. If stock markets fall as a whole due to an economic downturn, a diversified fund will drop in value as well. The company-specific risk becomes smaller, but market volatility remains an inherent part of investing. More on this distinction can be found in the risk of a single company.

Yes, equity markets can experience steep declines and lengthy recoveries. After the dot-com bubble burst, the Nasdaq Composite fell by 77.9% and took over fifteen years to close above its March 2000 peak, while the S&P 500 fell 49.1% and closed above its peak again in May 2007. This historical volatility illustrates why equity investing requires a long investment horizon. A full breakdown of this period is documented in the article on the dot-com bubble.

Recovering from an investment loss always requires a larger percentage gain than the original decline because the gain is calculated from a smaller base amount. If an investment of €100 drops by 50%, only €50 remains, meaning it takes a 100% gain on that €50 to return to €100. Following the dot-com crash, the S&P 500 needed a gain of about 97% from its low point to recover its previous peak. This arithmetic of total return is explained in the article on the dot-com bubble.

A stock exchange is a regulated trading venue where registered buyers and sellers meet to exchange securities such as shares and ETFs. Major regulated European platforms include Euronext, Deutsche Börse Xetra, and the London Stock Exchange. Exchanges provide central order books and transparent trading hours, facilitating continuous market liquidity and public price formation. Fundamental stock market concepts are introduced in the guide on what is a stock.

A limit order is an order instruction that sets a maximum price when purchasing an asset or a minimum price when selling. Unlike a market order that executes immediately at prevailing prices, a limit order ensures the execution price cannot exceed your chosen limit. This order type protects investors against sudden price fluctuations during volatile periods on the exchange. Practical order guidance for beginners is detailed in what do stocks cost.

Market capitalisation represents the total market valuation of a publicly traded enterprise. It is computed by multiplying the prevailing share price by the total count of outstanding shares issued by the company. In market-cap weighted index funds, companies with a higher market capitalisation occupy a larger share of the overall fund than smaller firms. Learn more about how individual stock valuations are determined in what is a stock.

Concentration risk arises when a substantial portion of an investment portfolio is allocated to a single company, country, or specific industry sector. If that single business or market segment encounters unexpected headwinds, the overall portfolio value can fall sharply. Maintaining wide diversification across many sectors and global regions reduces concentration risk. An analysis of company-specific vulnerabilities is presented in the risk of a single company.

No. The calculator runs in your own browser. The figures you enter are not sent anywhere. A share link keeps your scenario after the # in the address, which browsers do not send to the server. See also the privacy page.