The Corona pandemic has ensured that more people have become involved with the stock market than at any time in the last 20 years. Thus, there has been a growing interest among the younger generations in particular. It almost looks as if the young have discovered the securities market for themselves in 2020. Probably also because access to the financial markets is particularly easy today - namely via smartphone.
Is the end of traditional savings products imminent?
With the onset of the Corona pandemic, caused by spending restrictions and “lockdowns,” people had enough time to consider their plans, whether short-, medium- or long-term. That one then encounters the issue of money may not be a surprise. At the end it was several circumstances, why all at once the boys noticed that there is a possibility with the stock exchange to be able to invest money profitably. After all, call money and time deposit accounts are just as unattractive as savings accounts; if you want to invest for the long term, you simply have to look in the direction of stocks and funds.
One way to earn money in the short term may be trading. One speculates with price developments and hopes to be able to book high profits through the appropriate entry and exit. Since today people work with smartphones or every renowned online broker already provides an in-house app, even the principle of day trading can be implemented without any problems.
Digitization, low fees, a wide range of products
Digitization plays the biggest role, of course. It is primarily very low-cost online brokers that prove day in and day out that speculating as well as investing no longer entails high fees. In addition, the providers score with free apps that have an appealing design, offer a high level of functionality and can be operated without any problems - even by beginners who have never had anything to do with such an application. And if, in the course of the research, one then notices that there are also low-risk investment options, such as investing in an exchange-traded fund - ETF for short - then it may come as no surprise that savings accounts and call money accounts are cancelled and new securities accounts are opened with online brokers.
Support, by the way, can be found on the Internet. For example, more and more YouTubers or even influencers are addressing the topic of shares, sustainable investments and the fact that profits are no longer being made via classic savings products, which is due to the low interest rate - and the zero interest rate policy pursued by the European Central Bank (the ECB) will not (be able to) end in the foreseeable future either. And the “power” on certain developments emanating from YouTubers should by no means be underestimated.
Just keep calm
That there are critical voices may come as no surprise at this point. After all, many experts are already talking about the “young savages” and fear that everything will be sold at the first turbulence.
Anyone who invests in shares and/or funds or has a savings plan and is involved with ETFs must know that things can always go up as well as down. The numbers show: If you invest for the long term, you will end up with profits - no matter how turbulent things sometimes get.