How I invest

Some people ask me how I invest so I wrote down the answer here.

Please note: I’m not an expert. This is not financial advice. I’ve only read a few books on personal finance and this is how I act on that information.

What I do:

• I don't believe in stock picking or timing the market, nor do I have the time nor inclination to do it.
• Every month, I save 15% of my salary towards 12 months of living expenses and 15% into investments.
• I believe in maintaining a portfolio that reflects my ‘risk appetite’. (Google: ‘what should my portfolio look like’ at 30, 40, 50, etc.)

Currently, my portfolio looks like this:

• 35.00% - ETFs: US Stocks - S&P 500 Information Technology Sector
• 35.00% - ETFs: International Stocks - Edge MSCI World Quality Factor
• 10.00% - Bonds: Germany Govt Bond
• 20.00% - Fun Money. Currently, angel investments via Republic.co. But I want to add cryptocurrencies soon (to buy and hold, not speculate and trade).

Over time, the funds will grow at different rates, so once per quarter I adjust their amounts so that they’re again equal.

What I use:

• For ETFs, I use Trade Republic, Europe's mobile and commission-free broker. (Use my personal invitation link and receive 15 €: https://ref.trade.re/00m74v01)
• For angel investing, I use republic.co. Here’s my portfolio: https://republic.co/chiara-anne-cokieng

The above is heavily based on what I learned from the book, If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly.

To learn about the topic, I'm currently reading the book, The Everything Guide to Investing in Cryptocurrency.

Open Questions:

• I want to get into real estate investing, but haven't made time to study properly. And how to do it from Germany?
• Most books talk about Index Funds. I’ve found mostly ETFs. I think they are mostly the same. Is this correct?
• Do you have any real-world advice for me? I would love to hear from you! Please email me chiara@chiaracokieng.com