2023-05-21 14:29:21
Ahen around the turn of the millennium a book entitled “Sovereign investing with index funds and ETFs” came out on the market, hardly anyone was interested. “The book lay like lead on the shelves,” says Gerd Kommer, the author, when he thinks back on it today. The 60-year-old from Munich shows such a relaxed smile that one immediately suspects: What started so badly ended well. However, it took a really long time.
In retrospect, the initial failure is hardly surprising if you think back to that time. The Germans were gripped by a veritable stock market euphoria that this country would never experience before or ever again. Many wanted to buy new shares at any price, although it was not uncommon for companies behind them that had little to show apart from a vague business idea. Promoting a new but comparatively dull investment vehicle called index funds in such a turbulent time as Kommer was doing couldn’t do well. These funds, better known today by the abbreviation “ETF”, replicate the performance of a stock market barometer such as the Dax one-to-one. That sounded unspectacular compared to the returns of 100 percent and more that individual stock corporations promised at the time.
#ETF #discoverer #Gerd #Kommer