The ETF is the engine. The policy is the car around it — and it determines how you are taxed, who may act on the contract, and how flexible you stay over 18 years.
Same ETFs, same contribution, same term: inside the right wrapper the outcome is a completely different one. These are the four reasons we recommend the policy to families with a long time horizon.
An ETF policy is an insurance contract with ETFs inside it. The ETF is the investment, the policy the wrapper around it. Only both together produce the result.
The wrapper governs three things the ETF itself does not: who may access the money, when tax falls due and how flexible you stay over 18 years. In practice: the contract is in your name, so control does not pass to your child automatically on their 18th birthday — you set the moment yourself. Switching funds inside the policy triggers no immediate taxation. And the savings rate can be adjusted, paused or drawn on at any time, with no lock-up period.
The price for that is costs front-loaded into the first five years, dropping by around 90 percent afterwards. We show them openly further down — with a curve and a table, before any signature.
This is the point where the penny drops in our advisory calls. And it is the advantage no other way of saving offers in this form.
On the left, savings registered in your child’s name. On the right, the policy. Same amount, same child — one difference that only shows when the moment arrives.
Can you say today whether your child will be ready at 18 to decide alone about a five-figure sum?
A junior account, a savings book or a deposit registered to the child
Turning 18 is fixed in law. Nothing here can be moved.
The date is set by law — not by you.
The contract is in your name — the money is meant for your child
From 18 you can hand over — but you do not have to. The moment stays your decision.
You can change the date later at any time. You keep the decision — for as long as you want.
This is not distrust towards your own child. It is the recognition that maturity is not a date.
You remain the policyholder — an 18th birthday changes nothing by itself.
With the policy you remain the policyholder. That means you decide when your child takes over the contract. At 18, at 21, at 25 — or in stages, if that is what you want together.
This is not distrust of your own child. It is the recognition that maturity is not a date. Some are ready at 18 to plan out a degree. Some see a Golf GTI first. You know your child — and you make that call when you are able to make it, instead of handing it today to a day in the calendar.
Transferring the contract to your child is possible at any time. It is simply your decision and your timing — a step you take together when it fits. Many families use exactly that and hand over in stages, tied to milestones in education, rather than all at once.
Because you remain the policyholder, the balance does not appear as your child's own assets or income. That matters in several practical places — for example for contribution-free family cover in the statutory health insurance, or for later study funding, where a child's own assets can be taken into account.
The specific allowances change every year. Which threshold applies in your case is something we work through in the call using the figures valid at the time.
Over 18 years your situation will certainly change. The question is whether every adjustment costs you money.
Switching inside the policy triggers no immediate taxation — the full amount keeps working.
Inside the policy you can change the fund selection — for example becoming gradually more defensive in the final years before payout, so that a setback does not land precisely in the year the money is needed. That switch happens inside the insurance wrapper and does not trigger immediate taxation. The full amount keeps working.
Across two decades that is not a side effect: every euro that does not leave early as tax keeps compounding to the end.
The principle in Germany: you are taxed when gains are realised or money is withdrawn — not before. As a reference point, investment income is taxed at 26.375 percent (capital gains tax plus solidarity surcharge). At payout your child additionally benefits from the annual basic tax-free allowance, currently €12,348.
The beneficiary designation determines who receives the balance in the event of death — directly, without detours. It is a point families rarely raise themselves and almost all are glad to have settled.
Beyond that: we are licensed intermediaries, not tax advisors. Where a question belongs with a tax advisor, we say so — rather than sending you home with half an answer.
A structure meant to last 18 years has to withstand fluctuations in income. Otherwise it is the first thing cancelled in the first crisis.
Savings rate up or down, one-off payments, withdrawals from 500 euros, cancellation at one month’s notice — no lock-up.
For our families that is not an exception, it is everyday life — 85 percent of our clients are international. The rule is pleasingly simple: the plan continues as long as a German or European bank account exists. Dubai, India, the USA, back to your country of origin — the savings plan moves with you.
Do bring the question to the Clarity Call anyway. It affects which provider is right for you, and that is better settled beforehand than afterwards.
“What if the provider goes bankrupt?” is the question almost every family asks — and it deserves a concrete answer rather than reassurance.
The detailed legal position — including its limits — is on our transparency page.
Every provider charges something. The difference is whether you see it before you sign or only on your annual statement.
Part of the cost comes back through the tax treatment: inside the policy, switching between funds triggers no tax. What is not paid out stays invested and keeps working — over 18 years that adds up.
What is left for you depends on your contribution, your time frame and the tariff. That is why we do not run the numbers here, but in the clarity call — with yours.
In the clarity call we understand your situation. In the strategy call you watch the provider comparison happen live via screen share — with your data, not a prepared slide — plus your projection at 18, 21 and 25 years. Both free, both without obligation, both in English.
Book your free clarity callWe are independent and have no products of our own. Which provider comes out on top for you emerges live in front of you during the Strategy Call — with your data, in the comparison tool, verifiable rather than asserted.
ETF4Kids is a financial and insurance intermediary based in Stuttgart. We hold three licences under the German Trade Regulation Act, supervised by the Chamber of Commerce (IHK) Region Stuttgart and publicly verifiable in the intermediary register:
As an insurance broker we are legally obliged to advise in the client’s interest, not a provider’s. We have no products of our own.
Nabil Khan (M.Sc. Economics and Finance) and Erol Eren (B.Sc. Economics), both founders and managing directors of ETF4Kids GmbH. Both are fathers themselves — the questions on this page are not invented, they are the ones we get asked most often.
Around 85 percent of the families we advise are international. Meetings, documents and follow-up questions in English are standard here — you will not be handed a German PDF and left to work it out.
Through commissions from the providers, already included in the product price. You pay no more than you would going direct. We would rather say that up front than when asked — and we disclose both cost types in the strategy call.
Unfiltered from Google — the full list is on our business profile.
We took advice from Rocco both for our children and for ourselves. Up to now, I have always been critical of financial advice, because you don't naturally assume that the advisors simply want to profit.
With Rocco it was different, he took a very individual approach to our situation and advised us against products that weren't suitable for us but would have brought him a return.
You can also tell that he has in-depth knowledge of the financial sector.
He is always available and can also be contacted at short notice for appointments. His offers are very flexible and really fair.
He has even advised us free of charge in the meantime and we really like him as a person. I have recommended him directly to my circle of friends.
Top advice. Catered to individual needs. Very competent. Thank you
The boring subject of finance and taxes is suddenly fun. Thank you very much! My little Daniel will have no more problems fulfilling his dreams in the future :) I will gladly recommend you to others. How can I do that?
I am grateful to have met such wonderful people, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I hope to work with you for a long time, please keep up the wonderful work.
Outstanding service and excellent knowledge of the financial sector. Flexible, transparent, reliable and trustworthy professionals. Incredible efforts to make us understand how these financial instruments work! An asset for the future.
If there were six stars, I would award ETF4Kids.
Professionalism, friendliness and above all customer satisfaction are among their core values.
Our first conversation convinced me to invest in my children's future. I can therefore recommend ETF4Kids without reservation.
Nothing you don't want. You remain the policyholder until you hand the contract over. The 18th birthday changes nothing by itself — and that is precisely the difference to ways of saving that run in the child's name.
Yes, at any time — between €25 and €259 per month, up or down. After three years a pause is reliably possible; in the first year it is a case-by-case decision. We would rather give you the precise limitation than a round promise.
There are two types of cost, and we disclose both in the Strategy Call — with an honest framing: the initial costs are higher over the first five years and then drop by almost 90 percent. Which is why we say the same sentence to every family: don't expect too much in the first five years. The plan shows its strength over eight years and more.
In Germany tax changes regularly apply to new contracts, not existing ones — that is how it went with pension taxation in 2005 as well. Starting early generally secures the rules that applied when you signed.
Yes, withdrawals are possible from €500, and you can cancel with one month's notice. Honestly though: an early withdrawal costs return. In the Strategy Call we show you that scenario with real numbers, even when it looks sobering.
Because over an 18-year term “simple” and “suitable” are rarely the same thing. Tax-free switching, control over the handover date, how the assets are attributed, and portability abroad — those are four properties you need exactly when something changes. And over 18 years, something changes.
An insurance contract with ETFs inside it. The ETF is the investment, the policy the wrapper. The wrapper governs three things the ETF does not: who may access the money, when tax falls due, and how flexible you stay over 18 years.
Same ETFs, same savings rate, same term — in the right wrapper the outcome differs. What you save in is covered on Why an ETF.
The beneficiary designation determines who receives the balance in the event of death — directly, without passing through the estate. It is a point families rarely raise themselves and almost all are relieved to have settled. We go through it with you in the strategy call.
Yes, at any time. Your child becomes the new policyholder and the contract continues unchanged — the investment is not sold, so compounding is not interrupted.
What matters is the timing: you choose it, not the calendar. Whether and which tax consequences a transfer has in your case belongs with a tax adviser — we are licensed intermediaries, not tax advisers, and we would rather say so than give you half an answer.
The contract is possible from 25 euros a month. Honestly though: with very small amounts the fixed per-policy cost weighs more heavily, and the first years feel correspondingly slow.
Where exactly the line sits for you is something we calculate in the strategy call with your numbers — explicitly including the scenario where it does not pay off. We have no interest in a contract that gets cancelled after three years.
The most important one is not the investment but the control. Savings vehicles registered in the child’s name pass into their full control automatically on their 18th birthday, whether the timing works or not. With the policy you remain the policyholder and choose the moment yourself.
Two practical differences follow: switching funds inside the policy triggers no immediate taxation, and the balance is attributed to you rather than to the child — which can matter for family health insurance cover, among other things. You can set the difference for yourself on the timeline further up.
The conditions named here — contribution range, minimum withdrawal, notice period, term — refer to the tariffs we currently recommend most often. Which provider and which tariff comes out on top for you is decided by the comparison in the Strategy Call. Tax figures (basic allowance, capital gains tax) reflect the current position and can change.
Risk warning: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investments involve risk. This page is general information and does not replace advice tailored to your personal situation. We are licensed intermediaries under § 34d, § 34f and § 34i GewO, but not tax advisors.
In the Clarity Call we understand your situation. In the Strategy Call you see the provider comparison live and your own projection to age 18, 21 and 25. Both free, both without obligation.
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