Itzehoe

Itzehoe – November 02, 2026 -- From 2027, Germans can save for retirement in stocks and equity funds with state support, and you can still get the full subsidy if you sign up in autumn rather than January. That is the advice of Jörg Wiechmann, managing director of the Itzehoer Aktien Club (IAC), who urges savers not to rush into the new Altersvorsorgedepot.

Tax-free gains and up to €540 a year in state aid

The deal is simple: savers leave the money untouched until age 65, and investment gains stay tax-free during the saving phase. The state adds a subsidy of up to €540 a year, plus €300 for each child.

Saving €150 a month could add up to six figures

The maximum amount eligible for support is €1,800 a year, or €150 a month. After 20 years, that means €36,000 paid in. At an 8 percent return, which stocks have achieved over the long term in the past, that grows to about €85,000. With the basic state allowance, it reaches about €111,000.

Itzehoe – September 09, 2026 -- While the Dax and Dow Jones post fresh records and corporate profits climb on AI enthusiasm, rising bond yields are quietly reshaping the risk calculus for stock investors, according to Jörg Wiechmann, managing director of the Itzehoer Aktien Club.

Yields on long-term government bonds have surged globally in recent weeks. Investors can now earn more than 5 percent on 30-year US Treasury bonds, while Germany's government must pay nearly 4 percent interest to its creditors.

US national debt surpasses $40 trillion

Wiechmann points to ballooning government debt as a key driver of the bond market unease. The United States has just crossed the $40 trillion debt threshold, and rising interest rates mean the cost of servicing that debt is projected to reach $1.2 trillion this year.