
Retirement Savings Account: THESE ETFs are allowed or prohibited!
- Allowed: Funds, ETFs, certain mixed funds, LTIFs, and euro-denominated government bonds.
- Prohibited: Individual stocks, certificates, derivatives, cryptocurrencies, and most leveraged products (possible exception).
- Maximum risk class 5 permitted. Classification is based on 5-year volatility.
- Standard account: two ETFs – one risky (class 3–5), one low-risk (max. class 2).
- Self-managed account: free combination, but max. class 5. Providers can restrict the offering.
- Gerd Kommer ETF: class 3
- MSCI World, FTSE All-World, MSCI EM, DAX, S&P 500: class 4
- NASDAQ 100: class 5
- Bond ETFs: e.g., Amundi Euro Government Bonds (class 1), Xtrackers Eurozone Gov. Bonds 1–3 (class 2); longer maturities rise to class 3 or 4.
- Leveraged ETFs: mostly class 6 (not allowed), exception: Scalable MSCI AC World Leveraged (class 5, but not necessarily offered).
- Only rearview mirror (last 5 years) – crashes outside the window are ignored.
- Only measures volatility, not other risks like illiquidity or leverage.
- LTIFs (e.g., private equity) often have low risk classes, yet they are more concentrated, illiquid, and partly debt-financed → “volatility laundering”.
- MSCI World: Even during the dot-com crash, volatility only reached class 5 – very low risk of being removed.
- DAX: During the dot-com crash, volatility briefly exceeded 30% → class 6 → possible removal.
- NASDAQ 100: During the dot-com crash, volatility over 50% → certainly removed.
- Conclusion: Broadly diversified ETFs (like MSCI World) are safe; sector or thematic ETFs may cross the limit in a crash.
- Standard account: The ETF must be swapped immediately (selling during a crash – bad timing).
- Low-risk part: only when reaching class 4, not class 3.
- Self-managed account: Further purchases are prohibited; old holdings? Unclear – possibly a grace period to wait or reallocate.
Recommendation: Broad world ETFs (MSCI World, FTSE All-World) are well-suited for the retirement savings account. Riskier ETFs are better held in a normal account.






