Investing for Beginners – How, Where, and When to Start?

Many women want to invest but don't know how to get started. Maybe you're afraid of making mistakes or think you need a lot of financial knowledge first. The good news: Investing is much easier than you think!

Here are the three most important questions to ask yourself when starting your investment journey

💡 Investing means making your money work for you – you buy assets (like stocks or ETFs) that can increase in value over time.
💡 There are different asset classes: Stocks, ETFs, real estate, bonds – depending on how much risk you're comfortable with.
💡 Long-term investing is key – short-term gains are luck, but over the years, your money grows almost automatically.

The Most Important Terms and Abbreviations

📈 General Investment Terms

• Stocks – Shares in a company. When you buy a stock, you own a small part of the company.

• ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) – Exchange-traded funds that contain many stocks at once. Great for beginners because they spread risk.

• Dividend (DIV) – A profit share that some companies pay out to their shareholders.

• ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) – A number that uniquely identifies a stock or ETF (e.g., "IE00B4L5Y983" for the iShares MSCI World ETF).

• WKN (Wertpapierkennnummer) – A German identification number for securities, often shorter than the ISIN.

• Price – The current price of a stock or ETF.

Finance Made Easy: 

Key Investment Terms Explained🔹 

What is a Brokerage Account?

A brokerage account (also called a securities account) is like a digital wallet for your investments. It works similarly to a bank account, but instead of holding cash, it stores your stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds. You need a brokerage account to buy, sell, and manage your investments.

click the button to go to the brokers

What is a Stock?

A stock represents a small share in a company. When you buy a stock, you become a part-owner of that company. If the company grows and performs well, the stock price increases, and you can sell it for a profit. Some companies also pay dividends, which are cash payments to shareholders as a share of the company's profits.

What is an ETF?

An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) Imagine an ETF as a big tree: 🌳

• The trunk represents the ETF itself – it holds everything together and provides stability.
• The branches symbolize the different industries or countries the ETF invests in.
• The leaves are the individual stocks – the companies included in the ETF.

When you invest in an ETF, you're not just buying a single leaf (one stock), but the entire tree, which consists of many companies.

.A popular example is an MSCI World ETF, which includes stocks from over 1,500 companies worldwide. ETFs are great for beginners because they are low-cost, easy to manage, and historically provide strong returns.

My favorite ETF is Amundi MSCI Nordic WKN A2H569. I love the Nordic countries and align with their policies, so I am convinced of this ETF. It has been performing very well for years.

How you find the perfect ETF for you

What is a Dividend?

Imagine dividends as an apple tree: 🍏🌳

• The tree represents your investment – a stock that pays regular dividends.
• The branches symbolize different parts of the company generating profits.
• The apples are the dividends – paid out regularly as long as the tree is healthy.

Each year, your tree produces new apples 🍎, which you can either eat (spend as cash) or plant as seeds (reinvest) to grow even more trees. 🌱💰

This way, your wealth keeps growing over time – just like an expanding orchard! 

What is an Index?

Imagine an

: ⚽🏆

An index works like a team: If some players underperform, they are substituted with stronger players to keep the team competitive. 🏅📈

By investing in an index, you're not betting on a single player – you're investing in the entire team, increasing your chances of long-term success!

• The Team represents the index – a collection of top-performing companies playing together.

• The Players are individual stocks – companies that are part of the index.
• The Coach symbolizes the rules and criteria determining which companies are included or removed from the index. An index works like a team: If some players underperform, they are substituted with stronger players to keep the team competitive. 🏅📈

By investing in an index, you're not betting on a single player – you're investing in the entire team, increasing your chances of long-term success! 💰

Let me know if you'd like adjustments, and I can try generating the image again later! 😊

Final Thoughts

Investing doesn't have to be complicated! Once you understand the basic terms, you'll feel much more confident. Start small, keep learning, and most importantly—just get started!