Independent research · Built for Europe
The ETF research desk for European investors
Plain-English guides and free calculators for European investors buying UCITS ETFs — what the funds cost, what compounding does, and what the fees take back.
Data last reviewed Oct 2026
Browse by topic
- Getting startedWhat an ETF is, which ones a European investor can buy, and where to buy them.3 guides
- Costs & how ETFs workWhat a fund charges, what it loses to its index in practice, and what the label on a share class tells you.8 guides
- Building a portfolioPutting funds together, and what a monthly plan does over decades.3 guides
- TaxHow fund taxation is structured across Europe, and where to check your own country's current rules.1 guide
Start here
Read them in this order. The first is the ground floor, and the others are the numbers that decide what you actually keep.
- Costs & how ETFs workWhat happens to your money if your ETF closes11 min read
- Costs & how ETFs workThe bid-ask spread: what you pay the moment you buy an ETF11 min read
- Costs & how ETFs workCurrency risk in ETFs: do you need a hedged share class?10 min read
- Costs & how ETFs workPhysical vs synthetic UCITS ETFs: the withholding tax gap on the S&P 50010 min read
Tools
Do the arithmetic before you commit
Worked examples, computed by this site's calculators
- Compound interest+€242.836 growth€350.836€300 a month at 7% for 30 years · €108.000 paid inYear 0Year 30
- Fee impact€36.507The same plan with a 0,60% yearly charge costs €36.507 by year 30Cost by year: fees paid plus the growth they never earned
- Savings goal€197 a monthTo reach €100.000 in 20 years at 7%Paid in 47%Growth 53%
Every calculator publishes the assumptions it runs on. A constant annual return is a planning device, not a forecast. Real markets do not deliver the same number every year, and the order the good and bad years arrive in changes what you end up with.
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The tools show their working
Every calculator publishes the assumptions it runs on, so a figure you disagree with can be argued with instead of taken on faith.
Nothing here is monetised
No affiliate links, no sponsored posts, no paid placements. Nothing on this site earns us anything when you act on it.
A real person signs every page
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