Overview
- DAI reports about 12.1 million invested via funds or ETFs, while direct stock owners rose to 4.9 million, up 740,000 year over year.
- Use of stock and ETF savings plans reached 5.3 million, an increase of 1.7 million, with over half of ETF holders investing by standing order.
- DAI says first-time counting of employer VL benefits boosted the 2025 total, though it would still be a record, and notes the figures come from a Kantar survey that since 2020 includes foreign residents.
- Younger investors led the expansion, adding 1.2 million in the 14–39 group to reach 4.9 million, while the number of women investing grew 24% versus 12% for men.
- Participation remains uneven by income and region, and policymakers are advancing a Riester reform and a proposed Frühstart-Rente to channel more household saving into capital markets.