Below you will find answers to all the questions that we frequently get asked.
Only when we know your goals can we truly understand you and invest meaningfully on your behalf. At froots, we firmly believe that having a clear goal is the perfect starting point for long-term investing. Not only does it keep you motivated to stay committed, but it also allows us to take the necessary steps to help you achieve your objective. First, we help you understand how much you need to achieve your goals and then we create an individual portfolio for you - with dynamic risk management based on your goals. We invest your money in such a way that you do not take unnecessary risk at any time and at the same time take advantage of the opportunities offered by the capital market. With a single goal: ensuring that you achieve your goals. For a detailed explanation, take a look at the description of our investment approach!
If you would like to talk about your goals or need help, we would be happy to arrange a consultation.
That's a very important question, and we'd be happy to help you with that. The fact is, it depends on your individual circumstances, and it's important to take those into consideration. A key rule of thumb is that you should only invest money that you don't (intend to) need in the short term. However, there are many other factors at play, such as your income, time horizon, and goals.
If you book a consultation with us, we'd be happy to assist you in determining the right investment plan for you.
First of all, it's almost impossible to "time" the market. Studies show that, on the contrary, it's much more important to be invested for the long term than to try to wait for the right moment.
In our experience, it's a personal decision whether you prefer to invest the available money as quickly as possible or spread it out over a longer period and invest regularly. Both options are flexible with us.
We would be happy to advise you in a personal conversation about the advantages and disadvantages, depending on your individual situation.
According to Albert Einstein, compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. Why? Because it means that your money can multiply (up to) the exponential rate. What causes a pandemic in viruses can make you a millionaire. If you invest e.g. 110 EUR well per month from birth, you will retire as a millionaire. If you only start at the age of 25, you will only earn EUR 200,000 under the same conditions. In the first case, you have only paid in EUR 33,000 more. That is the magic of compound interest! And how does it happen? The compound interest effect always comes into play when interest is not paid out but reinvested and thus generates interest again.
froots is a digital asset manager based in Vienna. Our goal is to make the capital market and private banking accessible to everyone.
For too long, personalized wealth management has been available only to a fortunate few. Froots now makes wealth management accessible to everyone, thanks to technology. By automating everything that requires efficiency and maintaining a human touch where it adds value, we can offer the previously exclusive service of wealth management management to all, and at a fraction of the usual costs.
We use an active/passive approach to build your individual portfolio based on your personal goals. This means that we combine the best of both worlds.
ACTIVE, because we personally select the products we invest in for you - based on scientific findings and our many years of experience - and then actively weight your portfolio so that you do not take any unnecessary risks (asset allocation).
However, the products we select are always PASSIVE. This is because we use ETFs to invest in the financial market in a diversified and cost-effective manner. In addition to bonds and equities, we also invest in commodities such as gold. The decision as to when we invest in which products is based on an algorithm. We do this to eliminate the risk of human error.
This combination enables us to offer our clients asset management in a professional and cost-effective manner.
No, froots is a digital asset manager.
We cooperate with an Austrian custodian bank.
The name froots is a combination of F(inancial) Roots. This refers to your financial roots, which we believe are of great importance. It is important to educate yourself in terms of finances and to prepare for the future. This is exactly what we do at froots - tailored to your goals and needs in the future.
We have a dedicated team of experts around our founders David Mayer-Heinisch and Dirk van Wassenaer.
In addition, we are supported by investors who, on the one hand, share our vision and, on the other hand, support us with their experience and expertise. We are very grateful to be able to rely on personalities such as Andreas Treichl, former head of Erste Group, Gina Goëss, former CEO of Credit Suisse, or Reinhold Baudisch, founder of Durchblicker.
froots was founded in 2021 by the two founders David Mayer-Heinisch and Dirk van Wassenaer.
Our investment committee consists of experts with many years of experience who were personally selected by our founder and managing director David Mayer-Heinisch. Our Investment Committee consists of Goran Vasilijevic (former CIO of Lingohr & Partners), Dr. Alexander Schüssler (university lecturer in Behavioral Finance) and Gabriel Hein (CFA with a focus on Risk Management). They meet several times a year for strategic investment meetings and analyse the existing portfolios and current market developments.
Our experts are active in the following areas and combine more than 50 years of investment experience: behavioural finance, financial mathematics, value investment and risk management
We would be happy to present our investment approach to you in detail in a personal meeting.
Our partner bank is the Austrian Schelhammer Capital Bank.
If your money is in a savings and loan contract (Bausparvertrag), you are not invested in the capital market. Due to high inflation, your money loses value every day. At Froots, we invest your money for your long-term goals, allowing you to benefit from the opportunities that the capital market offers without taking unnecessary risks and making the most out of your savings.
You can find more information on this topic in our blog post.
We are a digital asset manager and not a private bank, but we certainly have similarities with private banking services. The most important similarity is that we both always start from the client's situation and goals and build a tailor-made portfolio on that.
On the other hand, and this clearly differentiates froots from a private bank, the biggest disadvantages of private banking are non-existant. We are more cost-efficient and flexible, and the barriers to entering the business are much lower.
Furthermore, froots does not hold funds or financial instruments of its clients at any time. Your assets are always held in a custody account in your name at our authorised partner bank. We are only authorised to manage your money on this account. This way you are safe even if something happens to froots.
A broker like Flatex is a trading platform. In other words, it is a do-it-yourself solution where you have to make your own investment decision. At froots, we believe that investing is not easy. Because you have to take a lot of things into account and, if necessary, adjust your portfolio to market developments. This can be very time-consuming and complicated. That's why we offer you the service of taking care of all of this for you.
Our investment approach is structurally different. Oskar uses a Value-at-Risk method, while Froots makes investment decisions based on valuations. Additionally, Froots offers dynamic risk management based on market assessments and your personal time horizon, whereas Oskar offers static portfolios.
Furthermore, Froots is an Austrian company, so our service is tax-efficient for you. This means that all taxes are automatically deducted at Froots, whereas you would need to handle tax matters yourself with Oskar.
We have planned an app in our technical development, but unfortunately, it is not available at the moment.
We are available at any time for your questions. You can contact us in the following ways:
Via email at [email protected] By phone at +43 (0)1 3431709 Through chat (on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM) By scheduling a personal appointment (online or at our office)
Once you become a froots customer, a securities account will be opened with our partner bank in your name. You can access it at any time.
The money that enters your account will be invested promptly by us.
Time is a significant advantage in the financial markets. Financial markets are always subject to short-term fluctuations, but over the past decades, they have significantly increased in value in the long term. So, the longer you invest your money, the less you are affected by short-term fluctuations, while benefiting from the growth of the world's largest companies. Additionally, if you invest your money long-term, you can benefit from the compounding effect, often referred to as the '8th wonder of the world' by Albert Einstein. We harness both of these mechanisms to invest your money optimally.
Yes, the securities that froots buys for you are indeed yours. As a froots customer, you are the owner of the securities in your portfolio. We simply handle the buying, selling, and management of the securities on your behalf. You retain full ownership and control over your investments.
An ETF, short for Exchange Traded Fund, is an investment product (or fund) that can be traded on the stock exchange and aims to track market indices, such as the DAX (or ATX in Austria), thereby representing a variety of companies. It is a passive investment product, meaning the ETF automatically attempts to replicate the index. ETFs can include both stocks and bonds or other asset classes. In addition to high diversification, the advantages of ETFs include low costs and high flexibility, particularly their high liquidity. We use a multi-stage process and our years of experience to select the best ETFs for you from thousands available.
ETFs offer three significant advantages:
At froots, we invest in both accumulating and distributing ETFs. The selection depends on various factors that we consider in product selection.
Yes, froots also takes tax criteria into account when selecting ETFs. We strive to pursue tax-efficient investment strategies to minimize the tax burden for our customers.
A money market fund invests in highly liquid, short-term instruments. These instruments include cash, cash-equivalent securities, and creditworthy, short-term debt securities (such as government bonds). Money market funds are designed to provide investors with returns while maintaining full liquidity and very low volatility (fluctuations). This makes money market funds an ideal product for funds that may be needed for other purposes in the near future, especially in the current environment.
After many years of low interest rates, central banks began aggressively raising rates in July 2021 to combat inflation. One would expect banks to pass on these rates to their customers, but unfortunately, most are refusing to do so. Due to high inflation, it is even more damaging today than before to hold too much cash in a savings account. For those looking to protect their wealth from inflation while avoiding exposure to volatile investments, money market funds are a good solution. Additionally, it's important to note that cash accounts at banks are only insured up to 100,000 EUR. With money market funds, your money is always safe, even if the bank goes bankrupt. This applies to amounts over 100,000 EUR as well.
Because banks refuse to offer fair interest rates on savings accounts. Our goal is to help as many people as possible achieve financial freedom, and we do so in every way possible. Since we focus on long-term investments, it is unacceptable to let banks keep the interest that rightfully belongs to you. That's why we independently select the best money market funds for our customers, taking important factors like costs and liquidity into account.
Since money market funds are not part of our regular product universe, please contact our support team if you wish to open an account. Opening a money market account does not require any additional effort and should only take 15 minutes, just like our regular registration process.
Since managing a money market fund requires less effort, we can offer it at a lower cost. For amounts under 100,000 EUR, we charge our standard flat fee of 1%. For amounts over 100,000 EUR, you pay only 0.5% on the total amount.
You can become a froots customer in 15 minutes via our online registration. As soon as your registration is complete, we will automatically send your documents to our partner bank. They will open your account in a few hours and then you can start.
If you have selected a one-time amount, you have to actively transfer this amount to your account, which will then be invested by us shortly afterwards. Monthly investment plans start automatically at the beginning of the next month.
Yes, froots can be used outside of Austria as well. We are a European-wide asset management firm and can serve clients in various countries. Currently, we already have a rapidly growing customer base in 8 different countries. Our goal is to expand our services even further in the future to assist even more people across Europe with asset management.
At froots, there are no specific age limits. Our service is generally open to all legal adults who are interested in optimizing their asset management.
Yes. As long as he/she is a minor, it will have to be in your name.
You can open as many accounts as you like. These will then be automatically added to your froots account. Please note that in Austria it is not possible to open accounts for children under the age of 18 in their own name. Nevertheless, you can name the target of your deposit after your children, but this is not legally binding.
Your froots account is in your name and has its own IBAN. People from your environment can also pay amounts into this account.
However, if this involves regular or large sums, this person must verify his/her identity with us for supervisory reasons.
You can currently start with a minimum of 150 euros per month or a one-time investment of 1,500 euros. Additionally, you can transfer additional amounts of any size at any time.
A securities account with a clearing account is a common structure that allows you to hold securities while also facilitating transactions. The securities account serves as a secure repository for your securities, while the clearing account is used for financial transactions related to buying and selling securities. It allows you to deposit money into your clearing account to purchase securities and receive profits or dividends into your clearing account. This structure simplifies the management of your investments and enables smooth securities trading.
After your money has been deposited in your account, it usually takes about 2 to 3 working days until your money is invested. Please note that there may be delays in individual cases.
Yes, you can withdraw any (partial) amount of your choice at any time free of charge.
There is no minimum contract period with froots. We encourage you to set financial goals and think about when you need your money in order to fully benefit from a long-term investment and let your money grow. However, we also know that you cannot plan everything in life, which is why you are completely flexible with froots and can always access your assets free of charge.
In your froots customer portal you will find all the relevant details to manage your savings plan or make additional deposits. There you can keep track of all your goals:
You can adjust, pause or reactivate your savings plan at any time. You can also make deposits at any time - regardless of the amount. Depending on the portfolio, investment plan and amount, we at froots will make sure that your money is invested sensibly with your existing portfolio.
Your time horizon can also be adjusted at any time. If something changes in your life and you need to reschedule, you can simply adjust your time horizon in your client portal. We will automatically adjust your portfolio to reflect the change, free of charge.
Of course, we would be sorry to see you cancel your account with froots. But that is, of course, your right, and it is also free of charge.
If you are dissatisfied, please feel free to share your reasons with us because we want to continuously learn from our mistakes.
The following is a concrete example:
If you have 1,000 Euros managed by froots on the reference date of the last quarter, 0.25% (i.e. 2.50 Euros) will be debited in advance for the next quarter. If you now have 1,200 euros managed by us on the next reporting date, 0.25% (i.e. 3 euros) will be debited in advance for the next quarter and so on.
Our management fee includes the following:
Asset management
Continuous portfolio weighting
Direct service
Portfolio adjustment
Depot management
Transaction costs
Opening and closing of depots
Deposits / withdrawals
VAT
Of course! You can access your money and securities at any time. Our partner bank is responsible for their custody, and froots is responsible for their management.
Since we invest your money in stocks of companies around the world through ETFs, there is a risk of short-term price fluctuations depending on how global stock markets perform. However, the longer you invest your money, the less these short-term fluctuations affect you. Historically, stock markets have shown positive long-term growth over the past decades. Our investment approach allows you to benefit from these long-term trends without taking unnecessary risks.
Based on your goals, your money will initially be primarily invested in stock ETFs, but over time, it will be gradually shifted into bond ETFs and other low-risk products. This approach helps you avoid two risks associated with other investment forms:
With froots, you always have the right level of risk in your portfolio to help you achieve your goals. For a detailed explanation, please feel free to review our investment approach description!
We manage risk in two ways. First, through the selection of the products in which we invest for you, and second, by dynamically adjusting the risk of your portfolio over time.
When selecting products, we ensure that by using the best ETFs, your money is invested in a diversified manner in the most successful companies worldwide. We draw on our years of experience to select ETFs for you, regardless of the provider (unlike many banks and insurance companies). This allows you to participate in the development of the largest companies globally. Moreover, if one of these companies were to perform poorly, your investments are diversified across many other companies, reducing the impact of any single negative development.
In addition to product selection, we employ a dynamic approach for risk management. Based on your goals, your money is initially primarily invested in stock ETFs and gradually shifted over time into bond ETFs and other low-risk products. This allows you to benefit from the attractive returns in financial markets without taking unnecessary risks to achieve your goal.
For a detailed explanation, please feel free to review our investment approach description.
Unfortunately, there are guarantees for almost nothing in life, including the financial markets. Markets have experienced fluctuations in the past, and they will continue to do so in the future.
No, you do not have to.
For all individuals who are tax residents in Austria, Froots makes taxes simple. This means that your taxes related to payouts, potential distributions, or reinvestments are automatically paid by our partner bank, and you don't have to worry about anything.
Please note: If you have a joint account or multiple deposit accounts with different banks, tax reconciliation may require additional steps beyond the individual deposit account.
If you have tax-related questions, please consult a trusted tax advisor.
We invest for the long term for your goals and therefore it goes without saying that we also invest sustainably. Our investment strategy takes into account all environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in order to select ETFs and thus companies that have a positive impact on the environment and society. We value transparency and work with partners who share similar values.
There is a growing body of research suggesting that sustainable investments do not necessarily have a negative impact on returns. A major study by Morningstar (Better Minus Worse: Evaluating ESG Effects on Risk and Return) has shown that investors do not have to sacrifice risk or return when investing in sustainable investments. At froots, we select your securities according to strict criteria that include other important aspects besides sustainability in order to additionally minimise such effects.
At froots, we select products that are both sustainable and cost-efficient. We have a progressive balance to investment effectively.
Sustainability is very important to us, but our primary goal is to generate a return for our clients in relation to the risk. Therefore, we make sure that sustainable products do not have a negative impact on the return. If we do not find any disadvantages in the product selection, we always choose the more sustainable product.