I am an ex-banker and I invest in these stocks and 8 ETFs
Saskia Drewicke is the founder of the financial channel “Sparheldin”. In the interview, the investment advisor gives Business Insider an insight into her portfolio and her investment strategy. Find out how she built up her wealth, which ETFs, individual stocks and crypto positions she holds and what plans she has for the future. Read all the details with BI+
- Saskia Drewicke works as a financial advisor and has built up a six-figure fortune. In her portfolio, she invests in ETFs, individual stocks and crypto.
- Their portfolio consists of 55 percent globally diversified ETFs, 40 percent individual stocks and five percent crypto.
- Drewicke plans to invest in real estate in the future and rent furnished apartments for students or expats.
It all started with 50 euros. Every month, Saskia Drewicke invested this amount in shares and ETFs through savings plans. Today, the 33-year-old is working with many times that amount of money. In recent years, the young woman has built up a considerable six-figure portfolio – with a clearly defined investment strategy.
“I have always been interested in economic relationships,” Saskia Drewicke told Business Insider. That was also the reason why the 33-year-old completed a dual bachelor's degree at the bank after school, focusing on securities trading and sales.
After graduating, Drewicke moved abroad – to Australia, to be precise, where she spent several months during her master's degree. “I fell in love with Sydney, especially with the way of life there,” she enthuses. She would have loved to stay there, but had to return to Germany to finish her master's degree. After that, however, her plan was clear: to find a job where she could work from anywhere in the world.
In 2020, Drewicke came up with the idea for her financial channel “Sparheldin”, which she launched on Instagram Two years later, she founded her own consulting and coaching company, where she now provides fee-based advice on financial planning, retirement planning and investment.
“Originally I wanted to go back to Australia, but due to the strict entry regulations, that was not possible during the Corona period,” she says. That is why she has now decided on Lisbon, where she has been spending several months a year for three years now.
This is how Drewicke found her way to the stock exchange
“It is a fallacy to say that every banker is an investment specialist,” says the consultant. After all, there are many areas in the bank and not all of them have to do with investing. She herself decided to start a savings plan in her first year of training. “I already knew then that I shouldn't just randomly buy actively managed funds through the bank,” she explains.
So she asked a colleague for advice, who then gave her Gerd Kommer's ETF Bible. Her first investment was a DAX ETF. Looking back, she made the classic beginner's mistake and initially invested in what she knew. After that, she bought her first dividend stocks, Eon, Freenet and Inditex. All three stocks are no longer in her portfolio. (Business Insider got insight).
Today, Drewicke's total assets are in the six-figure range. “At the top, my portfolio was up 60 percent, and now, after the recent correction, it's down to 45 percent – but you shouldn't let that drive you crazy. Especially if you spend a lot of time in the technology sector,” she says.
How did she manage to build up her wealth? “Building up knowledge was crucial,” Drewicke answers. She entered the financial sector at the age of 19 and started investing early on. “I also tried out different things,” the consultant adds. These included risky strategies such as leveraging certificates.
Her investment strategy has developed over the years. Drewicke started with smaller sums of around 50 euros through savings plans. Today she saves around 30 percent of her monthly income. Around 800 euros currently goes into building up private assets. “In addition, I invest at least five percent of my monthly turnover in the further development of my company,” she adds.
Drewicke built her portfolio with these stocks and ETFs
Drewickes gave Business Insider an insight into her portfolio and investment strategy. Readers should note, however, that this is not investment advice, but merely her personal investments.
Drewicke's portfolio consists of ETFs, stocks and crypto. “The individual stocks are a mix of dividend stocks, but also some growth stocks. My strategy aims to be very broadly positioned,” she explains. Around 55 percent of her portfolio is invested in ETFs that are diversified globally, while 40 percent of the portfolio is in stocks and five percent in the crypto sector.
Her biggest positions include: Axa and Johnson&Johnson. “Also Pinterest is a big position in my portfolio, although I have burned my fingers a bit on it,” she says. While she still believes in Pinterest's business model, she does not expect it to return to its previous highs in the short term. Other stocks in her portfolio are Apple, Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble and Starbucks.
The ex-banker is betting on these eight ETFs
In addition to individual stocks, Drewicke also invests in a global ETF portfolio. Among other things, she invests in the MSCI ACWI World. “To balance out the preponderance of America, I have another ETF on the MSCI Europe included, as well as an ETF that MSCI Emerging Markets “She also has an ETF on the S&P500: “Although I should actually sell this position, as the US weighting is already quite high,” she admits.
At the same time, it has an ETF on the MSCI Information Technology. “In addition, I hold an ETF on the Mdaxwhich is currently the worst performer in my portfolio.” In addition, the ex-banker covers two other themes in her portfolio by investing in one ETF each from the areas Big Data and AI and Future Mobility invested.
When Drewicke finds a stock exciting
“When it comes to individual stocks, I look for Quality company and make sure to invest in stable business models,” she explains. That is why she has companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola in her portfolio, which she believes have proven themselves for decades. “I also try to diversify my portfolio over to diversify different sectorsto protect it against different economic cycles.”
The Dividend yield also plays a role in the selection of dividend stocks, but equally important to her is the Dividend growth and the Price development. “What is particularly important to me is the Sales and profit development of a company and the Equity ratio and the Debt ratioto ensure that the company remains stable even in times of crisis.”
When does Drewicke sell a position? When she no longer believes in the business model. “For example, I would sell a company if it had a negative sales trend over several years and I no longer considered the business model to be sustainable,” she says. Pinterest could be an example. “Of course, that doesn't look good in my portfolio at the moment, but I still believe in the position and therefore am not getting out yet.”
Drewicke's next goal: real estate investments. She wants to start with smaller real estate investments. “I plan to start with a sum of between 100,000 and 150,000 euros and then make the apartment available to students or expats.” She hopes to achieve a return of around six percent from this.