Stockholding in Germany

Content Germany is not a country of stock holders – but this may change. This paper analyses the main trends in stockholding – either directly or indirectly through mutual funds and other managed investment accounts – among German households. We find a significant shift towards riskier portfolios and an increase in stock market and in mutual funds participation in the past decade. We document how stockownership evolves during the life cycle and the relation between stock market participation and wealth, education, and other demographic characteristics. Similar to other countries, we find that stockholding is concentrated among the wealthy households. Unlike to the Anglo-Saxon countries, however, the share of households who do not hold stocks is large even in the richest segment of the German population.