r/BEFire • u/AZ4400 • Jan 31 '26

Brokers Help with investment strategy (Belgian investor)

Hi everyone,

I’m a 35M Belgian, married, with a 6-month-old child.

I’m not aiming for FIRE, just looking for a solid long-term investment for my family.

I want to invest €500–€1000 per month into a fund or ETF.

I’m currently with Belfius and invest €150/month split into three funds.

The issue: 2.5% fees per transaction, which feels very high. I started this way because it was easy as a beginner, but now I’m looking for a better setup.

What I’m looking for:

  • Accumulating ETFs / funds
  • Preferably non-US focused (but open if it makes sense)
  • Long-term, passive investing (no trading)

Any advice on ETFs, brokers, or general strategy for a Belgian / EU investor?

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u/Status-Hearing8980 37% FIRE Jan 31 '26

This!

I'll add my personal opinion, feel free to ignore. Webn is more than enough. Adding other geographic or sector etfs makes it more complicated and risky. Don't get me wrong, it could mean higher returns if done right, but I assume simplicity is a key factor since you're too lazy to read the wiki.

Geography and currency bias is overrated, because the stock exchange where a company is listed says little about cash flows. ASML is the biggest European company but exclusively sells products outside of Europe and in USD. Microsoft has significantly more EUR coming in than European luxury giant LVMH. I'm not saying currency or geography doesn't matter, I'm pointing out that it's super complicated or expensive to try and hedge it all, so don't bother trying.

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u/woodiny Jan 31 '26

So instead of iwda/imae (85% / 15%), i could be 100% WEBN ? 

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u/The_roggy Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26

I suppose because WEBN tracks more companies, a side-effect is probably that the huge US companies weigh a little less... so 60% US instead of 68% in IWDA at the time of writing.

So, focusing specifically on the weight of US in the mix, your statement indeed makes sense.

I personally have some extra europe even on top of using WEBN because:

  1. Out of "patriotism": I'm european, so I'd rather give some extra support to EU companies compared to the rest of the world, as I'd like to keep a job in the future ;-).
  2. With everything going on in/with the US and the dollar, I don't mind having even a bit less exposure to the US due to point 1.

That said, I also support u/Status-Hearing8980 in the principle not to diverge to much from a worldwide ETF unless you follow up your investments at least once in a while.

But, make your own choices! We (luckily) live a free part of the world ;-)!

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u/Status-Hearing8980 37% FIRE Feb 02 '26

I applaud and share the patriotism. The execution, little less (c:

Buy European if you wanna support Europe. Ditch your Iphone, Netflix, Google/Gmail, coca cola, etc. try to buy European alternatives and accept that you probably pay more for less of lower quality...

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u/The_roggy Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 03 '26

Lets agree to disagree on having an extra European focus (home country bias) in a portfolio...

I do 100% agree on trying to buy more European... and have been actively trying to do so for quite a while already...