Passive Income Through Financial Investments: Four Strategies Presented by Handelsblatt

Herz — Business Desk · 7 August 2026 at 11:24 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What We Know

Handelsblatt published on August 7, 2026, an article by Markus Hinterberger focused on strategies for generating passive income through financial investments—stocks, bonds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds that pool securities and can be bought or sold on exchange like ordinary shares), funds, and options.

Four Investment Strategies

The article identifies four concrete approaches: bonds, dividend-paying stocks, call options on shares, and funds and ETFs with high distribution yields.

A Difficult Goal for Salaried Employees

Michael Huber, Germany director of VZ Group, a Swiss financial services provider founded in 1993 with headquarters in Zug, draws a clear boundary: living exclusively from one's assets is generally only possible for major heirs, business founders, or successful inventors. For salaried employees, it is very difficult.

True passive income without personal effort remains the privilege of heirs. For others, the reasonable objective is to make it a supplement to salary or retirement pension.

The Financial Example

The article's typical scenario depicts a 25-year-old employee earning €3,000 net per month, with annual salary increases of 5%, who invests half of his net income in an ETF with 7% annual returns after fees. Over 25 years, the capital would reach €1.75 million after taxes.

Inflation, however, puts this objective into perspective: with a rate of 2.5% per year, more than €2,700 would be needed in 25 years to have the same purchasing power as €1,500 today.

The Psychology Behind Passive Income

Valentin Haas, a psychologist and executive coach, explains that the idea of passive income concentrates three fundamental aspirations: security, freedom, and mental relief. According to him, merely thinking about earning one is sufficient to trigger dopamine release and a sense of happiness.