Exportweltmeister: Germany's foreign investment returns in international comparison

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Huennekes, Franziska; Konradt, Maximilian; Schularick, Moritz; Trebesch, Christoph; Wingenbach, Julian
• 署名单位: European Central Bank; Leibniz Association; Institut fur Weltwirtschaft an der Universitat Kiel (IFW); Institut d'Etudes Politiques Paris (Sciences Po); Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; Goethe University Frankfurt
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2025.104056
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: International Capital Flows; Foreign Assets; Investment Returns

摘要

Germany is a world champion in exporting capital (Exportweltmeister). Few countries have invested larger amounts of savings abroad. However, we show that Germany plays in the third division when it comes to investment performance. We construct a comprehensive new database of foreign investment returns for 13 advanced economies going back to the 1970s. Germany's foreign returns were 2 to 5 percentage points lower, per year, than those of comparable countries. Germany also earns significantly less within asset classes, especially for equities and FDI. These aggregate results are confirmed when using return data from 50,000 mutual funds worldwide. German investment funds are worse at stock picking and at timing the market than their international peers. This is particularly true for the Big 6 German mutual fund companies. German households would have fared much better with a passive investment strategy.