Case study
Priya
- Moving investments from India to Germany
The result
Current portfolio value
- Return
- +47.64%
- Gain
- €29,456
- Timeline
- 2.5 years
Priya moved from high-cost INR investments into a EUR-based global portfolio, reducing fees, currency drag, and tax complexity.
Total invested: €61,828. Current portfolio value: €91,284, a time-weighted return of +47.64% (€29,456 gained). All in EUR, no currency risk, no guessing.
The problem
Priya moved from India to Germany for work. She had a portfolio of actively managed mutual funds selected without a clear strategy. Three factors were silently destroying her real wealth.
Combined, these factors can wipe out most or all of a seemingly positive INR return for anyone living and spending in Euros. There were also concerns about what tax implications moving the funds would entail.
- Currency depreciation: the INR went from ₹80/EUR to ₹108/EUR in 4 years. Any returns in Rupees lose ~26% of their EUR value just from this.
- High fund fees: active funds charging 1.5-2.0% TER per year, compounding to ~6.5% total drag over 4 years.
- Eurozone inflation: ~10% over 4 years eroding the purchasing power of whatever EUR-converted return remains.
Original fund portfolio
| Fund | TER (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Kotak Mutual Fund | ~1.6% |
| HSBC Asset Management | ~1.7% |
| SBI Mutual Fund | ~1.5% |
| ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund | ~1.7% |
| Axis Mutual Fund | ~1.6% |
Average TER: ~1.6% per year, compared with ~0.15% average in our institutional portfolios.
Solution
Together with our tax lawyer, we analysed the tax implications of liquidating the funds and moving capital to Germany. We determined it made the most sense to move the funds as quickly as possible and keep them invested locally in a low-cost, globally diversified portfolio, eliminating currency risk, reducing fees by 90%, and simplifying her tax situation.
We started with a one-off investment of ~€30k, then added a bonus pay-in when her employer paid out, and made an intentional additional investment during the Trump tariff announcements in early 2025 when markets dipped: a strategic move that paid off significantly.
New fund allocation
| Fund | TER |
|---|---|
| Vanguard FTSE North America UCITS ETF | 0.10% |
| Amundi Core Stoxx Europe 600 UCITS ETF | 0.07% |
| iShares Core MSCI EM IMI UCITS ETF | 0.18% |
| iShares Core MSCI Japan IMI UCITS ETF | 0.12% |
| Vanguard Global Small-Cap Index Fund | 0.29% |
| Vanguard FTSE Dev. Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF | 0.15% |
Average TER: ~0.12%. Compare to ~1.6% she was paying in India. That's 13x cheaper.
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