Risk is about the investment.
- 1/5 · Capital guaranteed
- 2/5 · Very cautious
- 3/5 · Moderate risk
- 4/5 · High risk
- 5/5 · Very risky
The path to investing
Investing can be learned: we hand you the map, you draw your own route
Here you will find, gathered in one place, everything that really exists to grow your money in France, from the most cautious to the riskiest, explained simply. Our role is not to sell you a miracle investment: it is to teach you to understand each product, to spot the risks and the fees, and then to decide for yourself. The idea is simple and powerful: every month, you set aside part of your salary and you spread it between several wrappers matched to your goals. Nothing here is personalised investment advice: we help you learn, diversify and stay cautious. Start by securing an emergency fund, move at your own pace, and grow your knowledge at the same time as your savings.
Last editorial review: . Informative content, reviewed periodically; figures are indicative and not contractual — always check the current terms with the partner.
Step 1 · Structure
How much to invest each month, and how to split it?
Here you will find out how much you can set aside each month without putting yourself at risk — not an ideal figure, yours.
The idea behind the path: each month, you set aside a share of your salary and you split it across several wrappers suited to your goals. This simulator helps you go from your income to a concrete split — a reference point, not a recommendation.
Secure the emergency fund firstRead the ruleCollapse
Before any investment, you build a safety cushion available immediately, held in safe and liquid products (Livret A, LDDS, LEP if you qualify — the French regulated savings passbooks). A common rule of thumb: aim for the equivalent of 3 to 6 months of everyday expenses, to be adjusted according to how stable your income is (permanent contract vs self-employed), your fixed costs and your family situation. As long as that cushion is not built, the priority goes to the emergency fund, not to risky investing.
Pay off expensive debtRead the ruleCollapse
Paying off a consumer loan or an expensive overdraft delivers a certain gain (the interest you avoid) that no investment can guarantee. You deal with that expensive debt before investing.
Work out the monthly amount you can investRead the ruleCollapse
The amount to invest each month is worked out from your real saving capacity (income minus outgoings), once the emergency fund is secured. As a teaching framework: the 50/30/20 rule suggests steering around 20% of net income towards saving and paying off debt. That is only a starting point: if 20% is too much, start lower and increase gradually with every rise in income. The amount actually invested (leaving aside the emergency fund already built) also depends on the fraction of that sum you are ready to tie up and to expose to risk.
Spread it according to a risk profileRead the ruleCollapse
The monthly investable sum is spread between broad asset classes according to a profile (cautious, balanced, dynamic) that takes into account your horizon (the longer it is, the more volatility you can accept) and your tolerance for risk. The percentages proposed are orders of magnitude for teaching purposes, not a personalised recommendation.
Automate it and smooth it over timeRead the ruleCollapse
You set up an automatic transfer on payday (pay yourself first) and you invest the same amount regularly (DCA) to smooth the purchase price and take the emotion out. Regularity kept up over time counts for more than timing.
The simulator promises no return and does not tell you what to buy. It helps you structure a responsible approach, step by step, starting from your own situation.
What actually reaches you each month, after tax and social contributions.
0 %25 %50 %
An educational marker (the 50/30/20 rule): aim for ~20 % of net income towards savings and paying down debt. If that is too much, start lower and raise it with every pay rise.
Monthly amount to split up
€440
per month, not counting your emergency fund
Your risk profile
Looking for a compromise between safety and potential performance, with a significant share in diversified shares. Suited to a medium/long horizon and to a moderate tolerance for swings.
Not sure which profile looks like you? Take stock from what you already hold
Suggested split
- Secured (fonds euros, regulated passbooks, bonds)35 % · €154
- Property (SCPI)15 % · €66
- Shares / diversified ETFs40 % · €176
- Very risky assets (crypto, unlisted companies)10 % · €44
First of all: your emergency fund
This split only applies to the money you invest on top of your safety cushion. You first secure the equivalent of 3 to 6 months of everyday spending in safe and readily available places (Livret A, LDDS, LEP if you qualify), and you pay off expensive credit, before exposing your money to risk.
An educational marker, not advice
- No return is promised or guaranteed: risky asset classes can lose value, including a large part of the capital.
- The allocations by profile are generic teaching benchmarks, in no way personalised investment advice.
- Diversifying does not remove risk, it spreads it.
- Always check the fees, the taxation and the authorisation (AMF/ACPR — the French financial markets and prudential regulators) of the players before investing.
- Invest in very risky assets (crypto, unlisted companies) only a small part that you accept losing entirely.
Your Balanced split is set. Next in the journey: understand each pocket in the investment briefs, then compare the matching offers.
Your entries are remembered on this device only (never sent to our servers).
What your savings could become, with example figures
Investing is not reserved for experts or for high earners. The principle comes down to three ideas: set a little aside each month, invest it, and let time do the work through compound interest. Below, choose the share of your salary you could save and see, using illustrative assumptions, what that could represent in 1, 5, 10, 30 or 50 years. These figures are not promises: they are examples to help you understand the snowball effect.
Open the projection calculatorExpandCollapse
Estimate the future value of a regular monthly contribution that is reinvested (the effect of compound interest).
What actually reaches you each month, after tax and social contributions.
1%16%30%
Classic benchmark — Around 10%: the basis of solid, lasting savings.
Amount invested every month
€220
that is 10% of €2,200 — transferred automatically, ideally on payday.
Return assumption
Profile: a diversified long-term portfolio (e.g. an equity/bond ETF). NOT guaranteed: the return varies and negative years are possible. Risk of capital loss.
Illustrative projection
Assumptions, not guarantees
Total paid in (your money)Simple interest (not reinvested)Snowball effect (reinvested)
- 1 year€2,701Paid in€2,640Simple int.€61Compound int.€61
Reinvesting brings in €1 more(the snowball)
- 5 years€14,961Paid in€13,200Simple int.€1,623Compound int.€1,761
Reinvesting brings in €139 more(the snowball)
- 10 years€34,162Paid in€26,400Simple int.€6,545Compound int.€7,762
Reinvesting brings in €1,217 more(the snowball)
- 30 years€183,097Paid in€79,200Simple int.€59,235Compound int.€103,897
Reinvesting brings in €44,662 more(the snowball)
- 50 years€587,103Paid in€132,000Simple int.€164,725Compound int.€455,103
Reinvesting brings in €290,378 more(the snowball)
Look at the orange share: over 30 or 50 years, the interest often ends up exceeding the money you paid in. That is the snowball effect.
Does this pace of €220 a month speak to you? The journey simulator picks it up as it is — your income and your 10% share already filled in — to help you split it according to your risk profile.
Carry this amount over to the simulatorPre-filled on this device only (never sent to our servers), and editable at any time in the journey.
An illustration, not a promise
- The rates shown are ILLUSTRATIVE ASSUMPTIONS chosen for teaching purposes, not observed market rates and not promised ones.
- Past performance is no guide to future performance.
- Apart from the regulated savings passbooks (Livret A, LDDS, LEP), every investment carries a risk of capital loss.
- The amounts are gross: they take account of neither inflation, nor taxation, nor fees, all of which reduce the real result.
- A constant rate is a simplification: in reality returns vary from one year to the next.
- This is an educational tool, not personalised investment advice. Before deciding, do your own research and, if you need to, consult a professional.
Gross amounts (before inflation, taxation and fees) and a rate assumed to be constant, which never happens in reality.
What if you invested… passively?
The calmest way to bring this projection to life is to make it automatic: you set a share of your salary, it leaves on its own by standing order to a platform that invests it for you — regularly, without you having to think about it. Nothing to steer: you simply watch your savings grow, safely.
- 1.A fixed share of your salaryYou settle on a percentage you can sustain (e.g. ~10%) that you set aside as soon as you are paid, before spending it.
- 2.Automatic transfersA standing order sends it off on its own, every month, to your bank or investment platform.
- 3.The platform invests for you (DCA)It invests that amount at regular intervals — DCA (dollar cost averaging) smooths the entry price over time, with no need to pick “the right moment”.
- 4.You keep an eye on it, without steeringNothing to do day to day: you take a look now and then and you let time and regularity do the work.
Automating helps you keep going over time; it does not remove the risk of loss. Diversify, keep an emergency fund available and check the current fees on the official site before opening an account.
Simple vs compound interest
Just one question: do your interest payments go back to work too?
Simple
Your interest is set aside. Only your initial contribution keeps working.
Compound
Your interest joins the capital and goes to work in its turn: the base grows on its own. That is the snowball effect.
In practice: let your gains build up and favour accumulating funds (the « Acc » share class, which reinvests income instead of paying it out). The more time passes, the wider the gap gets.
Step 2 · Know yourself
What kind of saver are you?
Before choosing where to put your money, it is better to know who you are as a saver: your time horizon, your relationship with risk, your capacity to set money aside. A few questions are enough — a reference point to guide you, never a personalised recommendation.
Start from what you already hold (or what you plan to put in): this benchmark helps you place your risk profile and how far along you are, and to spot any over-concentration. It never tells you what to buy and it promises no return.
How much do you hold (or plan to put) in each class?
Livret A, LDDS, LEP (French regulated savings passbooks), fonds euros (the capital-guaranteed fund of a French assurance-vie), bonds
SCPI (French unlisted property funds — “paper property”), property crowdfunding
Stock market, diversified ETFs, PEA (French tax-advantaged equity savings plan)
PEE and PER collectif (French employee savings and collective retirement plans), employer matching
Private capital, equity crowdfunding
Crypto-assets, highly volatile
Purely informative: this text is not analysed and influences no calculation.
Enter an amount in at least one class to see your profile, your level and any concentration warnings.
An educational marker, not advice
- No return is promised or guaranteed: risky classes can lose value, including a large part of the capital.
- The profile, the level and the warnings are generic benchmarks, in no way personalised investment advice.
- The concentration warning is an aid to thinking, not a diagnosis: it is for you to decide in the light of your own situation.
- Diversifying does not remove risk, it spreads it. Always check the fees, the taxation and the authorisations (AMF/ACPR — the French financial markets and prudential regulators) before investing.
Your entries are remembered on this device only (never sent to our servers).
The three compasses not to confuse
Three scales cross in this path, and they are easy to mix up. Each one answers a different question: a low-risk investment can call for a demanding move, and the reverse is true as well.
Difficulty is about the move you make.
- 1/3 · Easy
- 2/3 · Intermediate
- 3/3 · Advanced
Your level is about you.
- Beginner
- Comfortable
- Independent
The path in 11 steps
One step, one page: move at your own pace
Each step now has its own page, short and readable on a phone. You can follow them in order or pick the one that speaks to you — nothing forces you to read it all at once.
Step 1
Structure
How much to invest each month, how to split it
You will know how much you can set aside without putting yourself at risk.
Step 2
Understand the investments
Every investment, from the safest to the riskiest
You will be able to place any investment on the scale, from the safest to the riskiest.
Step 3
Choose by difficulty
Where to start, from the simplest to the most demanding
You will avoid starting with an investment that is too technical for you today.
Step 4
Contribute regularly
DCA and the other contribution methods
You will stop watching for “the right moment”: the automatic transfer does it for you.
Step 5
Build the right habits
Emergency savings, consistency, diversification
You will adopt the habits that protect your money from the costliest mistakes.
Step 6
Let tools help you
Round-ups, automatic DCA, cashback
You will set money aside without thinking about it, even in the months when you do not think about it.
Step 7
Adopt the right mindset
Saving little by little, outsmarting the mental traps
You will outsmart the mental traps that make people give up after three months.
Step 8
Take stock of your profile
Time horizon, relationship with risk, saving capacity
You will have a clear reference point to guide you, instead of copying your neighbour’s.
Step 9
Activate employee savings
PEE (company savings plan), collective PER (retirement savings plan) and employer matching
You will know whether your employer adds money to yours — often the best first move.
Step 10
Understand employee share ownership
Being paid in shares, without betting everything on your employer
You will know how to benefit from your company’s shares without putting all your eggs in one basket.
Step 11
Explore the other routes
The rest of the landscape, from cautious to speculative
You will see at a glance what appeals to you… and what can wait.
Four typical situations: which one looks like you?ExpandCollapse
Four ways into the journey
Situation inventée, à visée pédagogiqueThese four situations are made up, but the paths through them are real: each one goes through the same steps of the journey, in a different order. Spot the one that looks like you — and notice that none of them promises a result: only the path counts.
Léa, 23
On an apprenticeship contract, first small pay packet, no investments at all. She thinks that “investing is for later, when you earn a decent living”.
« With what I earn, there is no point starting. »
Their path through the journey
- Step 7 · Adopt the right mindset
She starts with the mindset section and comes across the trap “I do not earn enough to save” — and its answer: the habit counts for more than the amount.
- Step 6 · Let tools help you
She switches on a round-up tool on her payments and sets €5 aside with every apprenticeship payment: invisible day to day, but the habit exists.
- Step 5 · Build the right habits
She adopts the first good habit: building her emergency pot before any investment.
- Step 1 · Structure
When her budget settles, she will come back to the simulator to turn that €5 into a real monthly split.
What changes: The amount is tiny, but the habit is in place — it will grow with her income, with no extra willpower required.
Karim, 34
Permanent employee at a small company. A letter about épargne salariale (the French employee savings schemes) has been sitting in a drawer since he was hired — he has never dared open it.
« PEE, abondement, intéressement… those words mean nothing to me. »
Their path through the journey
- Step 9 · Activate employee savings
He goes straight to the épargne salariale step, reads the focus on abondement (employer matching), then asks HR for the company agreement to find out the rules of his own plan.
- Step 1 · Structure
He then uses the simulator to settle the share of his salary he can set aside each month without going short.
- Step 4 · Contribute regularly
He discovers scheduled contributions and automates his transfer on payday — no more having to think about it.
- Step 8 · Take stock of your profile
He finishes with the profile check, to make sure his split matches his time horizon and his relationship with risk.
What changes: The letter is no longer a mystery: he knows what his company offers, what is locked up and until when — and he decides with his eyes open.
Sophie, 41
Freelance graphic designer, irregular income. She has a well-filled livret (French regulated savings passbook) but has never done anything else, for fear of getting it wrong.
« With no fixed salary, all the “on payday” advice means nothing to me. »
Their path through the journey
- Step 7 · Adopt the right mindset
She finds the “no payday” ritual: a percentage set aside on every client payment, and a savings check-in on a fixed date.
- Step 2 · Understand the investments
She goes through the investments ranked by risk to place what exists beyond her livret — without opening anything yet.
- Step 3 · Choose by difficulty
With the difficulty compass, she spots a first simple move, within her reach this very month.
- Step 8 · Take stock of your profile
She takes stock of her profile: time horizon, tolerance for swings, saving capacity in a lean month.
What changes: Her fear of getting it wrong is replaced by a method: a percentage on every payment received, a first simple move, and the rest at her own pace.
Maël et Jade, 29
A couple for five years, separate accounts. Money is the one subject they never really talk about.
« We do not have the same salaries or the same wishes — where do we start without falling out? »
Their path through the journey
- Step 7 · Adopt the right mindset
Together they read the traps of “money as a couple” and adopt the monthly money check-in: 15 minutes, no blame.
- Step 1 · Structure
Each of them goes through the simulator separately: a share matched to THEIR own income — no single amount imposed on the couple.
- Step 5 · Build the right habits
They set themselves a first shared goal using the good habits: the household emergency pot.
- Step 6 · Let tools help you
To put words into action, each of them switches on a small automatic contribution — €10 or €20 depending on their budget.
What changes: Money is no longer taboo: a regular check-in, a shared goal, and two different rhythms moving in the same direction.
To go further
The deeper dives of the path
Cross-cutting subjects that are not steps, but that you meet sooner or later: what it costs, how it is executed, which wrapper to hold what in, and what the first year feels like.
The real cost
Fees, layer by layer
What quietly eats into your performance: the layers of fees, their cumulative effect and how to spot them in a price list.
Placing an order
Order types and the order book
Buying or selling always goes through an order — and its type changes everything: a price you control or a price you take, execution guaranteed or not. Understanding is not trading.
Spot or leverage
Spot or derivatives: the difference that changes everything
Actually owning an asset, or betting on its price with leverage: two worlds, two levels of risk — the visual comparison from the path.
Choosing your wrapper
PEA, assurance-vie, PER: which container to hold what in
Each tax “container” has its own horizon and its own rules. You choose the wrapper before the products you put in it, according to your goals — not the other way round.
Discipline
Taking profits, diversifying, DYOR
Five habits that protect without promising anything. Discipline does not make an investment safe; it stops you adding your own mistakes to market risk.
Your first 12 months
What you will feel during the first year
The typical journey through a first year — the experience, not the technique — so that nothing you feel takes you by surprise.
Once your wrappers are open, bring your accounts together and find the forms that concern you — generic information, never a tax calculation.
Before you get started
Beginners’ questions
The questions everyone asks when they arrive — with short, honest answers that point to the pages of the path if you want to go deeper. Nothing here is personalised investment advice.
Do you need a lot of money to start investing?
No: consistency counts for more than the starting amount, and many products accept small contributions. The simulator at the top of the page helps you settle on a reasonable share of your budget — without ever telling you what to buy.
Is it serious if it falls in the first month?
No, it is even expected: investments that fluctuate regularly fall in the short term. What matters is your time horizon — the mindset section of the path helps you get through those dips without panic-selling.
Emergency savings or a PEA (French equity savings plan): which comes first?
The foundation first: emergency savings that are available and risk-free, for the unexpected. You only invest in products that fluctuate (PEA, ETFs…) once that cushion is in place — the order counts for more than the speed.
How do you check that an investment site is authorised?
Check that the firm appears on the official registers — Regafi (the French register of financial firms) for financial institutions, the lists published by the AMF (the French financial markets regulator) for brokers and crypto platforms — and that it does not appear on the AMF blacklist. A promise of a “guaranteed” return is a sign of a scam.
Can I really lose money?
Yes: apart from regulated savings passbooks and guaranteed products, capital is never guaranteed and can fall. Diversification and a long horizon reduce that risk without removing it — that is why you only invest money you do not need in the short term.
Should you wait for “the right moment” to get started?
Nobody can predict the markets — not even professionals. Regular scheduled contributions smooth the purchase price over time and save you from watching for an ideal moment that does not exist; the methods section of the path sets them out.
Is investing only for experts?
No: the basic ideas are learned step by step, and they are enough to start cautiously. The glossary and the How to invest guides are designed to start from zero, one term and one step at a time.
How long should you leave your money invested?
It depends on your plans: this is what the investment horizon means. The longer the money can stay invested, the more you can consider products that fluctuate; for a near-term need, you stay in products that are available and risk-free. Take stock with the profile section of this page.
Over to you
From the map to the ground
You have the method and the overall picture. Next: go deeper into each product in our guides, then compare the offers to choose where to open your wrapper — fees, bonuses and referral deals to back it up, in full independence.