answers your questions

Absolutely nothing. That may sound odd, but it’s exactly the essence of Calm Capital Control — our way of investing that ignores short-term noise and keeps its focus stoically fixed on the horizon: your investment goal.

Many people feel the urge to “step out” during a crash. That might sound wise, but there’s one thing we know for sure: you lock in a loss, and you also pay transaction costs, both of which eat into your capital. And when markets start rising again, chances are high you’ll step back in too late — meaning you’ve missed out on part of the recovery.

Let’s compare this “active” stepping in and out with doing nothing:
The passive investor pays no transaction costs and avoids locking in a loss. More importantly, they’re never too late to benefit from the rebound. They ride the full recovery. In the end, that simply leads to better returns.

This isn’t just our opinion — it’s a fact. At Stoic, we base everything on facts, and this approach is supported by numerous studies. You can read more about the difference between active and passive investing in our blog article.

Time horizon matters
The ‘do nothing’ strategy only works when you’re investing for the longer term. That’s what gives markets the time they need to recover. Analysis of past market crashes shows that — in the worst-case scenario — it can take up to ten years for a global index to return to its pre-crash level. So if you started investing just before the crash, you’ll need to wait ten years. If you started earlier, you’ll reach your original value sooner. But the key is: you need time.

A small nuance: we still monitor your portfolio
We’re not completely inactive. If your portfolio becomes unbalanced — for example, if equities fall and shift the ratio between stocks and bonds — we rebalance it. That way, your portfolio stays in line with the profile you chose.

At Stoic, we’re not too worried about crashes. From our Stoic perspective, short-term prices are completely unpredictable — but over the long term, the global economy always grows.

Crash. Panic. Carry on. That’s the idea.
In fact, a crash is arguably the best time to start investing. More on that in the next question >>.

It might sound self-serving — a wealth manager telling you that now, during the biggest crash since 2008, is the right time to invest. But this is not marketing talk. It is, in fact, the most rational thing to do. Here’s why:

During a crash, prices fall to extreme lows. That means you’re buying something today that used to cost a lot more — essentially getting a front-row seat for the price of a back one. But wait — isn’t that just another form of prediction? Something we at Stoic claim we don’t do? If we say it’s wise to invest now because prices will go up later, aren’t we forecasting?

Yes, that’s a fair point. Which is why we don’t say you should buy stocks now because they’re “cheap” or “undervalued.” We simply can’t know that.

What we do say is this: if you have money you don’t need for the next several years, now is a sensible moment to invest. Because history shows that this gives you the highest probability of long-term growth.

Past crash analysis tells us it can take up to 10 years in the worst-case scenario for markets to recover to pre-crash levels. If you’re unlucky enough to invest right before a crash, you’ll need patience — potentially 10 years. But the historical average shows recovery usually takes much less time. So if you invest during a crash, when prices are already low, odds are good you’ll see positive growth in even less time.

Either way, the smartest move is to put excess cash — money you don’t need in the short term — into a globally diversified equity portfolio.

The current minimum starting amount is 200,000 euros.

Absolutely. Just read this blog article. It shows that at Stoic, we achieve (much) better returns than the average Dutch asset manager. How?
Here’s the deal: many active investors try to "beat the market" — meaning they try to pick just the right stocks that will outperform. The underperforming stocks are, of course, left out. The goal is to outperform the average return of the entire market, which includes both winners and losers. But today, stock prices are influenced by so many unpredictable factors that — in our view — forecasting them is impossible. Active investing has become little more than guesswork. Sometimes you're lucky, but more often you're not. And over the long term, this hit-and-miss approach usually delivers weaker returns. That’s why we at Stoic ignore the noise. We spread your capital as broadly as possible across the global economy — and then barely touch it. Share prices may be unpredictable, but the global economy grows over time. We follow the market. Study after study shows this is best for your return. We know — it’s boring. But it’s the hard truth.

The term “wealth management” is often associated with constantly being busy with your portfolio: discussing strategy, stepping in and out of stocks, re-evaluating, tweaking, adjusting. A lot of activity.
But at Stoic, we do very little.
We invest your capital once — broadly across the global economy — and then we leave it alone.
The only thing we do is check in each quarter to see if everything is still on track. We monitor whether the balance between equities and bonds still matches your agreed profile. Elsewhere on our site, you can read why this extremely passive approach is not only better for your returns, but also for your peace of mind.
We don’t get distracted by the news of the day. We don’t actively “manage” — we simply control, calmly.
That’s why we call it Calm Capital Control.
Want to know more about the difference between active investing, passive investing, and our approach?
Read this article.

It means that once your capital is invested — in our case, as broadly as possible across the global economy — we hardly trade at all. We don’t let ourselves be distracted by short-term market noise. Because in the long run, doing nothing delivers far better returns than constantly moving in and out of stocks.
Here’s an example to explain how that works:
During a market crash, like the recent one during the COVID crisis, many people feel the urge to “step out for a moment.” That might sound reasonable — but one thing is certain: you lock in a loss, and on top of that you pay transaction costs. Together, those two things erode your capital. And when prices start rising again, you’re likely to get back in too late — which means you miss part of the rebound.
That constant in-and-out behaviour is what we call active investing.
Now compare that with passive investing — the strategy of doing nothing.
The passive investor avoids transaction costs and doesn’t lock in any losses. Plus, the passive investor never misses the rebound — they ride the entire recovery. Over time, this approach simply delivers more return.
And this is not just our opinion. It’s a fact. At Stoic, we base our strategy on facts — and this approach is supported by countless studies.

You do need time for passive investing.
One thing is essential: your time horizon.
The “do nothing” strategy works perfectly when you’re investing long term. That gives the market time to recover from a crash.
History shows that, in the worst-case scenario, it can take up to ten years for a global index to return to its pre-crash level. So if you happened to invest just before the crash, you’ll need patience. But if you started earlier, you’ll reach your entry level much sooner. Either way, you need time.
That’s why at Stoic, we don’t jump in and out of stocks. We spread your capital across the global economy — and then we hardly touch it.
Because in our Stoic, passive view of investing, short-term market moves are completely unpredictable. But the global economy always grows in the long run.
That’s what we stick to.

By the way:
There are plenty of asset managers who claim to invest passively — but in our view, they don’t actually do it.
Read more about that in this blog article.

Yes, what we do can definitely be called index investing.
Here’s some context: we don’t invest your entire portfolio in an index. Our portfolios always consist of a risk-bearing part (equities) and a low-risk part (bonds).

The risk-bearing part is always fully invested in the MSCI All Country World Index, the index that represents all listed stocks worldwide. We do this because individual stock prices are unpredictable. In our view, trying to forecast them is pointless. But the global economy always grows over the long term, so we simply spread your capital across the entire world economy.

The low-risk part is not invested in an index. That portion goes into low-risk bonds, such as government loans with a fixed interest rate. The certainty of a bond lies in the fact that you know exactly in advance what return you’ll receive, in the form of interest on the capital you’ve effectively loaned out.

How much risk you take determines your mix.
The more risk you’re willing to take, the higher the equity portion of your portfolio. Our portfolio names reflect that percentage.
For example, the Stoic 70 profile consists of 70% global equities and 30% bonds.

You can afford to take more risk the longer you can do without your money.
History shows that most market crashes recover within ten years.
So any capital you don’t need for ten years or more can be invested — with relatively low risk — in global equities.
Any capital you need sooner is always invested in bonds.
After all, you don’t want to risk needing your money right after a crash.

Certainly: if you have some skill with index investing, you can simply invest your capital in the MSCI All Country World Index yourself. However, there are two important ways in which Stoic makes a difference: first, thanks to our scale, we can achieve much lower costs, which leaves more return. And over the years, that adds up significantly. But the second point may be even more important: as an individual, it is very difficult to protect yourself from your own emotions. That’s why we do it for you.

With Stoic, you stay in control of your emotions
If during a crash you see your portfolio drop more than 30% (which actually happened in 2008), one thing is certain: you panic and want to get out — as quickly as possible. But scientific research proves that staying invested (or even buying more) is a much wiser decision. And in strong markets, hardly anyone can resist the urge to take some profit — even though that money might be needed to sit out tougher times later on.

At Stoic, we invest solely based on facts and reason. Of course, you remain in charge of your money, but we offer you insight into the hard facts — helping you avoid the poor decisions mentioned earlier. That’s how we protect you from your own emotions.

That’s exactly why we’re called 'Stoic': our name is based on the ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism, which holds that freeing oneself from emotions is essential to living well.

We are asset managers (or rather: Calm Capital Controllers), but not a bank. Our investment policy helps you allocate your capital in the best possible way. But the actual transactions, the required bank account, and compliance with strict financial regulations — all of that is handled through Saxo.

We chose Saxo because they offer solid service at the lowest cost. If another provider emerges that offers the same legally regulated services for a lower price, we will certainly consider switching. After all, costs weigh heavily on your return. So the lower the cost, the more return you keep.

Fancy events, golf tournaments, expensive bottles of wine at Christmas, an impressive office with marble interiors on an Amsterdam canal — if that’s what you expect from your asset manager, then we’re probably not the right fit. At Stoic, we do everything we can to keep costs as low as possible, and these things are (very) expensive. In the end, you pay the price through higher management fees that eat into your return.

What do we do instead? We might organise a best practices session on investing in startups. Many of our clients are interested in using part of their capital (the portion not invested with Stoic) to support other entrepreneurs. An event like that can be highly insightful — but you simply pay the cost of participating yourself.

Over the years, we developed a distinct and unconventional view on wealth management. We were so enthusiastic about it that we wanted to find a better way to communicate it — and we also wanted to grow. Both goals led us to one clear conclusion: building a real brand was essential. A strong brand identity helps us convey our message clearly, even at a distance.

We chose the name Stoic, based on Stoic philosophy, which we believe best reflects our view on investing. Stoicism is an ancient Greek school of thought, built on the principle that people must free themselves from emotion to live well. The Stoic moves through life with calm clarity, remaining above the noise of events.

The Stoics followed three key rules:

• emotions cloud judgment and obscure facts

• what cannot be controlled should be ignored

• always stay focused on the goal: the point on the horizon

And that’s exactly how we handle capital.
Money is emotion — but not with us.
We manage capital as rationally as possible.

Yes, we fully recognise that markets are driven by emotion. But we don’t let ourselves be guided by it.
We keep our focus stoically fixed on your long-term investment goal.

In fact, we don’t do all that much.
We don’t jump in and out of the market.
We simply invest your capital safely and broadly — and let it grow along with inflation and the global economy.

It’s not really asset management anymore.
It’s Calm Capital Control — our new brand promise.

A new brand name deserves a new visual identity.
We chose a design language that reflects the essence of our service: calm.
Lots of space, lots of quiet, lots of white.
The metaphorical point on the horizon — the Stoic’s focus — plays a central visual role. And the blue tones are a nod to our former name: Blu Asset Management.

Now you know.

We believe that with Stoic as a strong brand, we can convince even more people that “doing nothing” is actually the best way to achieve strong long-term returns.

Yes, this approach is so simple that anyone with some experience in index investing could manage it on their own. And that’s true — except for two key things:

1. Our scale allows us to keep costs extremely low, which means more return for you.

2. And more importantly: most individuals struggle to protect themselves from their own emotions.

That’s exactly why Stoic exists.

Returns are unpredictable — but costs are a fact.
High costs can wipe out even a strong return.
That’s why at Stoic we constantly look for ways to keep costs as low as possible.

We achieve this by using an extremely passive investment strategy, which means very little trading — and therefore low transaction costs. In addition, our high level of automation improves efficiency, which further reduces costs.

2% may sound low — but it’s not. You’re forgetting the compound effect, also known as the power of compounding — what Einstein once called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Just as your capital can grow exponentially over time by earning returns on an ever-larger sum, high fees can erode your wealth in the exact same way — just in reverse. The result: your return disappears, while your asset manager quietly profits. That’s a fact.

Here’s a simple example:
Suppose you invest €1,000,000 in equities that deliver a steady 5% return per year. But you pay 2% annually in management fees. After 30 years, your net capital (after deducting 2% in fees each year) will have grown to €2,427,262. Sounds decent, right?
Now suppose you had paid only 0.7% in fees. That same €1,000,000 would have grown to €3,536,138. That means your asset manager earned €1,108,786 more from you over those years than a manager charging just 0.7%. That’s more than your original investment — gone. This example shows exactly why low costs are so important. For your return. And for your peace of mind.

At Stoic, annual costs consist of a management fee plus the costs related to Saxo’s services and the index funds we use. All in all, we offer one of the lowest total fees in the market. Under the ‘Costs’ menu, you’ll find a cost calculator where you can estimate what you’ll pay with us — and compare it to other managers.

Here’s how the costs break down:

Management fee
This is 0.42% per year of your invested capital (including VAT).

Custody fee – Saxo Bank
We use Saxo’s services: your account is opened with them, and they ensure full legal compliance, secure processing, and safekeeping of your assets. They charge a custody fee, which we pass on to you at cost. These fees decrease as your invested capital increases.

Transaction fees – Saxo
Actual trades are executed by Saxo on our instruction. They charge transaction fees, which we also pass on to you at cost.

Spread costs
On the exchange, there’s always a difference between the buying and selling price. This is known as the ‘spread’, and it results in implicit costs when trading.

Instrument costs
These are the costs associated with the index funds or bond funds we use at Stoic. These costs are deducted within the fund itself, so you won’t see them as separate charges — but they are included in your total cost.

Under financial regulation (MiFID II), every asset manager is required to clearly disclose all costs a client pays annually. This includes not only the management fee, but also fund costs, transaction fees, custody charges, and implicit trading costs. You should be able to find these total costs in your quarterly or annual report from your current asset manager. Sometimes you’ll have to dig — especially when the costs are on the high side. Which might tell you something…

Every asset manager uses their own naming for risk profiles. What one manager calls ‘neutral’ might be called ‘moderately defensive’ by another. Not very helpful. Our suggestion: look up the equity percentage in each portfolio.
As a rule of thumb, the higher the percentage of equities (and the lower the percentage of bonds), the riskier the profile — and vice versa. At Stoic, we’ve kept it simple. Our profiles are named after the equity percentage. For example, the Stoic 50 profile is roughly 50% invested in equities. In everyday terms, this would typically be called ‘neutral’.
However, some asset managers may place 50% in equities even in what they call a ‘moderately defensive’ profile.
In that case, Stoic 50 would best be compared to that so-called ‘moderately defensive’ profile.
Want to see how our results stack up? This blog article compares Stoic’s returns with the average Dutch asset manager.

In principle, yes.
But unfortunately, not all bonds are truly low-risk.
It’s possible that the 50% bond allocation in your manager’s portfolio carries the same level of risk as equities.

That would mean the risk profile of their so-called ‘neutral’ 50/50 portfolio is actually closer to our Stoic 70.

This is a classic example of the financial sector’s notorious lack of transparency.
There’s not much we can do about that — but know that at Stoic, the vast majority of bonds we use are genuinely low-risk.

Of course. With our analysis software, we can immediately show you the risk level of your current portfolio and compare it to our profiles and to the broader market. Feel free to contact us — no strings attached.

The facts show that recovering from a market crash or recession usually takes no more than 10 years. So if you can miss your money for longer than that, the risk of your investments being worth less than at the time you started is very low. In the meantime, you still collect dividend payouts, and the value of your shares continues to grow steadily with inflation. This approach does mean you must be willing to endure significant market swings along the way. You can trust us to help you keep a cool head in those moments — that’s what we’re here for. We’re called Stoic for a reason.

Because within that 10-year window, there’s still a chance that a market crash or recession hasn’t fully recovered. If that happens, your investments could be worth less than when you started — which means a loss.

That’s why we advise putting any money you’ll need sooner than 10 years into low-risk bonds. They currently yield more than a savings account. And they’re also much safer. Here’s why:

Money in a savings account is protected by the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme. This system, backed by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), guarantees up to €100,000 per person per bank in the event of a bank failure — something we came dangerously close to in 2008.

Anything above that €100,000 limit is not protected. If the bank collapses, you lose it. So if you want to hold more than that in cash, it makes sense to spread it over multiple accounts.

But if your balance exceeds, say, €200,000, that becomes impractical — or even impossible. That’s why at Stoic we invest all the capital you’ll need within 10 years in low-risk bonds. No matter what happens, you always hold a tradable security.

This low-risk part of your portfolio consists of bonds with very high credit ratings — only AAA-rated bonds. This way, you can be confident your money will still be there when you need it.

Bonds are often seen as “low-risk.” After all, unlike shares that can rise or fall unpredictably, a bond is essentially a loan with a fixed return in the form of interest. Sounds safe.

But what many people don’t realise is that some bonds carry significant risk.
Take high-yield bonds, for example, these are issued by companies with poor credit ratings. Or convertible bonds, which can be turned into shares, making them less stable.

Government bonds, on the other hand, have a reputation for being extremely low-risk. A government can always print money in a crisis to meet its obligations. But even that has limits — it doesn’t apply to government bonds from emerging markets. For example, Brazil issues bonds in U.S. dollars. If its economy suffers, the government can’t print dollars to repay those bonds — and that creates risk.

At Stoic, we invest your capital as broadly as possible across the global economy — which includes riskier bonds.
But we clearly separate them: riskier bonds belong in the risky part of the portfolio, alongside equities. The low-risk part of your portfolio consists only of genuinely low-risk bonds. Guaranteed. You can read more about our bond approach here.

All our portfolios are fully diversified across the global economy.
They are distinguished by a number — that number represents the percentage of equities in the total portfolio. So the Stoic 50 profile contains approximately 50% equities, and the Stoic 10 profile contains 10% equities. Roughly speaking: the higher the number, the larger the share of equities. More equities means more potential volatility — and with that, a greater chance of higher returns.

This naming system removes the emotional framing that many other managers use.
There, you’ll often find labels like neutral, offensive, or defensive. That may lead you to think: “I’ll go with the neutral profile — that feels safe.”

But if you can do without your capital for more than 10 years, the facts tell us that would be a poor choice.
Our neutral, factual profile names help you make decisions based on reason — not emotion.

No. All profiles contain the same stocks.
Because stock prices are highly unpredictable, we spread every Stoic portfolio across the entire global economy — based on the MSCI All Country World Index. The only difference is the percentage of equities: Stoic 30 consists of 30% equities, Stoic 70 of 70%. The lower the equity percentage, the lower the risk — and vice versa.

No. All profiles contain the same bonds.

Every manager defines their profile labels differently. What we call a 'neutral' profile might be labelled 'moderately defensive' by another provider — which can be quite confusing. Our advice: look at the actual equity percentage in the various profiles or portfolios. At Stoic, our profiles are simply named after the percentage of equities they contain. The 'neutral' Stoic 50 profile consists of about 50% equities. But you may find that at another asset manager, it's not the 'neutral' but the 'moderately defensive' profile that holds 50% equities. In that case, you should compare our Stoic 50 to their 'moderately defensive' profile.

The deposit guarantee scheme from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) guarantees that you will get your money back if your bank goes bankrupt — something we came close to in 2008. This applies up to a maximum of €100,000.

At Stoic, we advise keeping all the money you will need within the next 10 years in a savings account at your bank.
Amounts over €100,000 should be spread across multiple accounts. But if your balance exceeds €200,000, that quickly becomes impractical — and sometimes even impossible.

That’s why at Stoic, we invest amounts from €200,000 — which you’ll need within ten years — in low-risk bonds.

No, they cannot. Money can only be transferred to a bank account in your name that you have provided. In other words, you always retain full control over your money and your assets. The people at Stoic can only adjust the investments within the boundaries of the investment profile agreed with you.

If Saxo (or any bank) goes bankrupt, it has no impact on your invested assets. Securities are held separately in a custodian entity, so your investments remain safe even in the event of a bank’s insolvency. For cash holdings (such as savings and deposits), the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme applies. If Saxo goes bankrupt, De Nederlandsche Bank guarantees up to €100,000 per account holder. This applies to all banks licensed in the Netherlands, including Saxo.

Nothing at all. We don’t hold your investments ourselves — they are kept in custody at Saxo.
In the unfortunate event that we go bankrupt, you can simply choose to manage your investments directly through Saxo, transfer them to another bank, or continue with a different asset manager.

Of course. As an investment firm, Stoic holds a license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), which allows us to manage your capital. The AFM is the official financial regulator in the Netherlands.
Stoic is also supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), which monitors the financial sector’s stability.

Yes, Stoic is affiliated with Kifid. Stoic has accepted that Kifid’s rulings are binding. Stoic’s Kifid registration number is: 400.000.358.

A LEI code is an internationally standardised identifier that financial institutions must obtain from their business clients as of 3 January 2018. Institutions are required to include this code in every report involving financial transactions. The LEI is used to identify parties involved in a transaction, such as investment trades. In the Netherlands, LEI codes are issued and registered by the Chamber of Commerce (KvK). Supervision of LEI usage falls under the AFM.

A LEI code can be requested through the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK). Once your application is submitted, you will receive an invoice. After payment is received, the KvK will issue your LEI code within 10 working days.

You’ll need your passport and citizen service number (BSN) to register. We’ll also ask you for a financial overview and some additional information about your income. You can pause the registration process at any time and resume it later if you need more time to gather documents. Due to legal requirements, registering with a financial service provider always involves some paperwork, but thanks to smart automation, we’ve made the process relatively straightforward.

In principle, all Stoic clients are classified as retail investors.
Stoic is legally required to classify each client based on the level of investor protection and the type of information that must be provided.

There are three categories:

• Professional investor

• Eligible counterparty

• Retail investor

Retail investors receive the highest level of protection and the most information.
But this also means more information must be provided to Stoic during onboarding.

Stoic mainly serves high-net-worth individuals and similar clients.
While it is legally possible to opt for another category, Stoic has chosen to offer its services exclusively under the highest level of protection — meaning all clients are classified as retail investors.

If you wish to be classified as a professional investor, please contact Stoic before opening an account.

100%. We use your information solely to serve you properly and to meet the legal obligations for financial institutions. We do not share your data with anyone else, and we fully comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

No. We do not take negative sustainability impacts into account.

There are several reasons for this. Stoic believes it is extremely difficult to predict the future. Identifying the right factors in advance to make the right investment decisions is practically impossible — and that includes ESG factors. Especially when you consider that the available data in this area is still very limited.

By investing in all companies and letting the market itself determine the outcome over time, we are confident that the market portfolio will gradually allocate more weight to companies that are progressive in terms of ESG performance.

In addition, Stoic believes that excluding companies is less effective than engaging with those that need to improve. The funds we use to achieve global diversification are very active in stewardship, engagement, and governance. We believe this ultimately has more impact on ESG progress than simply excluding companies or trying to guess which ones will perform well in the future.

Jazeker. Dit kan echter alleen via de website van Stoic, door te gaan naar https://stoic.money/inloggen. Voor de duidelijkheid: u kunt niet zelf naar de Saxo website gaan om daar in te loggen. De omgevingen van de vermogensbeheerklanten bij Saxo en de rechtstreekse klanten bij Saxo zijn namelijk gescheiden.

U kunt een nieuw wachtwoord aanvragen onderaan de inlogvelden die verschijnen als u via de Stoic website (https://stoic.money/inloggen) naar de Saxo omgeving gaat. U klikt dan op ‘Forgot your password/Wachtwoord vergeten’. Vervolgens vult u uw bij Saxo/Stoic geregistreerde e-mail in en uw gebruikersnaam (8 cijfers). Merk op dat uw gebruikersnaam kan afwijken van uw rekeningnummer (ook 8 cijfers). Klik daarna op ‘Continue/Doorgaan’ en u ontvangt op het ingevulde e-mailadres een bericht om een nieuw wachtwoord aan te maken. Als u een nieuw wachtwoord heeft aangemaakt dient u via de Stoic website (https://stoic.money/inloggen) in te loggen met het nieuwe wachtwoord.

U kunt een nieuw wachtwoord aanvragen onderaan de inlogvelden die verschijnen als u via de Stoic site (https://stoic.money/inloggen) naar de Stoic omgeving gaat. U klikt rechtsonder op ‘Wachtwoord vergeten?’ en vervolgens vult u uw bij Stoic geregistreerde e-mail in. Klik daarna op ‘Versturen’ en u ontvangt op het ingevulde e-mailadres een bericht om een nieuw wachtwoord aan te maken. U wordt automatisch weer doorgeleid naar de Stoic inlogpagina en kunt inloggen met het nieuwe wachtwoord.