You’ve saved up €10,000 and are now wondering what the best investment is to make your money grow? It’s urgent to invest €10,000 if you have it, but it’s also completely understandable that you haven’t started sooner. It can be difficult to know which investments to choose when you have a few thousand euros.
Place 10,000 euros in a savings account
Because it is essential to have an emergency fund that will be used to pay all unforeseen bills that need to be met without delay (locksmith, plumber, mechanic), it may be wise to put 10,000 euros in your Livret A savings account, even a little more or a little less. It is customary to say that the amount of precautionary savings should be between 3 and 6 months of expenses for an employee and around 6 to 9 months of income for a self-employed person. This emergency fund will also help you maintain your lifestyle in the event of an accident (unemployment and benefits that are late in being paid, for example).
10,000 euros in savings accounts to finance short-term projects
In addition to precautionary savings, savings accounts are the preferred medium for saving money to finance short-term projects such as financing your vacation, buying a new car, work, etc. In this case, although the deadline is relatively close, the sums to be set aside can be quite large and exceed the ceilings of regulated savings accounts, which are not taxed (€22,950 for the Livret A, €12,000 for the LDDS ). You will then have to turn to classic savings accounts from banks, which are taxed but also allow you to keep your savings intact and immediately available, at net tax rates which are certainly less attractive than regulated savings, but still offer remuneration, which the current account does not allow. Prefer super savings accounts with boosted rates, which will boost the performance of this investment. In the very short term, this is also the best option with rates well above the regulated savings account. Examples include the Cashbee account with a rate of 5% for the first 2 months (then 2.5% thereafter), the Monabanq account with a rate of 4% for 3 months (then 1.00% thereafter), or the Bfor+ Savings account from BforBank with a rate of 3.5% for 3 months (then 1.5% thereafter)*. In addition, welcome bonuses are sometimes paid to new customers, subject to a minimum amount invested in the bank account. Be careful, over 1 year, the attractiveness of these boosted accounts drops, as they offer a maximum return of 2.7% gross, before tax. You could also turn to the best term accounts among the best risk-free investments, but then a capital blockage is associated with this investment.
Save €10,000,, then invest
Be careful not to put too much money into risk-free investments with guaranteed capital (unless you have a planned upcoming expense that requires large amounts). Indeed, even if the return on these investments (2.4% for the Livret A and the LDDS) is higher than inflation, which stands at 1.4% over one year in France in January 2025, it is still preferable to invest the money set aside to finance your long-term projects in riskier investments that will also potentially be much more profitable.
Invest 10,000 euros in life insurance
Life insurance is the preferred investment of the French for good reason. It’s an ultra-accessible solution that offers great flexibility and adapts to all investor profiles and all projects to be financed. Indeed, a life insurance policy is composed of two distinct components:
The euro fund, invested mainly in bonds, low-yielding but guaranteed capital, which allows you to recover all the sums paid in at any time;
aAswell as unit-linked (UC) supports which are riskier, the capital fluctuating according to variations in the financial markets since they allow you to position yourself on the stock market thanks to lively securities, structured products, funds and ETFs but also on the raw materials and bonds market as well as on the real estate market through SCI and SCPI.
Note that the euro fund is ideal for financing short-term projects and/or securing profits, while risky but potentially much more profitable unit-linked funds should be considered over a medium to long-term time horizon. Be careful to choose the best euro fund, with attractive performance, reasonable fees, and capital protection adapted to your investor profile. Thus, depending on your risk profile and the project you wish to finance and its time horizon, you can opt for the most optimal distribution between euro funds and unit-linked funds.
Place 10,000 euros in life insurance on the contract adapted to your investments
To invest 10,000 euros in life insurance effectively, it is essential to choose your life insurance policy carefully. You will need to focus on finding the policy that offers the products you need. If you want to invest exclusively in euro funds, you will need to look for policies that allow this. If you only want to invest a portion of your assets in the euro fund and the rest in unit-linked funds, make sure you choose the best life insurance policy for your project, i.e., a policy that will allow you to benefit from both an attractive return on the euro fund (for example, a boosted rate if you have invested X% of your funds in unit-linked funds) and a range of unit-linked funds that matches your needs.
So, if you want to invest in SCPI and SCI through your life insurance, identify the policies that offer the most comprehensive offerings in this area. If, on the other hand, you want to invest primarily in stocks, particularly in high-yield securities on European and American markets, identify the policies that offer the most comprehensive offerings.
Finally, also consider the possible management methods. If you have little time to devote to your investments and/or you don’t know much about them and have no intention of getting started, it will probably be wise to opt for managed management, which is accessible with an investment of 10,000 euros from almost all online players.
Save 10,000 euros on tax-advantaged life insurance
Investing 10,000 euros in life insurance is also a good way to invest 10,000 euros while benefiting from tax advantages. In fact, after 8 years of holding the policy, if the outstanding balance (all policies combined) does not exceed 150,000 euros for a single person (and 300,000 euros for a couple), the gains are taxed at only 24.7% instead of the 30% flat tax. In addition, after these 8 years of holding, there is an annual allowance on gains of 4,600 euros for a single person and 9,200 euros for a couple.
In addition, life insurance also offers tax advantages in terms of inheritance, particularly for payments made into the policy before the insured person reaches the age of 70. In this case, the beneficiary is exempt from inheritance tax up to €152,500, with a flat-rate tax of 20% above that, then 31.25% above €700,000. For payments made after the age of 70, the beneficiary benefits from an exemption from inheritance tax up to €30,500, and beyond that, taxation applies according to the inheritance tax scale.
Invest 10,000 euros in the stock market with a PEA or a securities account
Save 10,000 euros in a PEA to invest in the stock market
It is also possible for those who wish to gain exposure to the stock markets to invest 10,000 euros in a PEA.. Be sure to use a PEA comparison tool to help you select the best PEA based on your investor profile. You can then use this amount to invest in securities, funds, and ETFs to benefit from the attractiveness of the stock markets over the long term.
However, there are some constraints that must be taken into account by the investor. First, you can only have one PEA per person. It will therefore be necessary to choose the best stockbroker , the least greedy in terms of fees and above all, the one who will offer you the services and tools best suited to your profile.
Then, the PEA has restrictions on eligible securities. Thus, you will only be able to invest in a PEA in companies whose head office is located in the European Union or in another State that is part of the European Economic Area and has concluded a tax treaty with France that includes an administrative assistance clause to combat tax fraud or evasion or an administrative assistance agreement to combat tax fraud and evasion. However, it is still possible to invest in more distant markets through funds such as ETFs that can allow you to position yourself on the American stock market, for example. If you have been able to save 10,000 euros and you are therefore planning to invest 10,000 euros in a PEA, it will indeed be wiser not to limit yourself to the European market and, for the sake of diversification, to also expose yourself to the American markets, or even emerging markets
Also note that the PEA does not allow the use of derivative products, deferred settlement service (S, R short selling.
