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In this paper, we present a newly generated data set on real returns of households’ aggregated asset holdings, which adds additional and more sophisticated information to existing relevant datasets in the literature. To do this, we draw on various datasets from public and private sources and then transform and combine them in a consistent manner that allows for international comparative and intertemporal analyses. Based on this, we address two current debates on the development of household wealth in the euro area that have been triggered by the low-interest environment. The first debate refers to the development of real yields on household wealth from 2000 to 2018, whereas the second debate deals with the mean-variance efficiency of household portfolios. Contrary to widespread belief, we find that yields on total wealth, which were largely dominated by non-financial assets’ yields, were mostly positive, although they exhibit a declining trend. Moreover, on average, overall real yields were significantly lower after 2008. Referring to portfolio efficiency, we find that current portfolios seem to be comparatively close to mean-variance efficiency. If households were to optimize their portfolios despite limited room for improvement, holdings of equity and investment fund shares should be reduced, contradicting common recommendations of financial advisors.

ZusammenfassungSparer mit niedrigen Vermögen leiden unter der Geldpolitik der EZB besonders stark, wird häufig kritisiert. Deshalb untersuchen die Autoren die realen Renditen, die deutsche und österreichische Haushalte verschiedener finanzieller Vermögensgruppen in Zeiten extrem niedriger Zinssätze erzielen. In allen Gruppen gingen die Renditen zurück, allerdings weniger deutlich als angenommen. Außerdem zeigt sich, dass reiche Haushalte besonders betroffen sind, auch wenn ihre Renditen heute noch höher liegen als die ärmerer Haushalte. Während die allgemeinen Entwicklungen ähnlich sind, ist das Ertragsniveau in Österreich durchweg niedriger als in Deutschland. Ursache dafür ist vor allem die unterschiedliche Vermögensstruktur. Die Wirtschaftspolitik sollte daher eine höhere Diversifizierung der Vermögenswerte anstreben und dies insbesondere für ärmere Haushalte, indem die finanzielle Bildung effektiv verbessert wird.

This paper examines the real return that households in large euro area countries achieved with their financial portfolios since the onset of the euro. A newly compiled dataset shows that, contrary to widespread belief, overall real returns did not decline in the low interest environment. Indeed with the exception of Italy, they increased on average between 2008–2017. The determinants for this development, however, differ between the countries under consideration.