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Malta · Investment Projection

What does your portfolio become?

By Ian Grima Mahoney · Updated May 2026

Project the post-tax value of an ETF / index-fund portfolio for a Malta-resident investor. Models the TER drag, expected return, and Malta's 15% Investment Income Provisions tax on the capital gain at disposal. Data current as of April 2026.

Projecting an ETF portfolio for a Malta-resident investor needs three details that generic projection tools tend to mishandle: monthly compounding (not annual — the difference is meaningful at 25-year horizons), TER drag subtracted from gross return before compounding, and Malta's 15% Investment Income Provisions tax on the realised capital gain at disposal — Malta doesn't tax accumulating funds annually for resident investors, so the entire growth period compounds tax-free. The calculator keeps gross-vs-net contributions explicit and shows the post-tax payout for any TER you enter.

€
Set to €0 to model pure DCA; set monthly to €0 to model pure lump-sum.
€
7.0%
0.19%
WEBN: 0.07% · VWCE: 0.19% · IWDA: 0.20% · typical active fund: 1.0–1.8%
25 years
AFI = redeem through a Malta-licensed broker / fund administrator.

Frequently asked questions

How does compounding actually work in this projection?

The calculator compounds your portfolio month by month at the equivalent monthly rate of your chosen annual return — for a 7% annual return, that's roughly 0.565% per month. Each month it deducts the TER as a separate proportional drag (a 0.19% annual TER is ~0.016% per month).

Your monthly contribution is added at the start of each month, so it earns that month's growth.

Over a 25-year horizon, monthly compounding produces a slightly higher terminal value than annual compounding at the same nominal rate — the difference is small but real, and it's why DCA-style monthly investing is modelled this way.

What is the TER and why does it matter so much?

TER (Total Expense Ratio) is the annual percentage the fund charges to operate. It's deducted from the fund's NAV continuously, so you never see it on a statement — but it compounds against you.

Globally-diversified UCITS exist at the very low end: WEBN (Amundi Prime All Country World) at 0.07%, VWCE (Vanguard FTSE All-World) at 0.19%, IWDA (iShares Core MSCI World) at 0.20%. Actively-managed equivalents often charge 1–2%. Over 25 years a 1% TER difference compounds into roughly a 22% smaller terminal portfolio, all else equal.

The "TER cost over horizon" figure in the breakdown shows this counterfactually: how much more you'd have if the same investment charged 0% TER. For most Maltese DIY investors, sticking to a single low-TER world-equity ETF is the highest-leverage decision available.

How does Maltese tax apply when I cash out?

A Malta-resident individual holding foreign UCITS or ETFs (which Malta classifies as non-prescribed collective investment schemes) has two routes at disposal under the Investment Income Provisions:

  • Route 1 — AFI 15% (final). Redeem through a Malta-licensed Authorised Financial Intermediary (AFI). The AFI deducts 15% from the capital gain (sale value minus contributions) and the matter ends there — the gain doesn't appear on your tax return.
  • Route 2 — declare at marginal. Opt out of the AFI route, declare the gain on your income tax return, and pay your marginal rate (up to 35%). Worse for most.

Your contributed capital comes back tax-free in either case. Locally-listed Malta Stock Exchange securities have a separate exemption and are not modelled here.

What return rate should I assume?

There's no single right answer. As reference points:

  • Global passive equity, multi-decade: 6–7% real / 9–10% nominal
  • Balanced 60/40 stocks & bonds: 4–5% real
  • Cash deposit: 0–2% real

The default 7% reflects a long-horizon all-equity assumption and is gross of inflation — if you prefer real terms, dial back by your assumed inflation rate (typically 2–2.5%).

Try the calculator at 4%, 6%, and 8%. The terminal value is the single biggest dial in the model — a 2-percentage-point swing routinely doubles or halves the result.

Is this lump-sum investing or dollar-cost averaging?

Both, optionally. The calculator takes an initial lump sum invested immediately at year zero, plus a recurring monthly contribution that flows in over the horizon.

  • Set monthly to €0 → pure lump-sum.
  • Set initial to €0 → pure DCA from scratch.
  • Both non-zero → realistic "I have €X to invest now and €Y/mo going forward".

Empirically, lump-sum has historically beaten DCA in roughly 2 out of 3 rolling windows — but DCA reduces the regret of bad timing, which is the more important consideration for many investors. The calculator doesn't opine — it just shows the math for whichever combination you choose.

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