Litigation Funding vs. Savings Accounts 2026: Returns, Security, and Social Impact

Anyone asking this question is in good company. Never before have so many private investors in Germany actively engaged with their investments as in the past three years. The reasons are clear. Inflation, wars, interest rate shifts, geopolitical uncertainty, and the growing awareness that money sitting in a current account quietly loses value over time.

But in 2026, the situation is more complex than ever. Anyone searching for the best investment in 2026 will find a thousand answers, and none of them fits everyone.

At a glance:

• Savings accounts 2026 up to 3.2 percent per year
• Full deposit protection
• Reliable, liquid, low risk
• Litigation funding no guarantee
• Participation potential of 20 to 40 percent of the awarded amount in case of success
• Independent of interest rate decisions, stock market movements, and inflation
• Choice of investment depends on time horizon, available capital, and personal investment goals

1. What Has Changed for Investors in 2025 and 2026?

The major changes over the past two years can be summarized in three key points:

• Interest rates have increased. Savings accounts that delivered almost no returns for years are now offering interest rates that can no longer be ignored.
• The stock market remains volatile. Anyone who was poorly positioned in 2022 or early 2025 felt the impact. The desire for stability is growing.
• Alternative investment options are gaining attention. From micro-investments and crowdfunding to participation in legal cases, private investors are looking for opportunities that are not dependent on the next ECB interest rate decision.

Which Investment Types Are in Demand in 2026?

The market shows clear trends. ETFs remain the most widely used investment for long-term wealth building. Savings accounts are experiencing a comeback among security-focused investors. At the same time, investments that operate independently of markets and interest rates, so-called non-correlated assets, are gaining increasing interest among experienced private investors. Litigation funding is part of this category.

Where Is the Best Place to Invest If Interest Rates Fall Again?

This is the key forward-looking question for 2026. Savings account interest rates are dependent on monetary policy. They may rise today but can fall again tomorrow. Anyone who allocates all their capital to interest-sensitive products is dependent on monetary policy decisions they cannot control.

Investors with a long-term perspective therefore rely on a combination. A liquid safety reserve in savings accounts, complemented by a portion invested in market-independent assets.

2. What Do Savings Accounts Really Deliver in 2026?

For years, savings accounts had a poor reputation and rightly so. Between 2016 and 2022, many banks offered literally zero percent or even negative interest rates on higher balances. That has changed. But how significant is the difference really?

What Are Current Savings Account Interest Rates?

According to a report by Tagesschau from January 2026, the highest promotional interest rates on savings accounts have surpassed the 3 percent mark. While the top rate in September 2025 was still around 2.7 percent, by the end of January 2026 it had reached up to 3.2 percent, exceeding some short-term fixed deposit offers. Market observers are already referring to a small interest rate rally in savings accounts.

That sounds promising. And for short-term investments or as a liquidity reserve, it is. However, these top rates are often tied to conditions, such as being available only to new customers, limited to certain amounts, or valid for just a few months. The average interest rate remains significantly lower.

What Are the Risks of Savings Accounts?

Savings accounts are considered low risk, and that is true in the traditional sense. Deposit protection schemes safeguard balances up to €100,000 per bank and depositor. However, there is one risk that is often overlooked: purchasing power risk. If inflation is around 3 to 4 percent while savings accounts yield only 2 to 3 percent, capital loses real value. This happens gradually and often goes unnoticed, but it is consistent.

In addition, there is interest rate uncertainty. Savings account rates are variable. What seems attractive today can drop to 1 percent tomorrow without warning or protection.

Who Are Savings Accounts Suitable For?

Savings accounts are a good choice for the following purposes:

1. Emergency reserves, typically three to six months of expenses, that must remain accessible at all time
2. Short-term savings goals, where the capital will be needed within one to two years
3. Conservative investors who prioritize nominal capital preservation over return potential
4. A temporary parking place for funds before making another investment decision

For long-term wealth building or achieving returns beyond average market performance, savings accounts alone are not sufficient.

3. What Is the Safest Way to Invest Money?

This question sounds simple, but it isn’t. Because “safety” means different things to different investors.

What Does Safety Mean in Investing?

Safety has two dimensions that are often confused:

Nominal safety means the invested amount is still there in absolute terms. Savings accounts and government bonds provide nominal safety.

Real safety means your money retains the same purchasing power after five or ten years. This is much harder to achieve and often not possible with pure savings products during periods of inflation.

Anyone who takes safety seriously must therefore think beyond nominal value preservation.

What Is the Most Stable Investment and Why Isn’t It Always a Savings Account?

The most stable investment is not a single asset class, but a portfolio of different, ideally uncorrelated positions. Gold is considered a classic store of value. Stocks offer the highest long-term real returns.

Then there are investment types such as litigation funding, which have a unique characteristic. They are not dependent on interest rate decisions, stock market movements, or real estate prices. The outcome of a legal case has nothing to do with the level of the DAX. This makes them a genuine diversification tool.

Deposit Protection vs. Market-Independent Investments: The Difference

4. What Are Safe Investment Options for €100,000?

€100,000 is an amount where investors should think carefully. It is too much to leave idle in a single account and too much to invest blindly into just one position.

Savings Account, Fixed Deposit, ETF – What Can €100,000 Really Deliver?

Scenario A

All in a savings account: At 2.5 percent interest, which is a realistic average for 2026, this results in €2,500 gross per year, minus withholding tax and minus real loss of purchasing power. Safe, but no real wealth growth.

Scenario B

ETF investment: Historically around 7 to 8 percent per year on average over ten years. However, there are fluctuations and market risks. Anyone who invested in 2022 or early 2025 experienced this volatility in their portfolio.

Scenario C

Diversified approach: A liquidity reserve in savings or fixed deposits, a long-term core in ETFs, and a deliberately allocated portion in non-correlated investments such as participation in selected legal cases.

How Should You Allocate €100,000 Wisely?

A rough guideline many experienced private investors follow:

• 20 to 30 percent as a liquid safety reserve in savings accounts or short-term fixed deposits
• 50 to 60 percent in long-term growth positions such as diversified ETFs or potentially real estate
• 10 to 20 percent in alternative, non-correlated investments

The last portion is often overlooked, even though it can significantly improve the overall stability of a portfolio.

IN JUST 5 MINUTES:

REGISTER NOW

IN JUST 5 MINUTES:

REGISTER NOW

In just 5 minutes: Become a sponsor – Your entry into attractive litigation financing opportunities

1

Register as a sponsor

2

Select a case

3

Set the bid amount and quota

4

Provide PayPal or credit card details

5

Participate in the litigation proceeds

Register now for free as a sponsor

Already registered? Go to the cases

How Can You Grow €100,000 Long-Term Without Stock Market Risk?

The honest answer: there is no investment that guarantees high returns without any risk. What does exist are investments with an asymmetric return profile. This means the potential upside in a successful case can be significantly higher than with traditional savings products, even though the risk of loss is real in individual cases. Litigation funding is one example.

5. Litigation Funding as an Alternative to Savings Accounts in Direct Comparison

What is litigation funding and why is it a serious alternative for investors who want to go beyond savings accounts?

How Does Participation in Legal Cases Work as an Alternative Investment?

In litigation funding, private individuals, known as sponsors, provide capital for selected civil cases. The principle is straightforward:

• A claimant has a valid legal claim but cannot fully cover the legal costs
• A litigation funder or a group of sponsors covers these costs
• In case of success, the sponsor receives a pre-agreed share of the awarded amount
• If the case is unsuccessful, the invested capital is lost with no recourse to the claimant

More information: How litigation funding works at AEQUIFIN

What Kind of Returns Are Realistic in Litigation Funding?

A simplified example for context:

• A legal case has a claim value of €800,000
• The claimant agrees with a pool of sponsors on a 30 percent participation
• The total funding volume is €50,000
• An individual sponsor invests €10,000

In a successful outcome:

30 percent of €800,000 equals €240,000 allocated to the sponsor pool
The individual sponsor, holding 20 percent of the pool, receives €48,000
This represents a return of 380 percent on the initial investment

Important: this is only an example. Not every case is successful. The risk of loss is real. Diversification across multiple cases is essential.

Litigation Funding vs. Savings Accounts: What Is the More Stable Investment?

The real question is not which is better, but which is suitable for a specific purpose. Savings accounts are more stable in nominal terms, as deposits are protected up to €100,000. Litigation funding does not offer nominal guarantees but is structurally independent of interest rates, inflation, and stock market movements. Within a diversified portfolio, both serve a purpose, but for different objectives.

6. Social Impact: Why Litigation Funding Is More Than Just an Investment

What Does Social Impact Mean in Investing?

Impact means measurable effect. Not a vague ESG promise, but a concrete outcome directly linked to your capital. With savings accounts, this impact is almost non-existent. Banks use the money, but investors have no transparency about what is actually being financed. Litigation funding is different. You know which case is being funded, who the claimant is, and whether the case was successful.

Why Does Participation in Legal Cases Create Social Impact?

In Germany, many legitimate claims fail every day not because the legal basis is weak, but because funding is missing. Legal and court costs for a dispute with a value of €100,000 can easily exceed €20,000 in the first instance alone. For many private individuals, this is simply unaffordable.

Litigation funding helps to balance this inequality. By financing a case as a sponsor, you enable a claimant to compete on equal footing. Against companies with in-house legal teams. Against institutions with virtually unlimited litigation budgets. This is more than an investment decision. It is a decision that supports fair access to justice.

More on this: Litigation funding as an impact investment

7. Savings Accounts vs. Litigation Funding: A Quick Decision Guide