Finanztest

The FINANZtest magazine (formerly Financial Test) is a consumer magazine. The book belongs next to the magazine test and the website test.de to the three brands of the Stiftung Warentest.

Financial data to test

Financial test exists since 1991. The journal is published monthly since 1997, currently at an average paid circulation of 234,000 copies. Of these, around 195,000 copies are delivered to subscribers and about 39,000 sold on newsstands. The publication is ad -free, in order to ensure their independence from the party.

Chief editor of the magazine since 1999, Hermann -Josef Tenhagen. The magazine financial test is divided into five subject areas: law and life, investments and retirement plans, construction and housing, taxes, health care and insurance. It publishes tests of financial services such as insurance, investment products and loans and gives advice on tax and legal issues. A service section compares month -interest savings, stocks and mutual funds, as well as loans, such as for real estate financing and buying a car.

In the press release of the Stiftung Warentest 20- year anniversary of the financial test, it means that the journal " has brought to a successful German business magazine at this time ." The magazine is read according to an analysis by the Institute for Allensbach every month of 1.3 million people.

Despite its large circulation, the magazine is lacking in many lists of best-selling business magazines. They are based on data from the information community to determine the distribution of advertising IVW. The IVW detected only publications that serve as an advertising medium. The magazine financial test is not among them because it is ad -free.

In addition to the monthly magazine Finanztest published several times a year under the brand Finanztest special special issues, such as special taxes, special home, special self-employed and special Riester pension. In December each year the financial test year book of short versions of the tests and topics of the year appears. All tests and reports can also online - retrieve - subject to charge. There offers financial test as part of so-called Product Finder also constantly updated data for investment funds and statutory health insurance funds.

Operation and Effect

The data and test judgments, which are published in the financial test, go back to the work of scientists from their own home. The testers analyze the financial and insurance deals with scientific methods. Whether car insurance, Riester pension or investment funds - published in 2012, 46 investigations of financial services in financial test.

As always companies do not want to be tested and therefore refuse to provide information, the Stiftung Warentest goes in their studies for financial test since 1997, new ways that make them less dependent on the investigated companies. Scientists evaluate, for example, annual reports and databases that rely on private information providers and contact freelancers as a test client.

Trained testers are specifically used for many tests of services. In 2010, financial test tested with their help, for example, the investment advice of banks and service of the statutory health insurance ( financial test 8/2010 and 9/ 2010). In 2009, test customers were traveling to collect fees when withdrawing money and to test the quality of insurance intermediaries.

The tests show effect on providers and policy. " In financial services, consumer- unfriendly products such as some tariffs private health insurer for bad marks have disappeared from the market and the provider of disability insurance have accepted more customer-friendly conditions for the conclusion of an insurance company after repeated criticism ," reported the Board of Stiftung Warentest, Werner Brinkmann, in the press conference 40th anniversary of Stiftung Warentest on 3 December 2004.

In 2010, Susanne Meunier and Beate -Kathrin Bextermöller with her ​​contribution " disability: Rarely as desired " (published in Finanztest July 2010) prize at the Helmut Schmidt Prize for Journalists.

In December 2010, the Federal Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner announced that it intends to use covert government investigators to the bank control. Preceded this step were several studies in financial test, in which the Stiftung Warentest undercover test customers had sent in investment advice from banks.

Advertise with test results

From 1 July 2013 the advertising with test results Stiftung Warentest is chargeable. The license for advertising on the product, in promotional materials, advertisements and the Internet can be purchased for one year at a price of 7,000 euros, for two years at a price of 10,000 euros. Including TV and cinema advertising, the user fee for one year is 15,000 euros, in the term of two years it is 25,000 euros. Prior to July 2013 only 500 euro fee was due.

With the licensing of the Stiftung Warentest, the nonprofit company RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification commissioned.

Since these logos have a great advertising effect, they are used by some providers abusive.

Financial test is exposed to the reproach that from July 1, 2013 valid license model creates the incentive to give as many products the best possible grades.

Logo of the journal financial test, horizontal, wide

Logo of FINANZtest magazine, portrait

Riester pension - errors and consequences

In 2002, the Stiftung Warentest had insurance quotes for the Riester pension calculated incorrectly and published in financial test. Then the test the support was withdrawn, repeated and re-released with correct results in the following edition. The correct results were also provided free in the network. It was the first time in the then 40 - year history of the Stiftung Warentest that one of its periodicals had to be withdrawn with test results.

Hermann -Josef Tenhagen as the editorial chief publicly apologized for the error. The follow-up book with the corrected information was with more than 100,000 sold at the newsstand copies of the best-selling title in 2002.

Since 2005 published financial test every year to current tests Riester pension insurance, Riester fund savings plans and Riester bank savings plans. Since the introduction of residential Riester, the financial experts of the Stiftung Warentest test also Riester Riester loans and savings plans for financial test.

In 2007, the December issue of financial test for the Riester pension insurance sold nearly 100,000 copies on newsstands. Among all tests of financial services, this test made ​​in 2007 for the largest resonance, because the investigation showed that the amounts of future pension depends heavily on the quality of the offer.