Long-term Serbian state bonds in dinars have been available to international investors through Euroclear since yesterday, which has once again raised the question of changing the domestic financial market, as well as how citizens view their own savings today. While money in Serbia is still most commonly kept in banks or invested in real estate, citizens now also have access to bonds, investment funds, gold, and stock market indices, and certain types of investments do not require tens of thousands of euros.
Nikola Stakić, portfolio manager at Eclectica Capital and university professor, explains to Blic TV that the inclusion of domestic state bonds in the international system is primarily significant for Serbia and large institutional investors.
What Euroclear means for Serbia
Stakić explains that bonds are a type of debt. They are securities that can be issued by governments, companies, municipalities, and other institutions. An investor who buys a bond effectively becomes a creditor, whilst the issuer undertakes to pay them interest and ultimately return the principal amount.
Regarding long-term Serbian dinar state bonds and their availability via Euroclear, Stakić highlights that this change is more significant for the state and the domestic financial market than directly for individual citizens. Today, bonds are maintained as electronic records, and their inclusion in the international system enables large investment and pension funds, as well as asset managers, to trade Serbian state bonds more simply and efficiently.
In other words, the path to Serbian bonds has been simplified for foreign investors, as they can carry out purchases and sales through the international system without needing to open accounts with local institutions. This also increases market liquidity – namely, the ability to buy and sell bonds more easily.
Whether foreign investors will actually buy Serbian bonds depends on the risk-to-yield ratio. If they judge that the interest rate or yield they can achieve is sufficiently attractive relative to the risk they are taking on, there will be interest in purchasing them.
It is also significant for Serbia that these bonds are denominated in dinars. Stakić explains that it is more favourable for the state when it succeeds in borrowing in its own currency, as borrowing in euros or dollars carries currency risk. If, for instance, the euro were to strengthen significantly against the dinar, settling euro-denominated obligations would require allocating more dinars.
People in Serbia still trust banks and real estate investments the most
Despite the expanding range of financial products, Serbian citizens remain strongly attached to two traditional methods of saving and investing money: bank savings and real estate. Stakić points out that a large proportion of money remains in current accounts, even when it yields no interest.
“When you take the whole pie of total savings in Serbia, more than half (60%) consists of deposits that yield no interest at all. As for real estate investments, we have sociological factors where we prefer to buy or invest only in what is tangible, what we can reach out and touch with our own hands,” says Stakić.
Real estate, however, has limitations that become particularly evident when prices are high. Aside from requiring substantial initial capital to purchase an apartment, an owner cannot quickly liquidate just a portion of their investment if they need cash.
“If you want to buy a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Belgrade, you know how much money you need. Tomorrow, if you wanted to access some cash, you couldn’t sell just the bathroom or the bedroom because you only need a fraction of the money. With financial assets, it’s different. Entry barriers are lower, and tomorrow you can sell precisely the amount you need. You can’t sell a piece of an apartment or half a garage,” Stakić explains.
Funds and gold as alternatives
One option for citizens who do not wish or know how to trade on their own is investment funds. Money from a large number of people is pooled into these funds, while experts further invest those resources into specific assets. Depending on the type of fund, these can include shares, bonds, gold, or a combination of various instruments.
Investing in gold itself no longer has to mean buying coins or bullion. Paper/financial gold also exists, offering the opportunity to invest indirectly through funds.
“Gold doesn’t yield what is known as passive income. There’s no rent as with real estate, no interest as with bonds, and no dividends as with shares; your profit depends entirely on the difference between the purchase and selling price down the line. But in any case, gold is one of the most important asset classes that should form part of your portfolio,” says Stakić.
It is precisely the distribution of money across different asset classes – diversification – that is one of the key principles he insists upon. As he explains, even buying several apartments in the same location does not mean an investor has spread their risk; all the money is still effectively placed in the same basket.
You have €10,000 – Where to start?
When asked what someone with, for instance, €10,000 in savings should do, Stakić stresses that he cannot give specific investment advice, but he recommends that beginners take financial education as their very first step, rather than buying any specific product.
“I can offer one general piece of advice. The first step is education – financial education. Start with yourself, begin reading on your own. There are many financial gurus promising quick, overnight earnings,” warns Stakić.
He advises citizens to consult official financial institutions and check the registers of the Securities Commission and the National Bank of Serbia, particularly if they are beginners.
“Someone might think they know, or actually know, how to trade on the financial market independently, but if they are a beginner – and the majority of people in Serbia will be beginners – they should turn to official financial institutions. Start from there and take it slowly, but don’t rush in based on success stories we hear, because behind every success story you hear, there are 99 unsuccessful ones that, naturally, nobody wants to share,” Stakić says.
You can start with €50 or €100
Investing, however, is not reserved solely for people with tens or hundreds of thousands of euros. While high thresholds exist for certain investments, Stakić expects that a culture of regularly investing smaller amounts will increasingly develop in Serbia.
“I want to believe that in three to five years we will adopt those positive Western values – so that in future, just as people used to buy a gold coin when a child was born, we will pay into an index fund according to what we can afford, whether that is 50, 100, or 200 euros a month, forget about that money, and let time do its work, because history shows how much can be earned. That doesn’t mean history will repeat itself, but pay in every month an amount that won’t hurt, that you can leave aside, and let’s see where we are in 10, 15, or 20 years,” says Stakić.
The essence of such an approach, he emphasises, is not the promise of easy money, but financial discipline: regularly setting aside funds that a citizen does not need for day-to-day expenses, and taking a long-term view of investing.
(Blic, 03.09.2026)