A beginner's investment portfolio is built around time horizon, not returns: money needed within 3 years is kept in hryvnia government bonds (OVDP) and on deposit; for 3-10 years you add a foreign currency share, equity funds and a little gold; for 10 years or more broad equity funds (ETFs) become the core. You can start with UAH 1,000 a month, but only after building an emergency fund and paying off expensive debt. Once a year the portfolio is brought back to its chosen proportions, preferably with new contributions rather than by selling.
Andrii Kolisnyk
17 min read
A portfolio is a way of placing money so that every hryvnia sits in an instrument that matches its time horizon and goal. Money for a renovation next year and money for retirement in 30 years are different money, and keeping them in one instrument means either taking needless risk with the first or earning too little on the second.
The second reason is that risks in Ukraine differ in nature, and no single instrument protects against all of them at once:
Spreading money across several instruments works like insurance: when one falls, the others usually hold steady or rise. The past year shows this well.
Let us compare what the owner of UAH 100,000 would have got in different instruments from late October 2025 to late October 2026, and set it against inflation.
| Instrument | Change over the year in hryvnias | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 12-month hryvnia deposit (current average rate, after tax) | +11.0% | UIRD rate at the end of October 2026, taxes 23% |
| Military government bonds (auction yield) | +15.16% | Tax-free; the yield is fixed at purchase |
| Cash dollars | +8.3% | Change in the NBU official rate from 29.10.2025 to 29.10.2026 |
| Dollar deposit | +9.3% | Exchange rate plus 1.17% a year before tax |
| Gold | +7.7% | NBU official price, excluding the buy-sell spread |
| For comparison: inflation | 10% | September 2026 on September 2025 |
Over this year the dollar and gold returned less in hryvnias than inflation, while hryvnia government bonds and deposits beat it. In 2022 the picture was the opposite: the hryvnia fell sharply and foreign currency saved people's savings. No one knows in advance what next year will look like, which is why a portfolio holds several instruments at once.
A beginner in Ukraine needs four types of instrument. Each has its own role, and one should not replace another.
The average rate on 12-month hryvnia deposits is 14.29% a year, or about 11.0% after 18% income tax and 5% military levy. A deposit is easy to open in an app, and the money is guaranteed by the Deposit Guarantee Fund: in full during martial law, and afterwards up to UAH 600,000 per depositor at one bank. Its role in the portfolio: short-term goals and a reserve you can reach quickly.
Ukrainian government bonds (OVDP) can be bought via the Diia app or a bank from UAH 1,000 each. Military bond yields at Ministry of Finance auctions are 15.16-15.18%, and neither income tax nor military levy is paid on them. So at the same rate, bonds return more than a deposit. The downside is that the money comes back on the maturity date: before that a bond can only be sold at market price. A detailed comparison and step-by-step purchase are covered in our article on a deposit vs government bonds.
There are also foreign currency bonds in dollars and euros, also tax-free. For the currency share of a portfolio they are usually better than a currency deposit, whose rates are close to zero: the average rate on one-year dollar deposits is 1.17%.
An exchange-traded fund on a broad index, such as the S&P 500 or the world market, gives you a share in hundreds of companies for the price of one unit. It is the only one of the four blocks that can significantly outpace inflation over the long term, thanks to growing company profits. The price is volatility: in crisis years such funds lost a third of their value or more, and recovery took years. So only money that will not be needed for at least 7-10 years goes here.
Index funds are the best choice for a beginner not because they are fashionable. According to the SPIVA report, 89.5% of active US large-cap funds trailed the S&P 500 over 15 years. How to buy such a fund from Ukraine, what restrictions apply and how to pay tax is explained in our article on ETFs and index funds.
Gold pays no interest and may not rise for years, but it usually gains in crises when other assets fall. In a portfolio it is an insurance policy: 5-10% of the value, no more. According to a State Tax Service clarification of September 2026, income from selling bank metals bought from a bank is not taxed. How to buy gold and how much you lose on the difference between buying and selling prices is covered in our article on investing in gold.
| Instrument | Role | Risk | When you can take the money | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hryvnia deposit | Short-term goals, reserve | Low, Deposit Guarantee Fund | At the end of the term, some deposits at any time | 18% + 5%, withheld by the bank |
| Hryvnia government bonds | Core of the hryvnia share | Low, the state | On maturity or by selling at market price | None |
| Currency bonds, currency deposit | Protection from devaluation | Low for savings in currency | As for hryvnia equivalents | Bonds none, deposit 18% + 5% |
| Broad-market ETF | Growth over 10+ years | High over short periods | Any time by selling, but you may sell at a loss | 18% + 5% on profit, dividends 9% + 5% |
| Bank gold | Crisis insurance | Medium, the price fluctuates | Any time, losing the spread | Not taxed (State Tax Service clarification) |
The main rule: the closer the goal, the fewer shares it holds. Below are three example portfolios for different horizons. They are a starting point rather than personal advice, to adjust to your goals, currency expenses and peace of mind.
A renovation, a car, a housing down payment soon. There are no shares here at all: a 30% fall a year before the purchase would wreck the plan. The core is hryvnia government bonds maturing before the goal date (so you are sure to get the face value and interest) and a deposit for the part that may be needed sooner. A currency share is added if the goal is tied to the exchange rate, for example a car from abroad.
A child's education, housing, your own business. Equity funds and gold appear, but the core is still hryvnia and foreign currency. Over 3-10 years the stock market usually recovers from a fall, but not always, so keep your ETF share at a level whose one-third fall you could live through without panic.
Retirement, financial independence, capital for your children. Here equity funds are the core, because over the long term they deliver the highest real return. The hryvnia and currency shares smooth out swings and provide a reserve to buy more shares during falls. As the goal gets closer, the equity share is gradually moved into government bonds: for example, 5-10 percentage points a year starting 5 years before the goal.
The currency share is set by what your future expenses are in; exchange rate forecasts do not help here. If you plan to live and spend in Ukraine, the core of the portfolio can be in hryvnias: hryvnia instruments now pay much more than currency ones. If the goal is in dollars or euros (studying abroad, an imported car), the currency share should match that goal. An ETF on the US market is also a currency asset: it is valued in dollars, so it partly protects against devaluation. How to work out the exchange rate at which a hryvnia deposit loses to a dollar one is explained in our article on a hryvnia or dollar deposit.
If you buy government bonds for the whole amount with one maturity, you tie your money to a single date and a single rate. A ladder solves both problems: the amount is split into several parts with different maturities.
For the hryvnia share of a 3-10 year portfolio, a bond ladder effectively replaces a deposit: access to money is regular and the income is tax-free.
Suppose you put aside UAH 5,000 every month for a goal 10 years away and chose the middle portfolio: 50% hryvnia, 20% currency, 20% ETF, 10% gold. The monthly contribution is split like this:
| Where | Amount per month | How to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Hryvnia bonds and deposit | UAH 2,500 | Bonds in Diia or at a bank; part on a top-up deposit |
| Currency bonds or currency | UAH 1,000 | Every few months, once there is enough for several bonds |
| Broad-market ETF | UAH 1,000 | Monthly or quarterly, to pay fewer fees |
| Bank gold | UAH 500 | Every six months in a larger amount, to lose less on the spread |
What this delivers depends on the portfolio's real return, that is, its return above inflation. No one can guarantee it, so here are three scenarios in today's prices:
| Real return per year | After 10 years | After 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| 0% (inflation protection only) | UAH 600,000 | UAH 1,200,000 |
| 2% | UAH 662,984 | UAH 1,471,158 |
| 4% | UAH 733,480 | UAH 1,819,209 |
Even the "zero" scenario is a success. The same UAH 600,000 kept under the mattress would, with 10% annual inflation, buy after 10 years only as much as UAH 388,353 buys today: a loss of more than a third. And the difference between 10 and 20 years is bigger than between 0% and 4%: time works harder than the rate. Plug in your own figures in the compound interest calculator.
For a beginner, choosing the fund matters more than choosing the moment to buy. A few criteria to check before your first purchase:
One or two broad funds are enough for decades. Every additional fund in a portfolio should answer the question of what new diversification it adds.
Instruments grow at different speeds, and within a year or two a portfolio drifts. If shares have risen strongly, their share grows, and with it a risk you did not choose.
Selling funds at a profit means tax: 18% income tax and 5% military levy on the profit. So for a beginner the better way is to rebalance with new contributions: for a few months direct your monthly contributions only to the instruments whose share has fallen behind. Sell only when the gap is large, for example more than 5-10 percentage points.
Rebalancing instils discipline: you automatically sell what has risen and buy what has fallen. That is the opposite of what emotions suggest, which is exactly why it works.
The practical conclusion: in the hryvnia share, government bonds beat a deposit at the same rate, and accumulating funds (reinvesting dividends) are more convenient for the long term, because tax is paid only on sale.
The well-known "4% rule" says that if you withdraw 4% of the portfolio's starting value each year, adjusted for inflation, the money is very likely to last 30 years. Hence a simple formula: the capital you need equals annual expenses multiplied by 25. For expenses of UAH 30,000 a month that is UAH 360,000 a year and UAH 9,000,000 of capital in today's prices.
The rule was derived from historical US market data for a portfolio with a large share of US equities. A Ukrainian needs to adjust it for tax on profit when selling, currency risk and higher inflation. So it is sensible to plan for a more conservative withdrawal rate, such as 3-3.5%, and to treat the rule as a guide to the scale of the goal rather than a guarantee.
Investors lose most money on decisions made under the influence of the news, and less on bad instruments. The protection is simple: write down the rules before the market tests them. A few lines are enough:
Re-read the plan once a year and change it only when your goals or circumstances have changed, not the news.
Checked against official sources on October 28, 2026. If a figure changes, we update the article and the «Updated» date changes automatically.
This material is for information only and is not individual investment advice. Example portfolios and calculations are illustrative: past returns do not guarantee future returns, and investments in shares and gold can lose value.
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A beginner's plan: emergency fund, government bonds from UAH 1,000, stocks and funds, taxes, checking a broker and what UAH 1,000 a month becomes over 10 and 20 years.
How exchange-traded and index funds work, what fees cost over 20 years, how to buy an S&P 500 fund from Ukraine within the NBU limit, dividends or reinvestment, and taxes.
Why the same rate gives you different money in hand, how to compare a deposit and bonds in 10 seconds and how to combine the two.