The DAX’s superb final spurt in the fourth quarter of last year provided yet another visible boost to gross financial assets of German households. At yearend 2010, financial assets came to an estimated EUR 4.88 trillion, up from EUR 4.67 trillion a year earlier. On the back of the fourth-quarter stock market rally, the valuation losses incurred in the crisis year 2008 were further offset. The other important factor behind the journey of financial assets to new record highs was the Germans’ strong tendency to save persistently.