Germany faces a massive investment task: modernising infrastructure, supporting innovation and securing retirement outcomes in an ageing society. In this episode of Sound of Finance, our colleague Dr. Johannes Branahl speaks with Arved Kolle, Managing Director from AFME, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, about how capital markets can help mobilise long-term funding—often cited as roughly €1.4 trillion by 2030—if the right incentives, products and reforms are put in place. We discuss the investment gap, household participation, the startup ecosystem, demographic pressures, and what policymakers should prioritise next. Key takeaways • Why closing Germany’s long-term investment gap requires both public action and private capital at scale. • How product innovation and better investor access can increase household participation in capital markets. • What needs to change to channel capital more efficiently—across sectors and across EU member states. • Why a stronger startup and scale-up ecosystem depends on deeper pools of risk capital. • How demographic trends increase urgency for pension reform—and what that means for capital market policy. • A practical lens on current proposals (including the ‘Altersvorsorge Depot’) and the trade-offs policymakers face.