September arrives with a paradox for Italian savers. On the one hand, inflation continues to erode the value of money left idle, on the other, the return of rates to higher levels has restored interest in instruments that for years seemed almost forgotten, from Bots to deposit accounts, while stock markets and gold arrive in autumn after a rush that makes it more complicated to enter without wondering about the price you are paying.
The question, therefore, is not only where to invest in September, but above all what function that money should have. Liquidity that can be used in a few months, capital to be preserved for two or three years and savings intended to remain invested for a long time cannot be treated in the same way. And this is where late summer photography gets interesting.
Leaving money in the account today has a cost
The first number to look at does not come from the stock exchanges, but from Istat. In July, Italian inflation stood at 2.9% on an annual basis, slightly slowing down compared to 3% in June but still at levels sufficient to impact the purchasing power of that part of assets which remains completely unproductive.
The comparison with what banks on average recognize regarding liquidity is eloquent. According to the ABI monthly report, in June the average rate on current accounts was 0.31%, while on new fixed term deposits it rose to 2.31%. The average rate on total bank deposits stood at 0.67%. They are system averages, of course, and there may be different offers on the market, but the distance compared to inflation explains why keeping large sums in the current account due to simple inertia can translate into a progressive erosion of their real value.
Liquidity remains essential for unexpected expenses and for money that will have to be used shortly, but in 2026 it will make sense again to separate immediate availability from capital that will not be needed in the coming months.
Bot, the short term is interesting again
It is probably on short-term government bonds that the change in scenario appears most clearly. In the August 12 auction, the Treasury placed 8 billion euros of twelve-month BOTs, with a simple weighted average gross yield of 2.768%, up eight basis points compared to the previous auction. Demand reached 11.57 billion, with a coverage ratio of 1.45.
It is not a sufficient return, taken in isolation, to guarantee protection from the current inflation of 2.9%, especially considering taxation, but it restores in the short term a remuneration that in the years of rates close to zero seemed to belong to another era.
For Italian government bonds, the advantage of the preferential taxation of 12.5% remains, compared to the 26% normally applied to the interest of many other financial instruments.
The Bot, however, should not be confused with a current account. It especially makes sense for sums that you know you won’t have to use before the deadline; those who need to sell the security early should instead compare themselves with the price expressed by the market at that moment.
The BTP above 4% is back in the spotlight
On the longest stretch of the curve the number is even more evident. At the close of August 24, the yield on the Italian 10-year BTP stood at 4.07%, while that of the German Bund of the same duration was 3.25%. The spread between the two securities ended the session at 82 basis points.
That yield above 4% has an undoubted power of attraction for savers accustomed for years to much more modest returns, but it is also the point at which one of the most frequent misunderstandings must be avoided: high yield and absence of risk are not synonymous. Those who purchase a long-term bond with the intention of holding it until repayment find themselves in a different situation from those who might be forced to sell it first, because the price of the security can move significantly as interest rates change.
And rates remain one of the great variables of the autumn. After the 25 basis point increase decided in June, in July the ECB left the rate on deposits unchanged at 2.25%, the rate on main refinancing operations at 2.40% and the rate on marginal refinancing operations at 2.65%, reiterating that it did not want to anticipate a pre-established path for the next decisions.
Translated for investors: locking a return for many years today may be interesting if rates were to fall in the future, but the valuation changes if inflation forces central banks to maintain a restrictive monetary policy for longer.
Piazza Affari has already risen almost 17% in 2026
Then there is the stock market, which remains one of the instruments with the greatest growth potential in the long term but also the one in which fluctuations can be most painful for those who invest money that they may need in the short term.
The Ftse Mib closed on August 24 at 52,542.18 points, down 0.24% in the session. At the end of 2025 the main Piazza Affari index was worth 44,944.54 points: the progress since the beginning of the year is therefore equal to approximately 16.9%.
It is an important race, which also comes after an already very positive 2025. But saying that the stock market has risen does not automatically mean that it has become too expensive, just as a price list at the highest does not necessarily imply that it is destined to fall.
The point rather concerns the time horizon. Entering stocks with money needed in six months or a year means exposing yourself to the possibility that a market correction will arrive just at the moment in which that capital will have to be used. For long-term savings, it becomes more important to diversify by geographic areas, sectors and entry times, avoiding concentrating everything on the market or financial trend that has just recorded the best performances.
Gold above 4,670 dollars: safe haven asset, but not without risk
The other great protagonist of the end of summer is gold. On August 24, the spot price rose to $4,673.20 an ounce, hitting its highest level in more than three months. Supporting the run were, among other factors, the weakening of the dollar, the decline in American yields and renewed investor demand.
It is precisely this function that traditionally makes the precious metal interesting within an asset: not so much producing an income flow, because gold does not pay coupons or dividends, but rather contributing to diversification and sometimes taking on a protective function in phases of greater financial or geopolitical tension.
Here too, however, there is a mistake to avoid. Considering it automatically safe because it is gold means ignoring that its price can rise and fall significantly and that, for a European investor, the exchange rate trend between the euro and the dollar also comes into play. It is a diversification tool, not necessarily the place to move all your savings when uncertainty increases.
The real strategy for September: give your money a deadline
This is perhaps the most important difference compared to the years of zero rates. Today there is no longer just the alternative between leaving the money in the current account and accepting the risk of the stock market: in the middle, a range of instruments capable of offering a nominal return has returned to exist.
The first portion must remain that of liquidity, i.e. the money needed for current expenses, emergencies and upcoming objectives, for which availability and security come before performance. For the capital that will not be needed in the following months, the field of time deposits, BOTs and bonds with maturities consistent with the moment in which that money will have to be used opens up. Finally, there is truly long-term assets, those that can afford to survive even the negative phases of the markets and in which diversified shares and, with different functions, assets such as gold can find space.
In short, in September, the point is not to guess what the winning investment of the autumn will be, but to prevent money intended for completely different objectives from remaining parked in the same place. With inflation at 2.9%, annual BOTs at 2.768% gross, the ten-year BTP above 4% and Piazza Affari rising by almost 17% since the beginning of the year, even not deciding has become a financial decision.
