Descartes Finance pension experience Descartes Finance fees descartes pension Descartes Finance sustainable pillar 3a review

Precaution with Descartes 3a:

Are sustainable investments risky?

Do you want to build up your pension provision securely and sustainably? Then you've probably already come across Descartes 3a.

What the Descartes precautionary solution special, as they are in terms of Sustainability and why it stands out in Times of crisis has proven to be stable so far? 

You can find out this and more in the following Descartes experience report.

Table of contents

Who is behind Descartes 3a?

Founded in Zurich in 2015, Descartes Finance (DF) has since offered solutions for free investments resp. Robo Advising, Vested benefits accounts and the 3a pension area to.

Founder Adriano Lucatelli and his team are committed to sustainable investing (ESG). Anyone who invests with Descartes 3a knows that this is not just the result of the sustainability hype of recent years. In fact, Descartes is one of the Swiss pioneers when it comes to environmentally friendly investment.

Advantages of column 3a from Descartes

  • Sustainable provision according to ESG
  • Multiple solutions from a single source: Private Pension plan (3a), free investments (3b), vested benefits
  • Consultation on site possible
  • Less risk due to Minimum variance strategy (explained below)
  • Established, independent pension provider (no own products)

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Minimum variance strategy in combination with sustainability

Sustainable investment has become very popular in recent years and probably no longer needs to be explained here. However, the investment strategy in Descartes' pension solution is different.

Let's take another brief look at what risk actually means in the stock market. Risk is fluctuation (also known as volatility). The stock market sometimes goes wild, which unsettles investors.

A Minium variance strategy aims to reduce these fluctuations. While some stocks are known for wild price movements, others tend to be calmer. In this case, the latter are preferably selected in order to achieve a higher proportion of shares to be able to choose, without taking more risk.

descartes pension 3a experience review

Taking a look at the top 10 individual stocks in your Descartes Portfolio you will not find the usual suspects like Apple or Roche at the top. This is classically the case in some well-known indices. In the article about the Swiss Market Index (SMI), for example, you have already read that this index has a poor risk distribution due to a few, large individual stocks.

The Descartes 3a Minimum variance investment strategy in this example does not assign a title with more than 1% Weighting and thus distributes the risk evenly.

This more active approach is implemented in the background by OLZ (FINMA-licensed) and the private bank Lienhardt & Partner Zurich serves as custodian bank.

Available investment models with Descartes 3a

For pillar 3a, Descartes offers Three clearly defined investment models an:

  1. Index model (passive strategy):
    • Ideal for investors who believe in the Efficient market hypothesis believe
    • For those who inexpensive want to invest in a broad range of shares
    • If you value Simplicity and are prepared to accept market fluctuations
  2. Minimum risk model (minimum variance strategy):
    • For risk-averse investorsfor whom stability is more important than maximum return
    • To Hedging against extreme market events
    • If you are orientated towards the long term and More stable return strive for
  3. Minimum-Risk BTC Model (Bitcoin Barbell):
    • The same risk-optimised basis as ‘Minimum Risk’, plus 1 to 5 per cent Bitcoin depending on the risk level
    • For investors who view Bitcoin as a small, managed allocation want to, without buying or reallocating themselves
    • If you have a long-term investment horizon and can cope with greater fluctuations in the proportion of Bitcoin

Important to know: The one from the Invest area The well-known Bitcoin barbell strategy has been around since May 2026 including in Pillar 3a and in the free movement of capital. The Bitcoin exposure is provided via BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP.

Flexibility with up to 5 accounts

At Descartes, you can Up to 5 separate pillar 3a accounts This brings significant benefits for your long-term pension strategy:

  • Staggered withdrawal at retirement age: You can spread your pension capital over several years and thus maximise your retirement savings. Significantly reduce tax burden
  • Various investment strategiesPossibility to select different risk profiles for different time horizons
  • React flexibly to life changesYou can withdraw individual accounts as required (e.g. for home ownership) without cancelling the entire pension plan

This functionality is particularly valuable for anyone who wants to optimise their pension provision. Tax-optimised and flexible want to design.

Descartes 3a Fees

All Descartes 3a fees are clearly listed on the website. They depend on the investment model (as at October 2026):

  • Index model: 0.61% to 0.65% per year. These consist of 0.40% in management fees (0.20% each for Descartes, custody account management and the pension fund) plus 0.21% to 0.25% in product costs (TER).
  • Minimum-risk model: 0.64% to 0.76% per year. These consist of 0.20% in management fees (custodian fees and pension fund) plus 0.44% to 0.56% in product costs (TER).
  • Minimum-Risk BTC model: 0.64% to 0.74% per year. These consist of 0.20% in management fees (custody and pension fund) plus 0.44% to 0.54% in product costs (TER), including the Bitcoin component.

Product costs vary depending on the chosen equity allocation. In the index model, Descartes reduced them in August 2026.

No foreign currency fees (as all funds are purchased in Swiss francs), no spreads, no federal stamp duties, and no issuance and redemption commissions!

Descartes Vorsorge’s fee structure is not only transparent but also extremely fair, thanks to its investment process, which is optimised for Swiss clients. The hidden costs that sometimes arise with other providers do not apply here.

Descartes 3a fees example:

You pay in CHF 7,000 and choose the index model with the maximum equity allocation. The following fees apply:

0.40% management fees + 0.21% TER = CHF 7,000 × 0.61% = approximately CHF 43 per year. If the value of your investment rises or falls, the fees will change accordingly.

How does the Descartes Vorsorge 3a pension compare?

In a pension comparison, the Descartes pension solution proves to be sustainable all-rounder. Many years of experience in the ESG sector with sustainable investments and the minimum variance strategy particularly stand out.

The approach of a digital pension solution and an optional on-site consultation make the offer complete. Especially in Combination with other serviceslike the Descartes precaution Investment or vested benefits, this will be exciting.

So you can depending on Life situation or financial plans your contact person.

The Optimization in fees was made for the benefit of customers and not just for advertising posters.

The question is whether potential customers will also see the benefit of fair fees, or whether convoluted fee structures with hidden costs will attract more customers.

Does this not remind you of the big question of the star investor Warren Buffet: Would you rather be

  1. The best lover in the world, but everyone thinks you are a miserable lover?
  2. The worst lover in the world, but everyone thinks you are a great lover?

 Your answer and your evaluation of Descartes in the comments would interest me!

 

Learn more about Descartes?

Click on the button to find out more about sustainable pillar 3a with Descartes pension provision. You can also find an article about the Descartes Invest solution and their special features.

Visit Descartes now

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3 responses

  1. Dear blogger

    the article is very appealing and I found it on the website of https://descartes.swiss/de-ch/saeule-3a/ once. In the proposed pension plan, the big players NESTLE, Novartis and Roche unfortunately appear among the top 3 in my Descartes 3a pension strategy. That doesn't fit in with the claim to sustainability. Have the criteria changed?

    Many greetings
    Raissa

    Reply

    1. Dear Raissa,

      Thank you for your advice! The topic of ESG (environmental, social and governance) in pillar 3a can often be complex, as different providers apply different criteria. Even though Descartes aims for sustainability, depending on the strategy, well-known Swiss companies such as Nestlé, Novartis and Roche may still be highly weighted due to their stability and market strength. This could be due to a trade-off between ESG factors and financial potential. For detailed information, I recommend contacting Descartes directly.

      Many greetings!

      Reply

    2. Dear Raissa, the index strategy is a responsible strategy. If you are looking for an ESG-compliant strategy, this would be our minimum risk strategy. Your Descartes team

      Reply
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