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ETF savings plan Switzerland Provider comparison 2020

ETF Savings Plan Switzerland

You want to work with a ETF Savings Plan broad and inexpensive invest?

Then you should not only focus on the right ETF, but also on one of the Top supplier for an ETF savings plan throughout Switzerland. 

What options are available in Switzerland for a savings plan and where you can inexpensive and simply invest you can find out in this article!

ETF Switzerland explains indexing passive investing

How the Swiss can create an ETF savings plan

Have you also experienced this: You have read on the internet or elsewhere about ETFs and would now like to manage your finances conveniently with a fund savings plan?

Until recently, there were hardly any Swiss providers of low-cost ETF savings plans, but that's over now!

More and more suppliers have finally noticed the high demand and are now offering you in the Switzerland ETF Savings Plans on. Find out where and how best to proceed here!

ETF Savings Plan Calculator

ETF Sparplan Switzerland: Comparison of providers

But is the possibility of an ETF savings plan available to Swiss people?

Yes, a Classic ETF savings plan is available. Until a few years ago, there were only robo advisorwhich you could use. But more recently, you can also find a comparison of fund savings plans throughout Switzerland. Swiss broker! Some good providers from both categories? Swissquote, True Wealth, Selma Finance or about Yuh.

Which Options for a Swiss ETF savings plan So there is?

Foreign suppliers:

Abroad, there are a few ETF savings plan providers that offer us in Switzerland with very favorable conditions are available. This may have disadvantages, but the fees are usually lower. An example would be the provider Degiro from the Netherlands.

Swiss supplier:

Swiss deposit guarantee and local regulation is better for you? Then there are providers like Swissquote, True Wealth or perhaps Selma Finance. At Swissquote, you can manually create an individual savings plan. With the Robo Advisorn you can set up a standing order for this and then have it automatically invested in ETFs for you from there.

I see. Can you be specific about a few vendors?

Sure, let's start with a foreign one.

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"Intelligent people learn from the mistakes of others".

We have compiled our top selection for you from all our tests and experience reports:

ETF savings plan with DEGRIO

Some Swiss use DEGIRO for their Shares and ETF savings plans. The conditions are favourable and many ETF's can even be saved free of charge. We have been testing the Dutch provider, which is regulated by the German BAFIN, since spring 2021!

DEGIRO is Not regulated in Switzerlandbut this does not have any significant negative consequences. DEGIRO was recommended to us again and again by readers, which is why we did a test there. ETF savings plans are not yet available, but the Fees are very attractive thereThe same applies to the operation as you can see in our DEGRIO Review.

ETF savings plan with Postfinance & UBS

  • The UBS ETFs are very attractive in some cases, but do you have to buy UBS ETFs from UBS? No! The conditions of the UBS securities custody account do not necessarily speak in favour of this for us. For private investors with a normal income, the Fees simply too high.
  • The situation is similar for Postfinance off. The Postfinance ETF fees are not the cheapest on the market. You are already a Postfinance customer and don't want to open another account? Okay, that's how it should be. You pay attention to feesbecause you know that in the long term they will have a huge impact on your returns? Then please note that Postfinance simply uses the platform of Swissquote uses, like you here in the report you can read about it. So you can guess where it is cheaper... at Swissquote.

Swissquote ETF savings plan: The best provider?

With Swissquote you will find the leading Swiss online broker for ETF's, Shares, Bonds and cryptocurrencies, for example. We have been investing with the platform for some time and are very satisfied with it. Swissquote offers Extremely many ETFs an, various trading venues and compared to shares even more lower prices on ETFs. 

Swissquote savings plans have been available since the end of 2022. A reduction in fees was also announced almost at the same time!

When you work with a Swiss broker an ETF savings plan you want to put on, is Swissquote a very good choice.

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For us, Swissquote is currently the best option for recommending an ETF savings plan to Swiss investors. Should you opt for Swissquote during the registration process, enter the * promotional code MKT_SWIIZERFRANKE on. You'll even get the first CHF 100 fee for free.

Findependent ETF Savings Plan

The still young Robo Advisor Findependent now also offers its own ETF investment solution since the end of 2021.

At Findependent you can choose from pre-selected ETFs (over 30 different ones) select the appropriate ETFs and very favourable save.

So feel free to take a look at our Findependent Review an. Also, if you want to know more about the Findependent vs Swissquote comparison.

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ETF savings plan with Roboadvisorn

The basic idea for many ETF Investors are the passive investing. The aim is to diversify broadly on a regular basis, invested without special timing/trading be made. In neighbouring Germany, many inexpensive direct banks are available. Unfortunately, this is not the case here, but if you don't like Swissquote, for example, you can also choose providers such as Selma Finance or True Wealth take a closer look.

Because such providers sometimes offer Savings plan functions and are somewhat clearer and easier to understand than some brokers. There you specify your goals, receive a suggested investment strategy and can also choose, for example Save for sustainable ETFs

Taxes with the ETF Savings Plan

The Taxation of shares and ETFs in Switzerland is a topic in itself. As an investor, you should therefore definitely take a look at our Article about this look at. In short, however, it can be said that as a private investor you do not pay any taxes on capital gains. But you do pay Tax on dividends paid out from your ETF savings plan and from dividend shares.

Where best to buy ETFs Switzerland-wide?

The above points have shown you some ways in which or where you can best to buy ETFs can.

There is no one right or best way to buy ETFs in Switzerland. Rather, you should ask yourself, how much effort you are willing to put into it. Also ask yourself whether you really want to create and maintain your own ETF portfolio (keyword: "ETF portfolio"). Rebalancing).

Alternatively, you can also use a robo advisor and buy your ETFs and other investments there conveniently for you. Also the ETF Tax Report is much easier with it, as a tax statement is generated automatically.

Fund Savings Plan Switzerland Comparison

In the search for the Best fund savings plan in Switzerland many people come across the Swissquote fund savings plan.

Swissquote has been a listed bank with us for several years. ETF Savings Plan Switzerland Provider. However, since the Swissquote savings plan was added later, the leading Swiss online broker now also secures a top place in the ETF savings plan Switzerland comparison.

As Swissquote has been a winner in our tests for years, we have reached an agreement with the team for all Schwiizerfranke readers: With the promotional code MKT_Schwiizerfranke you get a CHF 100 fee voucher in the form of trading credits. Use it!

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Conclusion on the ETF savings plan in Switzerland

Fortunately, the ETF Savings Plan Swiss with more and more local providers to choose from. Swissquote is the dominant Swiss online broker for an ETF savings plan. Also in the smartphone app Yuh you can execute a savings plan.

Foreign suppliers such as Degiro are particularly inexpensive, but also come with disadvantages, as you will see in the Comparison you can see.

Where there is also a cheap place to go with a limited selection (more than 30 ETF's after all) is Findependent.

Alternatively, you can also click on Selma or True Wealth and there comfortably Investments can be automated.

Where do you open your Switzerland ETF savings plan? Let us know in the comments!

Your Schwiizerfrank team.

84 Responses

  1. Dear Eric

    I am very interested in the following topic. For example, if I save an MSCI World ETF in dollars via Swissquote and at some point there is an extremely large dollar crash (keyword: over-indebtedness of the USA) and the dollar has lost a lot of value in recent years anyway and does not have a rosy future. To what extent will the currency crash then have an impact on the capital saved? Will a large part of the capital be gone as a result of the currency crash? What are the consequences?

    There are also ETFs where the currency is hedged. What are the consequences of such an ETF in the event of a dollar crash? Is an ETF where the currency is hedged the best solution?

    Thank you in advance for your explanation.

    1. Hello Ramon,
      Thank you for your question and the interesting consideration. This is exactly what we will be covering in the free webinar in January.
      Swiss investors should definitely be aware of the currency risk. In the FinanzFahrplan, we therefore structure strategies in such a way that they are not exposed to an unnecessarily high USD or euro risk.
      Unfortunately, some people on social media recommend that you should simply buy an all-world ETF and your portfolio will be complete. This advice is generally not good and is risky for people in Switzerland!

      So take a look at the free webinar in January or in FinanceTimetable over.
      Kind regards,
      Eric

  2. Hello Eric

    Extremely great platform you have here. My compliments on what you have created here! I'm brutally enthusiastic! The added value you offer here is incredible.

    A year ago, I opened a custody account with VZ with a somewhat naive attitude. The sole reason for doing so was so that I could save in an ETF with lower fees than a fund at my house bank. At that time, I didn't have too much knowledge about ETFs. In the meantime I have learnt more and would like to manage the ETF myself and benefit from lower fees, as these eat into the return. I would like to save in an MSCI World with Swissquote. The fees at VZ in addition to the TER are 0.55% flat rate. So all in all around 0.75% in total.

    What about the exchange rate fee at Swissquote if the ETF is in dollars? Don't the exchange rate fees (up to 1%) eat up a lot of the return? The trading centre would be the Swiss stock exchange. It is not clear to me what effective costs are to be expected in addition to the TER if, for example, CHF 1,500 is invested quarterly in the iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF IE00B4L5Y983. The currency of the fund is the dollar. Could you please clarify this for me with an example calculation? The TER is 0.20%. What additional costs are there in addition to custody account fees at Swissquote? I am asking because I could theoretically deposit the same ETF with VZ, but the annual costs are 0.75%, i.e. TER plus the VZ flat rate of 0.55%. Perhaps the package at VZ is not too bad after all with all the additional costs from other platforms when these are added together?

    Thank you very much for the clarification, which I greatly appreciate.

    1. Thank you so much for your positive feedback, Ramon, I'm delighted! 🙂

      It's a bit difficult to extrapolate here in the comments section. But let's look at it in simplified terms: Purchase costs including exchange rate fees are only due once (or when buying and selling). On the other hand, ongoing high fees in the form of a TER or otherwise, burden your investments for all future years.
      An exchange rate fee on purchase is therefore quickly exceeded by ongoing annual fees.

      The VZ or other robo advisor naturally also pay these fees and therefore charge them to you in the form of their ongoing fees. If a provider engages in frequent rebalancing, even higher costs are incurred.

      You can see the total fees for your ETF purchase here in the Swissquote contribution 🙂

      Kind regards,
      Eric

  3. What do you think of fianzen.net zero? You can also open an account there as a Swiss citizen. But I'm not sure about the taxes.

    1. Hello Rolf,
      Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about the offer or that Swiss people are also allowed to invest there. I'd be happy to take a closer look. If it is relevant, there will be a blog post about it 🙂

    2. I am also very interested in this provider. However, the account is held in EUR. As a Swiss citizen, isn't that a bit of a risk?

      1. This is definitely a risk that should not be underestimated. In the last 30 years, the euro has lost a good 43% in value against the franc. Accordingly, the currency risk should always be considered when investing abroad.

  4. What is the current situation with YUH and the savings plans? Which ETF would you recommend there as a beginner with 300 to 500 francs per month?

    1. For reasons of diversification, it makes sense to have the Global Blue Chips in CHF (MSCI World) or in USD (FTSE All World). If you want to take a factor into account, there is also the FTSE All World High Dividend or the MSCI World Momentum.

  5. hi there!

    the idea is to start an etf-savings plan or just with a one-time-payment in switzerland, which is listed in chf. chf is traded anyway as a flight currency, would that make sense or does it not matter whether it is listed in chf or usd? one is chf-hedged and the other normal-usd (world-etf) would there then be possibly unpleasant tax aspects to consider in de?

    best regards

  6. Good day,
    Wanted to ask what you think of findependent? So better said, an ETF bold or risky, are very Swiss-heavy companies in it. Do you think they are well positioned there?

    Thanks already.

    LG Fabian

  7. Exciting discussion and since I already have a Swissquote account, I will probably go the route of investing CHF 1,000 every 3 months. My question: Which specific MSCI World ETF do you use? I will probably choose CHF as a basis to reduce potential currency risks. Thanks and LG, Matthias

    1. If you want to invest in just one ETF, with very broad diversification, then in my mind there is only the iShares MSCI ACWI ETF from BlackRock or the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF.

      1. If you prefer to hold in CHF, the Vanguard All World ETF DIST in CHF would also be an option (available via Swissquote - at Degiro I have not found an option to also invest in CHF-listed ETFs of the two suggested products).

        1. Please don't take my lines as a buy recommendation, just a personal preference. I myself am a big Vanguard fan, because Vanguard as a cooperative upholds the interests of its members. In Swissquote you can find the Vanguard All World ETF under the stock symbol VWRL.

  8. I stumbled across this website the poorswiss by chance during the summer holidays and read through the comparisons. I do my own ETF savings with VZ Vermögenszentrum. It's quite OK, but it's also cheaper. Now I actually opened an account with IB (interactive brokers) and buy my conservative boring Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) in USD myself (TER 0.08% / >9'000 number of shares) on the US stock exchange. Our EU neighbors are no longer allowed to do that. It could hardly be cheaper. Yes, currency risk has already been mentioned several times. I have opened an account with FlowBank and have already traded, but I can't really say much about it yet. Still have to make a few experiences.

  9. I am a customer of both Degiro and Swissquote. I am satisfied with both brokers - the price-performance ratio is right for me with both. Regarding your comment about the negative rating of Degiro on Trustpilot: I admit it is not very high. In fairness, you could also mention that Swissquote has a worse rating.

    Thanks for your great and helpful posts though!
    LG

    1. Hey, Phil,
      thank you for your tip with the Swissquote rating! Especially because of the complexity of Swissquote, I don't think you can recommend this platform to every "beginner".
      By the way, I've been testing Degiro for some time now and can now put my conclusion into perspective! 🙂 Thanks to everyone who "worked" on me here to give the platform a chance!
      The detailed review should be published in June.

    1. Hi Georg, I know Oskar (but I am not a customer). Currently Oskar is offered exclusively for customers in Germany & Austria.
      Dear greetings
      Eric

      1. I tried to set up an Oscar account for my kid. I can't! It needs a German address. With Quirion I almost did it but unfortunately it failed because of the foreign non biometric passport of the second legal guardian (my wife). But it seems that Quirion has no problem with Swiss.

        Has anyone had any experience there?

          1. you make a standing order to Inyova and the strategy set there is automatically implemented with each new deposit

    2. No I don't know... Does anyone know the app from Investli? Sounds like buying costs of 2% per order... starting from 50.- without further deposit and other costs or I overread what?

      1. For me it looks like a typical "Lean Startup MVP" - a half-finished product or landing page where the market is tapped or investors are sought. I'm curious if something concrete will come here.

  10. I was lucky enough to be able to set up an ETF savings plan (savings account) with Swissquote. But this offer is unfortunately no longer available, actually incomprehensible!

      1. I opened the 'Dynamic Saving' account about 10 years ago. You can still find information about it on the Internet. Why this offer was discontinued is a mystery to me. I save in 7 different ETFs per month for a fee of only CHF 9 (not per ETF but for all 7!).

        Is there a plausible reason why ETF savings plans are not offered?

        1. Hello Georg, I did not know that before. At which bank was that?
          One can only guess here - perhaps because the low fees generate too little revenue for certain institutions?

  11. I have been researching possibilities to save ETFs at reasonable prices for years. Unfortunately, in the "banking country" of Switzerland, it is apparently not possible to bring competitive products onto the market, such as those that have long existed in Germany (Scalable, TradeRepublic, etc.). There is nothing sensible for children yet. These robo-products may look chic, but they are all far too expensive. The only thing left to do is exactly what Eric writes: Standing order on his Swissquote deposit, invest if there is at least 4'000.- on it.

    1. Hey, Daniel,
      the solution for children I miss unfortunately also still very strong!
      With Swissquote there is actually no minimum investment amount of 4'000CHF how do you come to this information?

      What has to be said, of course: Robos are getting cheaper and cheaper and mostly (at least the ones presented here on Schwiizerfranke) implement a typical world portfolio. If the technology is the same/comparable and the costs are lower, there are few arguments why you should build your own ETF portfolio. For "geeks" 😀 maybe so, especially as a learning process. But whether every beginner who doesn't actually want to dive too deep needs to do this? I don't think so, but would really rather recommend a solution like True Wealth or Selma here.

      Dear greetings

      1. The CHF 4,000 is a rough guide and comes from the fact that I set myself total cost targets. Even the cheapest ETFs at Swissquote cost CHF 14 per order (including fees), while the more expensive products cost around CHF 40 per order. In my opinion, investments below CHF 3-4,000 don't really make sense. I firmly believe in fact and evidence based investing (tilt towards the middle, EFT, ...), the globally diversified ETF's (MSCI, ACWI, ...) hardly differ from each other over the long term. The decisive difference whether a long-term strategy leads to a million or "only" to 800'000 CHF (figuratively speaking) is the cost. With my strategy (monthly deposit 1000.- until pension 2047) 0.68% fees (Selma) account for a reduced return of 90'000 CHF.

        1. Correction: I meant EMT (Efficient Market Theory) not EFT.

          Great praise though for the great site, only came across it recently as I didn't find any Switzerland specific content on Youtube.

          1. thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
            I am very pleased, by the way, that you dive so deep here and perform the cost calculations for you in detail! I'm also glad when regularly other people calculate / research and we get here such a x-fold double-check.

        2. If you buy an ETF World that is traded on several exchanges, which one do you choose and what are the considerations/analysis steps?

          In Switzerland there is also the stamp duty. Spread partly higher than in London (London more volume). However, the purchase fees in London are then higher...with only 4x buy per year and the lower spread, London would then be better again in comparison.

          What do you think?

  12. I honestly don't understand your criticism of Degiro. Yes, they don't have a banking license, but they are considered an investment company and are regulated accordingly. Deposit protection applies up to 20,000 EUR, and as Hans mentioned above, ETFs are special assets. Very few people will have 20,000 or more in cash in their custody account, so I don't see a problem here. And contrary to what you mentioned above, you can hold cash in your Degiro account. Although Degiro invests it in a money market fund, it doesn't hurt me as a user because a) they compensate for any negative return from this money market fund for up to CHF 3,000 in cash (I've never had anything deducted for higher holdings, on the contrary, my cash there has a better return than on the savings account) and b) you can still use and invest it at any time.
    For Swiss, the account is managed in CHF. The ETFs that can be purchased free of charge are all in EUR, but for most other ETFs you pay between CHF 2.5 and 4 per transaction, depending on the stock exchange, which is still significantly less than with Swissquote. And there are no custody account fees either.

    So for me definitely definitely preferable to Swissquote & Co.

    1. Hello, Yvonne,
      as I said everyone is allowed to form their own opinion on Degiro or other topics. You know my opinion and I respect any counter opinion 🙂
      If you look at the development of CHF vs. euro over the last few years, you will quickly notice that saving a few francs in fees does not compensate for the amount of exchange rate losses. You don't even have to be a wealthy investor to do this.
      If we are going to talk about costs, then please do so holistically.

      Best regards 🙂

    2. I completely agree with Yvonne. I have been using Degiro for a long time. First parallel to cash.ch, meanwhile I mainly only use Degiro. The fees in Switzerland are simply usurious and there is still not a single domestic provider that works with decent fees.
      Degiro and Flatex have merged in April 2021. Flatex is a German bank and Degiro is now a branch. Since the competition in Europe (except Switzerland) is high, Degiro has now adjusted its fees further down. Say: You can now even save on most ETF's for free. Example: When I buy shares of an ETF at cash.ch, I pay around Fr. 35 each time. With Degiro it is Fr. 0.-. (Incidentally, the brokers earn this money through commissions from the ETF providers. I find it incomprehensible that customers also have to pay for every purchase).
      Another example: Every month I buy a few shares of US companies, such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, etc.. At cash.ch I am charged between Fr. 35.- and Fr. 40.- for EACH purchase (brokerage, execution fees, stamp duty, etc). With Degiro I pay 50 RAPPS! So I can invest the money in several stocks every month, for example. Nice side effect: US companies pay dividends every 3 months (I also have stocks that pay dividends every month).
      Sorry, but I am no longer prepared to accept these fees from the traditional banks in Switzerland. Every franc I save in fees I can invest in more shares.
      I currently have 6 ETFs that I invest in every month. As a comparison I take the cheapest provider Swissquote: There I would pay (at Fr. 9.- per purchase & 6 ETF's) Fr. 54.- every month. That is Fr. 648.- per year. At Degiro I pay for the exact same ETF's per year with the new prices: Fr. 0.-. I save Fr. 648.- per year, which I can reinvest instead of giving to the bank. By the way: Deposit fees do not exist at Degiro! Swissquote, cash.ch and co. are charging a lot more.
      There's no reason to blow your hard-saved money on fees.
      Yes, the money parked with Degiro is invested in a money market fund and compensated by Degiro up to an amount of CHF 3000 (in the event of negative performance). In all the years I have been with Degiro, I have not lost a single centime because of this. On the contrary, I have even been credited with money in the event of positive performance.

      Oh yeah: In the unlikely event that Degiro goes bust, all investments like ETF, stocks, etc. are protected. Quote: "Should something happen to DEGIRO, your investments will not be treated as recoverable assets for DEGIRO creditors."

      Everyone has to know for themselves whether they are prepared to pay horrendous fees when they can get the same product and the same service much cheaper or even for free. But as a banker once told me, as long as the Swiss are willing to pay these overpriced fees, not much will change.

      1. Thanks for your detailed comment Dani 🙂 I definitely understand your points and I understand everyone who still invests with a local provider. However, what I really hope is that the Swiss market will hopefully be woken up and shaken up by a local broker very soon - so that the market finally gets fair prices and also gets state of the art user interfaces as known from online brokers from abroad! 🙂

      2. Hoi Dani and Yvonne

        You're both very enthusiastic about Degiro.
        I'd be interested to know if you guys decided on basic or custody.
        Dani has apparently invested in reinvesting ETF's, which distribute dividends. Since I'm already thinking about whether I prefer custody (no borrowing of securities => more security) or basic (no costs in the distribution) should choose.
        Of course everyone has to know for himself, but I would be interested in your experience here.

        LG, Flavio

  13. Hey, I want to invest in ETFs passively. I've been looking at robo advisors and would rather invest manually in a few ETFs like the MSCI World to get some experience. However, I want to start with a small amount and wanted to ask which broker you guys suggest. Residence is in Switzerland. I have already looked at Swissquote and find the fees too high for small amounts.

    Which broker can you recommend to me? What are the alternatives?

    1. Hello Marco,
      take a look at Findependent. We are currently testing here and a review will be published soon. This goes exactly in your direction. When you open an account at Findependent, enter the code "MerciSchwiizerfranke". Then you get a bonus on the fees!

      Dear greetings

      1. Thank you very much for the answer. However, Findependent is very similar to Selma and the other Robo Advisors. I want to choose my own ETfs and build my own portfolio. Something along the lines of Swissquote. Are there any other alternatives out there? I have heard of Degiro or Interactive Brokers.

        1. Currently I'm testing another Swiss broker, the review will come at the beginning of April. You can be curious about it 🙂
          My personal opinion (which is backed up by some feedback from readers) about Degiro can be found here on the blog again and again. Personally, I prefer to pay a little more and have a reliable broker. For me, Degiro is therefore nothing.
          Interactive Brokers (originates from the US - tax issues, information exchange,... here are some issues to look at) I have not tested yet.

          1. Hello Eric
            First of all, thank you very much for all your great reviews and information, they make it very easy for me to get informed about ETF "savings plans". Before I finally decide on an option (I'm currently leaning towards True Wealth), I'd like to quickly ask when you're going to post the review of another Switzerland broker. Or do you already have it and I just haven't seen it?
            Thank you for your feedback and best regards
            Sarah

          2. Hello Sarah
            thank you for your positive feedback!
            The review is still in the pipeline and is ready from our side... we are still waiting for some final feedback regarding the costs. Here we have made a comparative calculation and of course we want it to be correct.

            If you've already decided on a passive investment strategy like with True Wealth, you don't have to wait for this from my perspective... 🙂
            Otherwise, I hope we can publish in a few days.

            Love!
            Eric

          3. Thanks so much for your quick feedback Eric!
            Great, I'm looking forward to the review. True Wealth I find really not bad. But I would prefer a broker where you can choose the ETFs yourself and the fees are so low that you can invest monthly (even smaller amounts). But we'll probably have to wait a little longer in Switzerland until that's possible.
            Greetings Sarah

          4. I hope it doesn't last much longer.
            This week I had a conversation with an asset manager in Zurich. We also came to talk about this issue. Here I was told that this is part of consumer protection - small investors are kept away from the "casino of the rich" - the stock market - by fees.
            I still don't really know what to think of this statement... For me, the stock market is definitely not a casino and certainly should not be kept from a privileged audience.
            Invest for the long term, hold, diversify and keep fees low. They have been successful with this over the last 150 years and my forecast looks just as good for the future 🙂
            Love!

          5. Ah exciting. As so often, it's a question of personal responsibility. I think one could trust the small investor more. And just because someone has more money at their disposal doesn't mean that they can handle it better and therefore need less "protection". But well, we'll see what the future brings.
            Kind regards

          6. Thanks Eric; so 2:1 for Degiro against Swissquote if you want to invest mainly in standard ETFs despite EUR risk?

          7. As far as the fees are concerned, definitely. But how much you weight the CH aspect is very individual (for some that is THE decisive factor) 🙂 I have tested both and both products have their justification. With Swissquote, unfortunately, the unclear/complex trading interface still bothers me - especially when beginners ask me about a good platform.

  14. Hello

    I have another question regarding the exchange rate. If I build myself a savings plan with an ETF in EUR or USD I always have the loss of the exchange rate. With PostFinance it is over 1% worse than with Swissquote (EUR/CHF). Also when withdrawing I have the same problem again. How do you do it? Do you take the exchange rate loss into account or do you rely on CHF ETFs?

    LG

    1. Hey TH

      The exchange rate issue is important and unfortunately often forgotten. In addition to the fees for currency exchange, you also have the so-called exchange rate risk. When the Swiss franc is strong, we have high purchasing power in USD, for example. But if the ETF is then sold one day or the dividends come, this can become a disadvantage.
      There are ETFs with a "CHF hedge" as a currency hedge. But this always costs a small fee, often the TER is then somewhat higher here.

      Personally, I prefer ETFs in CHF that can be traded on the SIX. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, as the offering does not yet cover everything. But if you are looking for something, you can build up the standard ETFs in your portfolio in this way.

      Kind regards

    1. Thanks for the tip. I have registered as a beta tester. But the product is not yet available. Hope that finally a reasonable Fintech moves on the Swiss market and solves this issue decently cheap and intuitive! 🙂

    2. investli. ch sounds very interesting in principle.... BUT, a look at the imprint (2 private persons from FL ?!??) does not really convince me yet.
      I will probably NOT leave my personal details at the moment (yet). They should first get capital and found a reasonable company incl. partnership with a (Swiss) bank for the account and deposit...

  15. Hello everybody!
    Thank you so much for the article. I've been following the Madam Monneypenny podcast for some time now. She makes herself extremely strong for ETF savings plans...but just, she lives in Germany and I always had trouble to somehow get out how that works here in Switzerland. So I googled a lot and discovered "justetf". Has anyone had any experience?
    Otherwise, I'm happy to go with the suggestions presented here. Really super helpful!!!
    Many thanks!
    Michèle

    1. Hello Michèle
      thank you very much for the positive feedback!
      Justetf.com is a great platform for comparing individual ETFs! But only for the comparison, you can not invest there. Nevertheless, in my opinion a top platform for all ETF "lovers" 🙂 Greetings!

    2. Hello Michèle
      "Justetf" is an exciting platform for ETF search. I use "justetf" and "extraetf". There you can choose your favorite ETF, copy WKN number and then buy from your provider. I already have 6 ETF's that I buy every month. My broker is degiro.ch. There you can buy most ETF's for free. There are also no custody fees. The best thing would be to download the app 😉 .
      LG Dani

  16. Hi, I don't really get the difference between a so called ETF Savings Plan and having a standing order to e.g. True Wealth ...

    1. Hi, Vito,
      to e.g. True Wealth you can send your money for example on a monthly basis and when it arrives there, all of it will be invested in the one (1) portfolio strategy automatically.

      An ETF Savings Plan works like that: A broker offers you to invest in ETFs via savings plan. You can hold money at the bank account of the broker (and hold some part of it in cash if you want to) and start 1 or multiple different ETF saving plans from there on. If you want to you can adapt them all individually at any time.

      Hope that makes it more clear?

  17. It would be interesting to know in what way Swiss regulation is better than, for example, Dutch or European regulation. Or how the Swiss deposit guarantee would be useful. Shares and ETFs are special assets, so deposit protection offers no advantages. In the event of bankruptcy, the bankruptcy creditors have no access to the special assets. Only the deposited money is thus better protected, whereby the least deposited such a high contribution with the broker. Degiro has several ratings on Trustpilot (overall, the rating is probably 3.5/5).

    1. For many Swiss, a Swiss insurance policy is "worth" more than a foreign one. Whether it is really safer I can not assess here. What affects my view of Degiro the strongest is the lack of depot where money could be in cash.
      A 3.5 out of 5 doesn't sound positive to me either, furthermore I have received negative feedback from readers about the platform. DENNOCH everyone is allowed to form his own opinion and create where he wants. Schwiizerfranke should serve as a help, not as a restriction. Therefore, we only recommend service providers with whom we ourselves are satisfied, have had positive experiences and can recommend them with a clear conscience.

      Kind regards

  18. Hello, Eric,
    what do you think of Strateo, they advertise with 'test winner, best Swiss broker 2019 and 2018' (SIQT)?
    Best regards
    Claudia

    1. Hello, Claudia,
      I haven't tested Strateo yet - because the alarm bells go off when supersport cars are used as advertising material and a broker makes a rather dubious impression for my taste.
      If you then read things like "inactivity fee" (who does not trade shares at least every 6 months pays 25CHF fee) then this is not necessarily what I am looking for personally. Also the other offer is not to my taste.

      This need not apply to others. If anyone has had experience here, they will be happy to share it! 🙂

      Love!

  19. Thank you very much for the interesting article. I would like to know what you think of the ETF savings plan of VZ Vermögenszentrum.

    Many thanks and kind regards

    1. Hello Ralph, thank you very much for your feedback!
      We have not yet invested with VZ, so unfortunately we cannot give an experience report yet. The fees look attractive, however, "do it yourself" can be more or less Swissquote be cheaper (depending on the size of the deposit). Selma Finance uses the securities solution from VZ Vermögenszentrum, offers an even greater service and only charges minimal fees for this additional service. In the end, everyone is free to choose where they feel they are best looked after at 🙂. The main thing is to do what you want!

  20. I honestly cannot understand the problem - competition regulates it after all. For example, I open a free account with the DKB, and even if I'm Swiss I can do it online in a few minutes - open a securities account there and save MSCI World for it - voilà. One wonders, despite prophecies of doom from the Swiss banking industry - there are regulations and deposit guarantees abroad as well - and what is good enough for our neighbours in the big canton is also good enough for Swiss people, even if we are reluctant to admit it.

    Of course, if you depend on purely Swiss banks and play local development aid in the financial sector, but then please do not complain about the high price or the inadequate products.

    1. Hello Felix

      thanks for your input! Have you perhaps already made experiences regarding taxation and can you draw a comparison?
      Of course, there are a few other risks associated with foreign accounts, but let's leave aside the extreme cases. What you have to keep in mind are the exchange fees if you send CHF to Euro accounts and again if you liquidate your investments at some point and want to use the profits in CHF.
      I can see your points absolutely! 🙂 Whoever finds a serious (!) broker who offers decent conditions and accepts Swiss can certainly save a bit here. The currency exchange could perhaps be done cheaply with Transferwise Switzerland Experience 2020 do. However, additional work and a few additional risks cannot be avoided.

      I would be pleased about detailed long-term experiences!
      Love!

  21. Many thanks for the detailed and helpful article! But I have one more question: You say that PostFinance is one of the more expensive providers. According to https://www.postfinance.ch/content/dam/pfch/doc/prod/acc/etrad_cond_de.pdf the cost per order is in fact much higher than with Swissquote (e.g. 35.- for a purchase worth 5k-10k vs. 9.- flat rate with Swissquote). However, the custody account fees are refunded as a trading credit at PostFinance. With Swissquote, on the other hand, you pay up to 200 francs a year for your custody account. So isn't PostFinance even cheaper (provided you don't buy too often)?

    Best regards from Basel

    1. Thank you very much for your hint with the credits!
      In fact, this is currently offered in such a way that whether the total price is really cheaper for you in the end depends on your individual investment style. You should check this for yourself and check if the desired ETF's are available at the respective broker.
      The Swissquote fees are variable and also depend on your behaviour and volume. Personally, I buy from Swissquote, but always for at least 1000CHF so that the fees remain relatively cheap. It does not always have to be monthly...

  22. I have my ETF savings plan with Selma. Simply set up a standing order and everything is done for me automatically. I can only recommend it!

    1. Hey Marlis, thanks for your feedback! I find great, because with Selma the strategy is automatically adapted to your situation and your goals. (I have already recommended the book "Souverän investieren mit ETFs und Indexfonds" to many people... and then only get to hear how dry the book is 😀 So I was also allowed to learn that not everyone wants to go so deep into detail and is therefore very well served with providers like Selma)!

      LG Eric

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