What is Raiffeisen Rio?
With Raiffeisen Rio, the 3rd largest banking group in Switzerland offers a digital asset management an. Especially Existing customers in the younger age segment should fall within the target group. Rio customers will not receive investment advice from advisors, but the survey within the Rio app will be sufficient.
Next, a global geared towards Core portfolio composed of index-tracking equity funds and actively managed bond funds. In addition, investors can select focus themes such as cryptocurrencies, gold, property or Swiss equities. These are heavily promoted, but cost a separate Fee and are partly channelled through structured products.
Before you find out more details and read about the Raiffeisen Rio experience, you will find the Rio Review Result:
Hello Eric
Since April 2026, the minimum investment amount has been reduced to just CHF 500. In addition, the focus themes have been expanded to include crypto (Bitcoin), gold and property. The new focus themes are not (!) implemented using tracker certificates, but via low-cost investment products. For example, the Bitcoin ETP (crypto focus area) has a TER of 0.15% p.a. (0.25% p.a. from 2027).
The following products are used for the core portfolio:
Swiss Bonds | Raiffeisen Futura Swiss Franc Bond VE CHF | CH0537584986 (TER: 0.19% p.a.)
Global Bonds | Vontobel Fund – Global Corporate Bond | LU1831168353 (TER: 0.43% p.a.)
Swiss Equities | Variopartner (CH) – 3-Alpha Diversifier Equities Switzerland VE CHF | CH0531747381 (TER: 0.25% p.a.)
European Equities | Variopartner SICAV – Diversifier Equities Europe VE1 CHF | LU2146174714 (TER: 0.33% p.a.)
US Equities | Variopartner (CH) – 3-Alpha Diversifier Equities USA VE CHF | CH0531753587 (TER: 0.26% p.a.)
These are actively managed bond funds and passive equity funds.
For the «Equities» investment strategy, the asset allocation is as follows:
– 5% Liquidity
– 47.5% Swiss equities
– 11.875% European equities (excluding Switzerland)
– 35.625% US shares
This results in weighted product costs for the core portfolio of around 0.25% p.a.
Management fees (0.70% p.a., incl. VAT) + product costs (0.25%) result in total costs of 0.95% p.a. This is still more expensive than certain online providers, but the net performance in CHF of the equity strategy – at 9.98% p.a. since 1 May 2020 (launch) – is impressive. The Growth strategy has yielded 6.55% p.a. since then, and the Balanced strategy 4.23% p.a. What’s more, you have a personal point of contact, provided you have a competent adviser. 🙂
Accordingly, the case study would include the «minimum investment amount» and «products used» (those who select the «Equities» strategy are invested exclusively in passive funds, and even the actively managed bond funds are low-cost products due to the institutional tranches used) in the experience report.
In my view, the 2/5-star rating for future-proofing is no longer appropriate either, particularly as the product is clearly undergoing further development.
Kind regards
Filip
Hello Filip
Thanks for pointing that out; I’ll be happy to have a closer look at it.
Of course, the fees are still at the higher end of the scale – and that’s a key factor – but the update is in the pipeline.
Raiffeisen Rio is currently available from CHF 500 and I have tested it, including the savings plan function. I think the price of 0.65% + product costs of 0.25% is fair, as I still have people on site to explain everything and help with any questions!
Crypots as an admixture, technology etc. costs 0.60%, but I have made 26.3% plus with technology within a very short time, which is a lot more than the Nasdaq in the same time. More than satisfied, anyone can try it out, with an entry of CHF 500 it's something for everyone.
Raiffeisen Rio is far too expensive, would strongly advise against it. Transaction fees were charged even though no transaction took place. Compared to «normal» investments with advice, it is certainly twice to three times as expensive.
It's strange that Raiffeisen's «RIO» product has hardly been advertised recently.
I suspect that Raiffeisen is planning a new strategy, as it is well known that the collaboration with Bank Vontobel will come to an end in 2027. We can only speculate about whether and how the offering will be continued in the future. The fact that the fees have never been reduced in all these years speaks volumes to me. After all, if more users use Raiffeisen RIO, then the costs should become more favourable overall. Apparently, the product is not really that successful.
Unfortunately, there is no publicly available information on the composition of the portfolio. According to various user reports, it contains many active Vontobel funds, but also Raiffeisen's own funds. This could possibly change in mid-2027:
https://www.finews.ch/news/banken/64339-raiffeisen-vontobel-fondsverwaltung
The fund management will therefore be carried out by UBS in future, as is already the case with the Futura II funds.
But what happens to RIO and the customers invested in it? Will the investments be transferred? What impact will this have on fees? After all, the RIO technology also comes from Vontobel and the new, centralised Raiffeisen app is known to have flopped. There would have been an opportunity to integrate a digital investment option.
I am not familiar with the contracts between Raiffeisen and Vontobel, but my alarm bells start ringing when a product is no longer actively advertised and when it is known who the technology partner is and that the cooperation with this partner is to be terminated in the foreseeable future.
I would therefore probably be rather cautious and, even as a Raiffeisen customer, I would think twice about whether I am backing the right horse with RIO, or whether it might be better to look for alternatives in the VIAC Invest, TrueWealth or Finpension sectors.
Many thanks for your assessment, Max!
Is it possible to invest in MobiFonds Select 30/60/90 via the Rio app?
Invest in a Mobiliar fund with Raffeisen? Good question, but I would rather advise against this fund (front-end load 3.00 % and management fee 1.60 % per year - that's about 5-10 times as much as with a more favourable provider).
Hello. After much deliberation, I also set up the Raiffeisen Rio and decided against a fund investment strategy with Raiffeisenbank. The decisive factor was the fees, which are 1.6% for the fund investment strategy plus the annual fee of 20.00 (in the knowledge that Rio also charges fees, but these are lower than if the bank has to do it for me). I consider the fact that you can put together your portfolio "without a fund manager" to be a positive aspect of Rio. With a balanced core structure, I have acquired 5 focus themes. This raises the question of whether 25% of the total volume is not a bit too much? Do you have any experience in this regard? Many thanks for your opinions.
Hi,
I have tried to find out which fund products are used in Raiffeisen Rio. Unfortunately, neither the Rio website provides any information on this, nor is the local Raiffeisen Bank or Rio Support (!) able to provide the relevant details 🙁
As far as I can tell based on the demo video [1], Variopartner white label funds from Vontobel [2] are used, including:
- Variopartner SICAV - 3-Alpha Diversifier Equities USA G CHF
- Variopartner SICAV - 3-Alpha Diversifier Equities Europe G CHF
- Variopartner (CH) - 3-Alpha Diversifier Equities Switzerland
It would be cool if someone who already has/had Rio could post the full asset allocation and the funds used for it and their ISIN numbers here, then I could do a proper analysis of this product so that you can compare this to other solutions.
Greetings JM
[1] https://www.raiffeisen.ch/region-glatt/de/privatkunden/anlegen/anlageloesungen/vermoegensverwaltung/digitale-vermoegensverwaltung.html
[2] https://am.vontobel.com/en/white-label-funds?query=variopartner%203-alpha
Hoi JM
I invested in Rio around April 2021.
I have invested 100% in "core" and 0% in focus themes. Can you tell me whether focus themes are any good?
Back to your question:
With Kern, Rio inverts with me in
-Global bonds: " Vontobel Mid Yield Bond Fund 25%
-Swiss bonds": " Raiffeisen Futura Swiss Franc Bond 25%
- Swiss equities:" 3-Alpha Diversifier 23.6%
- Equities Usa : " 3-Alpha Diversifier Usa 17.8%
-Equities Europe :" 3-Alpha Diversifier Europe 5.5%
I hope that I could help you further
Hi, Andre,
Thanks for the details. I did some research on the Rio focus topics and here's what I found out:
The Rio focus themes are mapped via Actively Managed Certificates (AMC) from Bank Vontobel. AMCs are the "latest" hype in structured financial products and are often used to create financial products around trend themes, as these can be "produced" by the bank more quickly (time to market) and with less effort than with an index fund or ETF, which require the establishment of a separate fund company. This also means that, unlike index funds or ETFs, AMCs are not special assets and are therefore held directly on the books of the issuing bank. This means that AMCs are actually a debt security and therefore there is a direct counterparty risk with the issuer. According to the published AMC documents, Vontobel's AMCs are collateralised via a Triparty Collateral Management (TCM) solution from SIX, but it is not clear to me to what extent the AMCs are collateralised in the event of the issuer's bankruptcy. If you read the KIID, you will notice that "a total loss of the capital invested is possible in the event of the bankruptcy of the issuer". In addition, there are no annual reports on the AMCs and therefore a certain degree of transparency is lacking that is available with index funds or ETFs.
Here are the AMCs that were on sale at April's Focus Topics; now there are a few more.
- CH0432300132: Strategic Certificate on the Disruptors Index II (CHF)
- CH0464666038: Strategic Certificate on a Global Quality Dividend Achievers Index II
- CH0432300231: Strategic Certificate on the Family Influenced Businesses Index II (CHF)
- CH0489808979: Strategic Certificate on the Swiss Equity Selection II Index
The AMCs used above currently have a TER of 0.6% (in April it was 0.87% - 1.46%). The number of constituents per AMC above is between 20 and 36, which is not exactly evidence of a high level of diversification. In addition, the AMCs also have quite high cash holdings of around 3 to 8%.
In addition to the AMC story, I'm generally bothered by the lack of transparency at Rio and you don't get enough details about the financial products used either via the Rio website or the app before closing. It takes endless back and forth with the local Raiffeisen Bank until you get an overview of what is really behind Rio. The investment advisor at the bank does not know the product well enough and has to consult with the association in St. Gallen for practically every question. In addition, the management fee of 0.65% p.a. excl. VAT [!] = 0.7% p.a. incl. VAT is quite expensive for what it actually is. The weighted total expense ratio of the fund products used at Rio without focus themes in a portfolio asset allocation (with 65% equities, 30% bonds, 5% cash) is 0.266% (April 2021).
Greetings
JM
Hello Eric
Thank you very much for your helpful testimonial.
Is it possible to see which stocks you invest in before the wealth management contract? I would like to compare several investment proposals from different robo-advisors.
Thank you very much in advance.
Best regards
Jasmine
Hello, Jasmine,
I haven't used Rio since then, maybe I'm wrong (please correct me) ... I don't think the exact securities are displayed. I've just looked again on the Raiffeisen homepage but didn't find any information either.
They must be made available to you at the latest when you invest. Upon request to the support you will certainly receive the exact information beforehand.
Greetings,
Eric
Hoi Jasmin,
Unfortunately, the Rio website does not provide any details (ISIN, fact sheets, KIID) on the fund products used. Unfortunately, the support provided on the website via e-mail and telephone number is also not very helpful. When I enquired there, I was told that they could only help me with the account setup and password reset! Interactions with the local Raiffeisen bank were also initially unproductive. You could almost think that they don't want to sell the Rio product even if the Raiffeisen banks are "desperate" to push their customers from cash in the account to an investment solution.
The only efficient way to get more information is to ask your local Raiffeisen bank and have them enquire with Raiffeisen Switzerland. There is a PDF with a presentation entitled "Raiffeisen Rio - Investments & Portfolio", which contains all the details about the portfolios offered, their asset allocation and the fund ISINs. I would explicitly ask for this presentation, as it contains everything you need to analyse and evaluate the Rio product in detail. The bank can obtain this presentation via the Rio support of Raiffeisen Switzerland. It is a real pity that the details of this presentation are not published on the website, which would have saved me a lot of time and trouble.
Generally speaking, the funds used in Rio's core portfolio are all managed by Vontobel and some of them have "Raiffeisen" in their title. These are classic actively managed investment funds and not passive investment products (index funds or ETFs). The products for the focus themes are Actively Managed Certificates (AMC) and not funds (see my answer to Andre's question in the comments to this post).
The funds used in the core portfolio are sometimes separate tranches (share classes) of funds that Raiffeisen has offered for some time, but with a lower TER than the normal tranches that Raiffeisen Bank traditionally sells through its branches. Since these tranches are quite new, there are usually not very many details about them on the Raiffeisen website and you have to look for the details in the annual reports of the funds on which the tranches are based. The factsheets on these newer tranches are also not yet published in some cases, as they have not yet been on the market for a full year.
Greetings JM
I have been using Raiffeisen Rio since August 2020 with an equity-oriented investment strategy. The performance is impressive with +21.6% in this short period. I have also used thematic investments, really exciting!
I particularly like the news reports, which are updated very regularly. I can also look at the individual stocks in the portfolio that are invested in - cool!
Hello, Eric,
Thank you very much for your report.
What do you/they think of Degiro? What is your rating?
Thank you and best regards
Marc
Hello Marco
thank you very much for your feedback!
I have already made a note about Degiro in the ETF section. The best thing to do is to enter "Degiro" in the search function at the top right and you should find it, right?
We have a few supporters of Degiro among the readers. Mine is not quite the platform. But that's for everyone to decide for themselves 🙂 Greetings!
Hello all 🙂
I have read these and other reviews on the Raiffeisen like Selma or True Wealth offer and I am not sure if and what is really helpful...
I've been a Raiffeisen customer for a long time and even have a custody account because my grandfather once gave me a few shares (worth ~4500 today). Otherwise, I've always kept my money "only" in savings and private accounts. I'm not a big fan of bank advisors and when I hear the keyword "funds" and "exciting savings opportunities", I'm just basically quite suspicious. This also has to do with the fact that banks usually advertise the funds they manage anyway and I see their profit there rather than mine. Even if it is clear to me that they also want to/must earn money or a service also costs something. But I wonder whether the management fee is really necessary in view of the apparently hardly better long-term performance 😉
Anyway, I am toying with the idea of investing more money (than before) instead of leaving it in the account. At the same time, I wonder what form then makes sense:
1) Should I rather add individual stocks to my existing portfolio?
2) Or is a service like Selma, TW or Rio better? These are de facto also "only" fund shares, right? And if so: rather Rio, since I'm already a RB customer or something else?
Maybe someone here can give me a basic assessment 🙂 Thanks already!
Hi, Supermario,
I would recommend you use the services of Selma, TW and Rio. A friend of mine is very happy with TW. Simply look out for the product costs on top of the account fee (I discourage having total costs >1% unless you really want / need a specific product). Apply economic sense when picking products (diversify across markets, avoid weird markets like Russia unless you know why you buy it). Lastly, a very important aspect, is to apply dollar averaging: Invest continuously a small amount according to a fixed monthly schedule. Avoid large one-off buying / selling. You eliminate market timing risk and will sleep better. This approach would have navigated you well through the recent financial and covid crisis.
Cheers,
Michael
It is funny that some commentators speak of a "gambler's portfolio", although Raiffeisen Rio, for example, is managed by a specialist team consisting of portfolio management, omen and advisors, and the money is invested transparently in the chosen investment strategy. Do you understand that, Eric?
In my opinion the opposite!
Ok, I wouldn't have that much confidence in a robot with autopilot, but I would with the Raiffeisen setup. And once again my opinion: I want the asset manager with the best performance, not just the one with the best performance. I only trust a strong partner for strategic and tactical asset allocation.
You get the feeling that all of a sudden any computer geek can do portfolio management, I find funny.
Hello St. Gallen / Alex 🙂
I absolutely understand you Alex! What some people here have called "gambling" they probably meant more as "short-term / small sums / high equity exposure".
As I said, active vs. passive is an open issue. There are hardly (almost no) asset managers in the world that manage to beat the index over 20-30 years. Nevertheless, there are arguments for active investment strategies and thus the approach of Rio 🙂 It is important to simply understand what the difference is and that everyone can form and express his own opinion.
Love!
I think RIO is really cool. I find it exciting that the fees are so highly weighted here. If I pay 0.25% for the core portfolio and 0.20% for SELMA, I don't really mind. And to be honest, I'm more interested in what the bottom line is. If I'm paying 2% but earning 10%, and the competition only pays 1% but only has 7% in the bag, I'll take the expensive option.
Conclusion: It all depends on the administration! I trust Raiffeisen's portfolio management more than a robot.
Hello Alex, thank you for your opinion! 🙂
Active or passive management will probably always remain a question of philosophy. Personally, I stick to the studies and favour passive management because "performance comes and goes, fees never fluctuate". Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for every happy Rio investor! 🙂
Exciting reading material on the topic of active vs. passive is also available as an example in the Buffet bet
Love!
Hello Eric
I once set up a Rio depot. For me it is rather a small gambler's account and I opened fully on shares (95%). Since I am still otherwise broadly spread with Avadis. But I will start with only the minimum ( 5000.- ) to see how it behaves. And only make a few deposits, which may change over time.
Right. The product costs are already a bit high. Therefore I will stay with the core component ( 0.3% ) and will not add any further focus topics.
User-friendly it is absolutely. The app is also very clearly arranged and you can even make deposits from the app without going to e-banking first.
To be honest, it does have its "price"! But according to my bank advisor, the fees could still fall, as Raiffeisen does the whole thing with the masses, if many customers invest in the same product, the fees could also be reduced. Let me be surprised and wait and see 🙂
Greetings Thomas
Hello Thomas 🙂
Thank you for sharing your assessment and experience! I'm looking forward to seeing what else happens at Rio and what other focus topics will appear in the future. See you soon and best regards
Eric
Hello, Eric.
Once again, great neutral reporting from you. You give the Raiffeisen Rio App 4.1 of 5 points.
What would you give Selma for an evaluation?
And what do you personally recommend?
Best regards from Solothurn
Bruno
Hello Bruno 🙂
thank you for your good feedback!
Selma's in the Review received a rating of 4.8. Of course, it has to be said that the criteria are probably weighted differently for each user. Selma's investment amount (CHF 2,000) is better for beginners in particular to get a feel for it. Furthermore, you can switch to sustainability without additional costs (focus topic at Rio). Sustainability is of course a topic in itself, as the term is not defined. Another crucial point was of course the fees / products used: As described, I would personally favour passive products. The lower costs do not have to be earned back through increased performance.
Rio is nevertheless entitled to do so because the solution is user-friendly and very easily accessible, especially for Raiffeisen's existing customers. How do you see it, are you considering using Rio?
Love!
Hello Eric:)
Thank you very much for your statement, as I have currently invested in Selma and am very satisfied with the performance and service. I'm not considering joining Rio at the moment.
Look forward to more blogs from you!
Best regards
But I will certainly always keep an eye on the changes in the Rio App.
In the future, as a Raiffeisen customer, I could consider it as a "gambling account".