What is True Wealth and what are ETFs?
True Wealth (TW for short) is one of the established Swiss robo-advisors that specialises in investing in ETFs - i.e. so-called passive investing.
Investments are not made in individual shares or even trading. Instead, the focus is on the market as a whole, thus minimising the risk of individual companies. Depending on the index (e.g. SMI = Swiss Market Index), the return historically varies between 4% - 9% per year.
How True Wealth works in three simple steps:
- You create an investment profile based on your goals and risk appetite
- TW creates a diversified ETF portfolio for you
- The robo-advisor manages your portfolio automatically and adjusts it regularly
True Wealth Performance is very similar to the market, but more on that later. The Robo Advisor offers you as an investor a very inexpensive and easy access to ETFs or passive investments.
The True Wealth fees look very attractive. Read on to find out exactly how the platform works, what the advantages and disadvantages are and what the True Wealth alternatives are.
For each successful referral, you and your referred friend benefit from 0.25% wealth management fee for 1 year (you save 50%),
First of all, thank you for the detailed comparison.
I am currently invested with VIAC and Findependent and am toying with the idea of switching to TrueWealth. The 0% fees for the 3A account are just too good an offer. However, I have a question about this. I assume that you first have to open a "normal" portfolio with the minimum deposit of CHF 8500 in order to benefit from the 3A offer. But once the minimum deposit has been made, could you theoretically only save in the 3A account?
Thank you in advance!
Hello Marco
thank you for your message.
Good thinking! You can actually avoid the CHF 8500 at True Wealth if you invest in pillar 3a. Because the True Wealth Pillar 3a is possible from as little as CHF 1!
Here the full contribution to that.
Hello everybody,
Hello Eric
Thank you very much for the very interesting, helpful and at the same time critical recommendation report. The report helped me a lot and motivated me completely to open an account with Truewealth. In this context, thank you for the code! 🙂
I am aware that you are not giving any specific investment tips. Nevertheless, I would venture to ask the following question: Would you recommend paying in the contributions in excess of the minimum contribution all at once or - as I've often read - splitting them up to minimise risk and paying in a single instalment? If paying in in instalments: Is there a rule of thumb for the amount of the contributions and the intervals between them?
Thank you again for the interesting and valuable information.
Kind regards
Helen
Hi Helen,
thank you for your feedback!
The scientifically correct answer would be: all the money (what you want to invest and can invest in the long term - i.e. what you can do without in the long term) at once.
Psychologically easier: Set up a standing order with True Wealth and spread the amount over several months/years (depending on size).
Hope this helps you 🙂
No investment recommendation
There is a 3rd pillar 3a with True Wealth... There are no administration costs. Does it make sense to switch from Viac to True Wealth?
Hello Robert,
The solution is brand new and very promising. Accordingly, the True Wealth Pillar 3a experience report is still pending or in progress.
You'll hear news and my take on it here on the blog soon 🙂
Question about the fees:
I have another question about the administration fees. TrueWealth states that these are not included in the tax statement.
But is it still possible to see these somewhere, because I would still like to declare the fees in my tax return?
You can find your individual fees in the products used. The best way to do this is to watch the video tutorial at the top of the article.
Hello everybody
I have had a custody account of around CHF 150,000 with TrueWealth for just over a year. I am satisfied with the handling.
However, the current crises have caught me on the wrong foot: I only have around 50% in equities in the TrueWealth portfolio, so there are relatively many bonds in the portfolio. I really didn't realise that I could so easily make a loss of 6% with these "more bonds" (due to inflation and the rise in interest rates).
Am I correct in assuming that this 6% loss with bonds is permanent and will not correct again (unlike the stock market)?
Now I do not know what to do:
- If I increase the equity component (e.g. to 80%), then I realise the current book losses on bonds.
- If I continue to invest in the portfolio, I buy even more bonds that I don't actually want any more.
- Just leave your custody account untouched and simply buy ETFs yourself from a broker (DeGiro)?
What would you do?
Merci & many greetings
Thomas
Hello Thomas
your stock quota of 50% surely had a reason or? Please check if your intention (to simply switch to 80%) is in line with your strategy/objective and time horizon.
Personally, I just continue my standing order and invest every month. But you should always consider your investments individually according to your conditions.
For financial questions about True Wealth, I can highly recommend their support. Just give them a call, they will help you quickly and competently.
I would be interested in your feedback here!
Kind regards
Eric
(No investment recommendation)
Very good field report,
has also persuaded me to switch and I have been using TW successfully for 10 months.
If you want to save the first year fees, enter the following code.
Cheers
Hello Eric
Thank you for your detailed descriptions.
Meanwhile I use TrueWealth, on your recommendation, for half a year and am very satisfied. I was looking for an easy to use tool that helps me to manage my investments automatically and at a manageable cost.
Thank you and I look forward to further exciting articles
Greetings Dominic
Hello,
one question, how high is the taxation or the tax rate in CH for the distribution of an ETF at the end? If I use it as a long-term investment for retirement provision.
LG Corin
Hello, Corin,
in brief: Dividends and interest are subject to income tax as normal. Price gains are not taxed. During the investment period, wealth tax is payable on the invested assets.
Stamp duty of 0.075% is due on the purchase/sale. Furthermore, the domicile of the ETF is decisive as, depending on the domicile, the withholding tax on dividends applies (35%) or can be reclaimed. The reclaim is partly complex and not always successful.
A roboadvisor like True Wealth manages these issues for clients very conveniently, which therefore often ends up saving frustration and effort on taxes. If you prefer to create an ETF portfolio yourself, you should take a close look at these issues.
Does that help you? 🙂
Hello, Eric,
thank you for your informative answer and helps also first of all further. For the domicile of the ETF I had also already read that with domicile in Switzerland traded ETFs you can reclaim the withholding tax! Since these are few traded ETFs and most have their domicile for example in Ireland, it does not look so. Since 35% is already a lot. right ?
Hello Corin
Not only you as an investor, but also the ETF itself must pay 3% withholding tax on the income. An ETF domiciled in Switzerland on a Swiss index is tax-privileged. How difficult or easy the reclaim is, probably can not be said in general terms.
Hi Eric, I recently opened an account with Selma. Wondering if it makes sense to also open an account with True Wealth and split my investments between the two platforms? Merci.
Hello Robin, there is no general answer to this. What could speak in favour of it: You have different "investment pots" with different goals and time horizons. Then you could, for example, pursue an aggressive strategy in the True Wealth account that works towards an investment goal in 20 years. And with Selma you could invest towards a goal that you want to achieve in 5 years - which is why you invest less aggressively (i.e. less equity exposure) there.
With regard to Diversification you must be aware, however, that the investment products partly overlap.
Does that help you?
Hello everybody
With this link you get True Wealth discount on management fee only 0.25% ...
Greetings
Robert
If anyone still needs a referral link that lowers True Wealth's fees by 50% for 1 year (even for me), feel free to use the following.
I am very happy with True Wealth!
If I choose 98% shares in True Wealth which % distribution to regions would be best?
Hello Robert
Have you already opened a free demo account? True Wealth will automatically take care of the regions for you in order to optimize fees for currency exchange, etc. directly. So you don't have to intervene here, just take a look at it in the demo account. Has this clarified the question for you?
Yes I have demo account however I have in it recommendations with bonds commodities etc. I want but only shares and do not know how much % on which markets would be advisable to distribute?
I have just entered a maximum risk tolerance. This results in an equity or ETF ratio of 98%. The "instruments" are then of course still broadly diversified for you: USA, emerging markets, Switzerland, ... True Wealth suggests a mix that you can/should only influence to a limited extent.
Love!
Thanks for the info. In my demo account I can change percentages of USA, Switzerland etc. as I like by double clicking on stock cake hm....(found out by chance)...
Right, thanks for the hint! In the pie chart you can adjust the geographical distribution. Maximum Switzerland? That will certainly save you some fees on exchange rates etc. but of course your diversification is not as broad as with a global spread. Since I don't give investment advice, I can't tell you here whether it's good or bad for you to change the strategy suggested to you.
I invest with a suggested mix and am very happy with it 🙂 .
Unfortunately I played with the suggested diversification so that I no longer know what percentage was suggested. I'll probably have to redo everything... Thanks for the great website...
You can reset it by clicking on suggested mix 🙂
With this referral link or coupon, the management fee at True Wealth drops from 0.5% to 0.25% for 1 year, so you save 50% in fees!
I have after your report here set up a test account with TW. User interface is everything well Ersichtlich and Verständlich Dargestellt.
BUT one disadvantage is really that you can't directly influence the type of ETFs you get, for example. TW says: "This is also not necessary" in a tooltip.
For me, it makes a difference to have the choice between, for example, at least 2 of the well-known ETF providers for global/emerging markets/Europe/CH and possibly a dividend product because you can.... But at least it's going in a good direction.
By the way, in general I do not understand why it is so difficult to take an example from DE/F how to really bring about their own selection and savings plan-capable ETF solutions. Sure in CH the fees will still be higher but not in the total as today of up to 5% seen over all including entry and exit.
What also often leads to criticisms that many investors actually want to test the provider with 500-1000.- whether also yes everything works. Instead of saying ohhh that's for us providers but more effort than profit, you could also say if they are satisfied with us after eg.6 months, we demand a minimum flat rate for these expenses. I personally see a huge potential and market in the mobile spoiled CH. 🙂
Further I have nothing against our banks but should there be an alternative they must not wonder for their own future in the investor market.
Conclusion: Switzerland is years behind the digital development in this sector. On purpose?
Hello Tony
thanks for your feedback, I hope the you is ok with you 🙂
You have brought in a few topics here. Indeed, Switzerland still lacks a cheap online broker where ETFs (and other securities) can be bought cheaply on one's own and also purchased via a savings plan. However, since Schwiizerfranke exists (2019), I am observing some changes in the Swiss financial market and I am confident that we will see such a solution here soon.
True Wealth does not have this claim and pursues a different strategy. What TW does, they do well - I can say that from personal experience.
Dear regards!
Hello Eric
Yes sorry there I have taken some topics with in.
To come back to True Wealth: You are right, they do what they do well or rather very well, it is not because of that.
Thanks for your feedback from above.
Thank you for the review. You've convinced me to invest with True Wealth.
Thank you !
I had a look at TW and created a test account. I find it strange that you create a profile and then get a rather non-transparent mix where everything is automatically invested depending on the profile. This can lead to huge conflicts of interest that I can hardly control. I would like to choose the EFTs myself and not have to invest in something prefabricated.
Hello Danny
You can change the investment profile by clicking on "Equities", for example, and then changing the weighting of the asset class. A change is thus made indirectly. You don't have to deal with the ETF selection, but a suitable solution is suggested directly.
For those who actually want to intervene in the selection process of the respective ETF, Swissquote or perhaps SaxoTraderGo (only if invested regularly due to inactivity fee) are currently recommended.
I can personally recommend True Wealth!
Thanks for the great field report!
I highly recommend True Wealth.
Have fun investing and good luck!
Kind regards
Michael 🙂