ETF Savings Plan Comparison Switzerland
September 12, 2026
6 min read
- All-in costs among Swiss providers range from 0.45% to 0.90% a year. Over thirty years at CHF 500 a month that range is worth roughly CHF 46,500. Classic bank mandates sit well above that, at 1.2% to 1.8%.
- The headline fee is not the whole bill. Foreign exchange surcharges, minimum investments, stamp duty and withholding tax inside the fund all belong in the calculation.
- Always compare management fee and product costs together. A low management fee sitting on top of expensive products is not a cheap offer.
Costs are the only part of your return you know in advance. Which is exactly why it is worth taking them apart properly once.
The Swiss market for automated investing has grown considerably in recent years. The offerings differ less in what they do than in what they cost — and the cost disclosures are rarely directly comparable. This article puts them on a common basis.
01The comparison table
All figures are annual all-in costs: management fee plus product costs (TER). Competitors are shortened to their initial.
| Provider | Management | TER | All-in | Minimum | FX surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| arvy | 0.39% | 0.06% | 0.45% | CHF 500 | no conversion |
| V | 0.25% | 0.24% | 0.49% | CHF 1 | included |
| F ¹ | 0.39% | 0.10% | 0.49% | CHF 1 | included |
| F ² | 0.40% | 0.20% | 0.60% | CHF 500 | 0.50% |
| T | 0.50% | 0.17% | 0.67% | CHF 8,500 | 0.10% |
| S | 0.68% | 0.22% | 0.90% | CHF 2,000 | 0.25% |
The arvy figure refers to the world equity portfolio (0.39% management fee plus 0.06% TER). Provider names shortened to their initial; two providers sharing an initial are distinguished by ¹ and ². Figures as surveyed and without warranty — check current terms directly with each provider.
Two qualifications that belong here. First, several providers reduce their management fee at larger asset levels; the table shows the terms for a savings plan in its build-up phase. Second, product costs capture only part of the actual fund costs — the tracking difference would be more informative, but it changes from year to year and cannot be fixed in advance. So we compare what a provider actually sets: its fees and the costs of the products it uses. The investment universe is also not identical across providers — emerging markets share, home bias and small caps differ, and with them the withholding tax borne inside the fund.
02What the range means over thirty years
Final value at CHF 500 a month over 30 years at a 7% gross return, after deducting each all-in cost:
Between the cheapest and the most expensive offer in this table lies roughly CHF 46,500 — same contributions, same market. Between the two cheapest, however, lies barely CHF 4,000. Beyond a certain level, fee optimisation stops being the most important lever.
03The four items rarely shown in the table
Foreign exchange surcharge. A world index trades in foreign currency. Paying 0.50% conversion surcharge on every purchase costs far more, with monthly buying, than 0.04% of fee difference. This item is rarely disclosed prominently.
Minimum investment. An offer with a CHF 8,500 minimum is simply inaccessible for starting a savings plan, however cheap it might otherwise be.
Stamp duty. Set by law and transaction-dependent. It is the same across providers, but belongs in the total because it arises on every purchase.
Withholding tax inside the fund. The largest invisible item. Fund domicile determines whether US dividends are taxed at 15% or 30% — a difference of roughly 0.15% to 0.19% of return a year. That exceeds the entire fee gap between the two cheapest providers. Details in Irish ETFs: 15% Instead of 30%.
The consequence for any comparison: a provider showing 0.49% with an unfavourable fund domicile can be effectively more expensive than one at 0.45% with an Irish structure. Comparing only the fee line means comparing the smaller half.
04Broker or asset manager?
The fee table compares managed offerings with each other. The bigger decision sits one level above: do you want to pay anyone for this at all?
Do it yourself at a broker. You open an account, select the ETF and set up a plan. Management fee: zero. In exchange you carry order fees, FX surcharges and the selection decision. It is the cheapest route — for someone who sticks with it.
A managed offering. An authorised asset manager selects, executes and rebalances. You pay a management fee for that. What you get is not a better return but one decision fewer — and, in the phases where it gets uncomfortable, someone who provides context.
The honest trade-off: the cost advantage of doing it yourself is real but smaller than it first appears. Fixed order fees and a 0.50% FX surcharge per purchase weigh heavily on small monthly amounts in percentage terms. And the decisive question is not what is cheapest but what you will still be doing in ten years. The behaviour gap between fund returns and investor returns runs at 1% to 1.5% a year depending on the study — a multiple of any fee difference in this table.
A third term haunts this discussion: robo-advisor. It describes the digital interface, not the licence. What matters is who makes the investment decisions, how client assets are held, and under which supervision the provider operates.
04What matters beyond cost
Costs are the most comparable criterion, but not the only one.
Execution rhythm. Weekly, monthly or quarterly. The return effect is small, but shorter intervals leave your money uninvested for less time.
Divisibility. Are small amounts invested in full, or does a remainder sit in cash? Uninvested money adds up over years.
Tax reporting. A statement that transfers straight into your tax return saves work every single year.
Communication during weak markets. This cannot be measured in hundredths of a percent and still decides outcomes. The behaviour gap between fund returns and investor returns runs at 1% to 1.5% a year depending on the study — a multiple of every fee difference in this table.
05Frequently asked questions
What are all-in costs?
Management fee plus product costs (TER) added together. Only that sum is comparable across providers, because some combine a low management fee with expensive products and others do the reverse.
How much difference does 0.5% in fees really make?
At CHF 500 a month over 30 years with a 7% gross return, the gap between 0.45% and 0.90% all-in is roughly CHF 46,000. The effect grows disproportionately with time, because forgone return generates no return of its own.
Is the cheapest provider automatically the best?
Not necessarily. FX surcharges, minimum investments and fund domicile can cancel out the advantage. And factors such as clarity and communication during crises often affect the final result more than a few hundredths of a percent.
Are there per-purchase execution fees on savings plans?
This varies considerably. Fixed amounts per execution weigh very heavily in percentage terms on small contributions. Anyone starting small should look specifically for offers without a fixed execution fee.
What is the difference between a broker and an asset manager?
With a broker you select the securities and place the orders yourself. An asset manager makes the investment decisions for you and requires authorisation to do so. The broker is cheaper; the manager removes decisions — that is the real trade-off.
Is a do-it-yourself plan at a broker cheaper?
On the management fee alone, yes, often considerably. In exchange you carry order fees, FX surcharges and the selection decision yourself. With small monthly amounts, fixed per-execution costs can consume the fee advantage.
Is a robo-advisor the same as an asset manager?
The term describes the digital interface, not the licence. What matters is who makes the investment decisions, how client assets are held, and under which supervision the provider operates.
How much does the FX surcharge really matter?
With monthly purchases, considerably more than the number suggests. A 0.50% surcharge applies to every single contribution — over years that adds up to more than the gap between a cheap and an expensive provider.
06Keep reading
Overview
Costs, taxes, domicile and mechanics in one place.
0.45% all-in, no small print
No custody fee, no execution fee, no foreign exchange surcharge.
arvy ETF Savings Plan
Invested weekly, globally diversified, Irish fund domicile.
To the savings plan →This article was written by Thierry Borgeat, co-founder of arvy, and reviewed by Patrick Rissi, CFA, and Florian Jauch, CFA.
Disclaimer: arvy AG is a manager of collective assets authorised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA under Art. 24 of the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA). This article is for information purposes only and constitutes neither investment advice nor tax or legal advice, nor an offer or solicitation to buy or sell financial instruments. The calculations shown are model calculations based on the stated assumptions and are not forecasts; they assume a constant return compounded monthly at the stated nominal annual rate. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Equity investments are subject to price fluctuations; losses up to the total loss of the capital invested are possible. Tax consequences differ by canton and by individual situation — please clarify yours with a professional.
