ETF Savings Plan

An automated savings plan that invests in a globally diversified portfolio — developed and emerging markets, with bonds added depending on the profile. You set up a standing order and the rest runs by itself: the money is invested weekly, income is reinvested automatically, and we keep the weights in line through your contributions.

Anyone who wants simple, low-cost participation in global equity markets without worrying about stock selection or rebalancing. It works as a first step and equally as a low-cost base alongside an active strategy.

The existing savings plan invests in our actively managed portfolio of around 30 hand-picked quality companies. The ETF Savings Plan tracks a broad world index — no selection, but considerably cheaper. The two can be combined.

Yes. Many investors use the ETF Savings Plan as a low-cost core and the active portfolio alongside it. How to weight the two is covered in Core-Satellite Explained.

Not as a general rule. Across all active funds, the majority underperform their index after costs — which argues for passive. But passive also means nobody is steering: an index buys what is large and asks no questions about valuation. That is why we offer both, and promise no guaranteed outperformance on the active side.

A 0.39% management fee plus 0.06% to 0.08% product costs, depending on the profile. For the Growth profile that is 0.45% all-in per year, for Balanced 0.46% and for Defensive 0.47%. The management fee is paid to us; the product costs arise in the funds used and are settled directly in their prices. The full breakdown is on The Building Blocks.

Because only the total is comparable. A provider charging 0.25% management and 0.24% product costs lands at 0.49% all-in — higher than us, even though its first number looks lower. Comparing only the management fee means comparing the wrong number.

No. That is why there is no minimum amount: the percentage burden on CHF 1 is exactly the same as on CHF 100,000. With providers charging fixed transaction fees it is different — CHF 9 on a CHF 100 contribution is 9%, gone before anything is invested.

None, for a simple reason: no currency is exchanged at all. Every building block is bought in Swiss francs, so no FX surcharge arises — 0%. Surcharges of up to 0.50% per transaction are common in the market, and they apply to every contribution rather than to assets. The currency risk of the underlying shares of course remains; what you save is the surcharge, not the risk.

On the developed markets ETF yes: the federal transfer stamp duty of 0.15% on foreign securities is a tax, not a fee. Subscribing to the two Swiss index funds does not incur it. On an initial CHF 10,000 in the Growth profile that is roughly CHF 13.

Yes. SIX charges a transaction fee of 0.015% on each trade (minimum CHF 0.05 per trade)—this fee cannot be avoided and is paid by the customer. On an initial deposit of CHF 10,000, that amounts to CHF 1.50.

No. We keep the weights in line purely through new contributions and never sell to do it. That means no stamp duty and no spread arise from balancing. Portfolios that are reset through sales incur roughly 0.03% a year for it.

US companies withhold tax on dividends before the fund receives anything. How much depends on fund domicile. The developed markets block is domiciled in Ireland and pays 15% instead of 30% under the double taxation treaty. With roughly 70% US weight in that index it is worth about 0.15% to 0.19% a year. The emerging markets block holds no US dividends; there the source countries levy their own withholding taxes, equally for every provider regardless of fund domicile.

No, and we list the items individually so you can check: management fee, product costs, withholding tax and stamp duty. No fee per execution, no performance fee, no account maintenance fee, no currency conversion. At fund level a subscription charge may apply; the terms are in the respective factsheet.

A global equity portfolio built from two blocks: roughly 88% developed markets and roughly 12% emerging markets. In the Defensive and Balanced profiles a third block with Swiss franc bonds is added. Which funds those are, with ISIN and costs, is set out on The Building Blocks.

An index of large and mid-sized companies from 23 developed markets, weighted by free-float market capitalisation. The US weight is roughly 70%. Details in The MSCI World: What Is Actually In It.

Yes, through a second block weighted at roughly 12%. The MSCI World itself covers only developed markets, which is why we add to it. Together that gives the same coverage as the MSCI ACWI. The trade-off between indices is in MSCI World, FTSE All-World or ACWI.

We do use a broader one — we just assemble it ourselves. A single fund covering developed and emerging markets costs 0.12% to 0.20% a year; our two blocks together cost 0.06%. The price for it is one additional holding in the portfolio.

Every block is physical: they hold the securities themselves. A synthetic structure would avoid the remaining US withholding tax — roughly 0.13% a year — but creates counterparty risk and is less traceable. There are synthetic world funds cheaper than our combination; that is the reason we do not use them. The full trade-off is in Physical or Synthetic.

The developed markets ETF may. According to the prospectus, equity index funds may have up to 50% of the portfolio on loan at any time, and at least 80% of gross revenue is credited to the fund. Lending is collateralised but still creates a counterparty, even in a physical fund. The two Swiss index funds lend no securities at all; that is what NSL, for No Securities Lending, stands for. Anyone writing that physical replication means no risk has not read the prospectus.

They are reinvested inside the funds automatically, because every block is accumulating. No stamp duty arises on your side and you need do nothing. Tax treatment is unchanged — see below.

Yes, three: Defensive with 30% equities and 70% bonds, Balanced at 60% to 40%, and Growth with 100% equities. The equity part is built the same way in every profile, namely roughly 88% developed and roughly 12% emerging markets.

The focus is the world equity portfolio at 100% equities and 0.45% all-in. Alongside it are two mixed profiles combining the world index with a Swiss bond fund: balanced at 60% equities and conservative at 30% equities, both at 0.46% all-in.

To be straight about it: Swiss bonds currently yield below one percent. The fund used has lost roughly 0.46% a year over the past five years. At this rate level bonds are not a return component but a tool against volatility — sensible with a short horizon, or if you would otherwise sell in a decline.

The entry point is CHF 500. After that there is no minimum contribution: because there is no fee per execution, the percentage burden on small amounts is the same as on large ones. The CHF 500 has a practical reason — from that amount the split between the building blocks can be represented cleanly.

Weekly. The more frequent the execution, the shorter your money sits uninvested on average. The effect is small, but it costs nothing — and over thirty years small effects accumulate.

Download the app, open an account, choose the ETF Savings Plan and set up a standing order. It takes a few minutes. After that it runs automatically.

Yes. A bonus, an inheritance or capital from a pension fund can be invested just as monthly amounts can. With larger single amounts, investing immediately beats staggering in roughly two cases out of three, because markets rise more often than they fall.

At any time, with no minimum term and no notice period. You can change the amount, pause it or stop entirely. On selling, stamp duty and spread apply as with any transaction.

The sale is executed in the fund's normal trading rhythm, after which the transfer takes standard banking times. A securities portfolio is not a savings account — money needed at short notice should not be invested.

Talk to us. Whether a transfer is possible or whether it has to be sold and repurchased depends on the transferring institution and the fund held.

Yes, at any time and in either direction — from the ETF Savings Plan to a combination with the active portfolio and back. The switch itself is free; reallocating incurs the usual transaction costs. You can also easily open several accounts and invest into different strategies and risk profiles.

For children we have the arvy children's account. That is where compounding works longest — CHF 50 a month from birth becomes roughly CHF 21,500 by the eighteenth birthday.

A solution for restricted pension assets is in preparation. Terms and timing will be communicated once settled.

No particular one. Broad equity markets have averaged around 7% a year gross over long periods, with considerable volatility and individual decades well below that. Roughly one calendar year in four was negative. That is a historical average, not a commitment for your investment period.

Considerably. The fund's key information document shows a stress scenario of roughly 60% loss after one year, and the regulatory risk indicator is 4 out of 7. That is not scaremongering but a required disclosure — and the most honest figure about this product.

As a rule, nothing. Selling in a decline makes the loss permanent. We get in touch: at a ten percent decline we put it in context; at twenty percent we point out that historically those were the moments when adding paid off most. The decision is yours.

Anyone who needs the money in the next few years. Anyone trading short term. And anyone who wants to pick their own securities — there are cheaper routes for that through a broker.

Your own behaviour. Research estimates that investors lose roughly 1% to 1.5% of return a year through poor timing — more than all fees combined. That is why the whole learning section belongs to the savings plan: the guide, the calculators, the glossary and the newsletter.

Countries whose capital markets are considered less developed than those of industrialised nations — measured by size, accessibility for foreign investors and regulatory environment. The index covers 24 such countries. The largest are Taiwan, China, India, Korea and Brazil.

Because they make up roughly one eighth of the investable world market. Leaving them out is not a neutral decision; it is a bet that they will do worse than the rest. If you want to hold the world market, hold all of it.

Because that is roughly their current weight in the MSCI ACWI, the index that covers developed and emerging markets together. The number is not our judgement, it is the market weight.

No. The weight follows the index. We review it twice a year and correct it if it is off by more than one percentage point — through incoming contributions, not through sales. Price movements alone do not shift the weight: if one part outperforms, its weight rises with us exactly as it does inside the index.

Cost. A single physical fund covering developed and emerging markets costs 0.12% to 0.20% a year; our two blocks together cost 0.06%. On top come buying in Swiss francs and no stamp duty on the Swiss fund. The price for it is one additional holding in the portfolio.

Not what most people expect. The largest block is information technology at roughly 42%, followed by financials at roughly 20%. So it is less about commodities and low-cost manufacturing than about semiconductors, electronics and internet groups. That is also the honest flip side: this block is heavily concentrated in one sector.

Yes. Price swings are larger, legal and supervisory systems differ, and political risk is added. The fund used shows it itself: 2022 came in at around minus nineteen percent, 2026 so far at plus thirty. That is precisely why emerging markets make up only about one eighth of the equity part.

Because an index fund can be subscribed in fractions, while an ETF can only be bought in whole shares. That is why the split between the blocks works from CHF 500 rather than from several thousand francs. Subscribing to a Swiss fund also incurs no stamp duty.

No. Every contribution is allocated so that it moves the portfolio closer to the target weights. In the first weeks of a small portfolio the weight can deviate slightly; that closes by itself with every further contribution.

Not in the standard portfolio. Anyone who has to exclude a region for personal or tax reasons should talk to us before starting.

Anyone who has demonstrably held through two market crises without flinching — they are cheaper on their own. Anyone who wants to pick their own holdings. Money needed within a few years. And anyone needing comprehensive advice on succession, mortgage and company.

arvy is owned by its three founders. There is no group with quarterly targets and no financial investor with an exit date. The founders invest their own money in the same portfolios as clients, on the same terms.

No. We do not claim that our commentary recovers those 1% to 1.5% for you — that would be a return promise. What we commit to is explaining, in difficult phases, what you own and why, and that you can reach someone who knows the portfolio.

The distance between a fund's return and the return its investors actually get. Research by Vanguard, Morningstar and Dalbar estimates it at 1% to 1.5% a year. The cause is not a cost item but behaviour: selling in a decline, buying after strong years, pausing when it gets uncomfortable.

It depends. Doing it yourself costs 0.20% to 0.50% a year once you add up product costs, custody fee, brokerage, currency conversion and the tax statement. At the lower end you are roughly 0.25% cheaper than we are, at the upper end more expensive. On top come roughly 150 hours of your time over thirty years. And it depends on your behaviour gap: 0.25% a year already erases the advantage.

By hundredths of a percent, yes. Over thirty years at CHF 500 a month that is roughly CHF 3,250 against the next cheapest provider. Against a bank mandate at 1.2% to 1.8% it is CHF 75,000 to CHF 127,000. The first difference is small, the second is large.

Not the price. On the ETF Savings Plan we are ahead at 0.45% all-in, but only by 0.02% against the next provider. The difference is that we disclose every building block we use, that we also write down what argues against us, and that a full learning section and reachable people come with the plan. In detail in What Makes arvy Different.