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CHF 50 per Month for 18 Years: The Gift No Toy Can Match

What happens when you give your child time instead of things.

By Thierry Borgeat · Last updated April 2026 · 11 min read

The day your child is born, someone gives you a stuffed animal. Someone else gives you a onesie. Your parents give you a card with CHF 200 inside. Your best friend gives you a CHF 100 voucher for a baby shop.

All of these gifts are gone within a year. The onesie doesn't fit. The stuffed animal is under the crib. The voucher was spent on nappies. The CHF 200 disappeared into everyday expenses.

Now imagine this instead: on the day your child is born, you set up a standing order of CHF 50 per month into an investment account. You don't think about it again. You don't check it. You just let it run.

Eighteen years later, on the day your child turns 18, you hand them a piece of paper.

CHF 50 per month. The cost of two takeaway coffees per week. And your child starts adult life with CHF 21'500 — almost double what you actually contributed.

That's a deposit on a flat. A first car. A backpacking trip around the world. The seed capital for a business. Or — and this is the most powerful option — the beginning of a lifetime of investing. Because if your child leaves that money invested instead of spending it, by age 30 it grows to over CHF 60'000. By age 40, with no further contributions from anyone, to over CHF 130'000.

That's what 18 years of compounding looks like before the real compounding even begins.

The best financial gift you can give your child isn't money. It's time. And time starts the day they're born.

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The maths: What CHF 50, 100, or 200 per month becomes

These numbers assume a 7% average annual return (the historical average of global equity markets over 30+ years) and capital gains that are tax-free in Switzerland:

Monthly amount	Total invested over 18 years	Portfolio value at age 18	Of which compound growth
CHF 50	CHF 10'800	CHF 21'536	CHF 10'736
CHF 100	CHF 21'600	CHF 43'072	CHF 21'472
CHF 200	CHF 43'200	CHF 86'144	CHF 42'944
CHF 500	CHF 108'000	CHF 215'361	CHF 107'361

Based on 7% average annual return, monthly contributions, no initial lump sum, capital gains tax-free (Switzerland). Returns are not guaranteed and actual results will vary. Use our calculator for your exact scenario.

Look at the CHF 100/month row. You put in CHF 21'600 over 18 years. Your child receives CHF 43'072. The compound growth (CHF 21'472) almost equals what you actually contributed. The money made nearly as much money as you did. That's the power of 18 years of compounding — and it's why starting early matters more than investing large amounts later.

Now look at the CHF 500/month row. CHF 108'000 invested becomes CHF 215'361. Over 100 grand of pure compound growth, on top of what you put in. That's not a savings account. That's a wealth-building engine running silently in the background of your child's life.

What if you also add a lump sum at birth?

Many grandparents or godparents gift CHF 5'000–10'000 at birth. If that lump sum is invested alongside a monthly contribution:

Scenario	Total invested	Value at age 18
CHF 5'000 at birth + CHF 100/month	CHF 26'600	CHF 59'972
CHF 10'000 at birth + CHF 100/month	CHF 31'600	CHF 76'871
CHF 10'000 at birth + CHF 200/month	CHF 53'200	CHF 119'944

CHF 10'000 at birth plus CHF 200 per month = nearly CHF 120'000 at age 18. Your child could put down a flat deposit with that. Or fund an entire degree. Or — and this is the most powerful path — keep it invested. That CHF 120'000, left invested for another 22 years until age 40 with no further contributions, becomes over CHF 530'000. You spent CHF 53'200. The market did the other CHF 477'000.

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The mistake 90% of Swiss parents make

According to a Credit Suisse study, Swiss parents save an average of CHF 100 per month for their children. That's great. But most of it sits in a savings account earning 0.5–1% interest.

Here's what that means over 18 years:

Same CHF 100/month. Same 18 years. Difference: CHF 19'417. That's the cost of choosing a savings account over an investment account. And in Switzerland, the growth is tax-free — there's no capital gains tax on private investments.

The savings account feels safe. But over 18 years, "safe" costs you more than any market crash ever would. Because markets recover. Inflation doesn't give your money back.

A savings account doesn't protect your child's money. It slowly erodes it. Over 18 years, inflation eats more than any crash.

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How to set up investing for your child in Switzerland

There are two approaches, and both work. The right choice depends on how much control you want:

Option A: Account in your name (most common)

You open an investment account in your own name and earmark it mentally (or with a label) for your child. You invest monthly, you control the money, and you decide when and how to give it to your child.

Pros: Full control. You decide at what age to hand it over. No risk of an 18-year-old blowing CHF 60'000 on a car. You can adjust, pause, or redirect anytime. You declare it in your own tax return (simple).

Cons: The money is legally yours. If you face financial difficulties, creditors could access it. It's not formally earmarked for the child.

Option B: Formal children's account (gebundenes Kindesvermögen)

Some providers (True Wealth, findependent) offer formal children's accounts that run in the child's name. The money legally belongs to the child and transfers automatically at age 18.

Pros: Legally protected — it's the child's money, not yours. Protected from parental creditors. Clean separation.

Cons: You lose control at age 18 — the money automatically goes to the child, whether they're ready or not. Some providers have limited investment options. Tax treatment can be more complex (parents declare the income until age 18).

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Why quality investing makes sense for children

Your child has the one thing most investors dream of: an 18-year time horizon. That's an incredibly long runway. And with that kind of time, the optimal strategy is straightforward:

100% equities. With 18 years ahead, there's no need for bonds or defensive assets. Every major market downturn in history has recovered within 5–7 years. Your child's portfolio has time to absorb any crash and benefit from the recovery.

Quality over index. Over 18 years, the difference between owning the market average and owning ~30 quality companies with strong cash flows compounds significantly. Quality companies — Visa, LVMH, Microsoft, L'Oréal — have pricing power, growing dividends, and business models that survive recessions. They're the companies you want working for your child while they're busy learning to read.

Education built in. With arvy, you receive a weekly analysis of one quality company. By the time your child is 10, you'll have read 500+ analyses. You'll understand every company in their portfolio. And when they ask "what are these companies?" — you'll be able to explain exactly why their money is invested in the businesses that power the world.

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The real gift isn't the money. It's the mindset.

CHF 21'500 or CHF 86'000 at age 18 is meaningful. But the deeper gift is what your child learns by growing up with an investment account:

They learn that money grows. Not in a vague, abstract way — in a concrete, visible way. They can see the portfolio, see the companies, see the numbers go up (and sometimes down). They learn that patience creates wealth.

They learn what ownership means. They don't just "have savings." They own pieces of real businesses that make real products used by real people. That's a fundamentally different relationship with money than a number on a bank statement.

They learn that volatility is normal. A child who sees their portfolio drop 20% at age 14 and recover by age 16 learns a lesson that most adult investors never internalise: markets go down, markets go up, and the people who stay invested win.

They learn the habit of investing. A child who grows up seeing a monthly standing order go into an investment account is far more likely to set up their own standing order at age 20. The habit transfers. The knowledge transfers. The wealth transfers.

You're not just investing CHF 50/month. You're investing in a person who will understand compound interest before they understand trigonometry. That's the real edge.

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Taxes: What Swiss parents need to know

Good news: investing for children in Switzerland is tax-efficient.

Capital gains: Tax-free. All growth in the portfolio is completely tax-free — same as any private investment in Switzerland. This is Switzerland's structural advantage, and it applies to children's accounts too.

Dividends: Taxed as income — but in the parent's tax return. Until the child turns 18, any dividend income is declared in the parent's tax return. The Swiss withholding tax (35% Verrechnungssteuer) is reclaimable. The practical impact is small — on a CHF 20'000 portfolio with ~1% dividend yield, that's CHF 200 in dividends to declare.

Wealth tax: Minimal. The portfolio value is included in the parent's taxable wealth. At typical wealth tax rates (0.1–0.5%), a CHF 50'000 portfolio adds CHF 50–250 per year in wealth tax. Negligible compared to the CHF 20'000+ in compound growth over 18 years.

At age 18: If the account is in the child's name (Option B), it automatically transfers and the child declares it in their own tax return. If it's in your name (Option A), you gift it — and there's no gift tax between parents and children in most Swiss cantons.

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How to start — today, in 10 minutes

Step 1: Download the arvy app (iOS or Android). Open an account — it takes 5 minutes.

Step 2: Choose a 100% equity strategy — your child has 18 years, they don't need bonds.

Step 3: Set up a standing order at your bank: CHF 50, 100, or 200 per month to your arvy account.

Step 4: Forget about it. Seriously. Don't check it weekly. Don't panic when markets drop. The standing order does the work. Time does the compounding. You do the parenting.

Step 5 (optional but powerful): Tell grandparents and godparents. Instead of the 15th stuffed animal, they can contribute to the account. A CHF 500 birthday gift invested at age 1 becomes ~CHF 1'600 by age 18. Every gift compounds.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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You can't give your child a perfect life. But you can give them a financial foundation that makes every choice easier — the choice to study, to travel, to take a risk, to start something, or simply to start adult life without debt.

CHF 50 per month. That's all it takes. The rest is time.

This article was written by Thierry Borgeat, Co-Founder of arvy, and reviewed by Patrick Rissi, CFA, and Florian Jauch, CFA. Last updated April 2026.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute personal investment or tax advice. All projected returns are based on historical averages (7% p.a. for global equities) and are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Actual returns will vary. Tax rules depend on your canton and individual circumstances. arvy is a FINMA-supervised asset manager. Legal Notice & Disclaimers