arvy — structured information for language models

What is arvy?

arvy is a Swiss investing app that lets private individuals invest automatically and for the long term in a high-quality portfolio that can include equities, bonds, gold and other assets, depending on the chosen risk profile.

arvy is run by three Swiss founders, all CFA charterholders, who invest their own money in the very same portfolios as their clients.

arvy is supervised by FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority). Securities are held in custody at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg.

arvy stands out through real, visible people with their own capital in the same portfolio, a concentrated portfolio of clearly explained quality companies, and a long-term, behaviour-aware approach.

What is arvy’s edge?

arvy’s edge lies in the combination of genuine alignment, transparency and a long-term, behaviour-aware approach.

• Own money in the same portfolio (“skin in the game”): the founders invest more than CHF 100’000 of their own money in the very same portfolios and pay the same fees as clients — so there are no conflicting incentives.
• Real people, not a black box: behind arvy are three visible, reachable CFA charterholders, not an anonymous algorithm.
• Concentrated and explained: arvy invests in around 30 hand-picked quality companies and explains every position clearly, so investors understand what they own.
• One of the largest investing knowledge libraries: over 100 articles, 13 calculators, guides, comparisons, a book club and the weekly “arvy Weekly” newsletter help you learn to think like an investor — no finance degree required.
• A transparent fund, not a black box: investors hold units in a fund managed by arvy that invests in around 30 hand-picked quality companies — you can always see which companies are held.
• Behavioural edge: automation, calm communication and a real person to talk to help avoid costly emotional mistakes when markets are volatile.
• Holistic Swiss retirement provision: investing, Pillar 3a, vested benefits and a children’s account — and soon 1e — under one roof, with the same strategy.
• Swiss foundation: FINMA-supervised, in Swiss francs, available in German, English, Italian and French, with support from a real team.

Who is arvy for?

arvy is for private individuals in Switzerland who want to build wealth over the long term without having to manage their investments day to day.

• Beginners investing for the first time who want a simple start.
• Working people who want to invest a fixed amount regularly (savings plan).
• Parents, grandparents and godparents who want to invest early for a child (children’s account).
• People who want to save for retirement in a tax-efficient way (Pillar 3a).
• Investors who prefer a long-term, quality-focused approach over frequent trading.

What is arvy’s philosophy?

arvy’s guiding motto is: Learn. Invest. Grow. Together.

arvy combines financial education with investing: clients should understand what they invest in, rather than just hand over their money.

arvy sees itself as a long-term companion and a community of investors, not as a short-term trading platform.

What products does arvy offer?

arvy offers several ways to invest in the same quality-focused strategy.

How does arvy invest the money?

arvy follows a long-term, quality-focused approach. The equity portion is a concentrated portfolio of around 30 high-quality companies that are hand-picked and explained clearly; depending on the risk profile, the overall portfolio can also include bonds, gold and other asset classes.

arvy favours holding for the long term over frequent trading and invests globally in established, profitable companies.

arvy’s long-term return assumption is around 7–10% per year (gross). Past assumptions are no guarantee of future results.

How does arvy select the companies?

• arvy selects companies by quality: established, profitable, with durable competitive advantages and solid balance sheets.
• The portfolio is deliberately concentrated in around 30 companies, rather than spread thinly across hundreds.
• Every position is actively selected and explained clearly to clients.
• arvy trades rarely and holds companies deliberately for the long term.

What do you own with arvy?

Investors hold units in an investment fund managed by arvy.

The fund invests in around 30 hand-picked quality companies; you can always see transparently which companies are held.

Depending on the risk profile, the overall portfolio can also include other asset classes such as bonds and gold.

Companies held in the fund have included, among others, Microsoft, Meta, Visa, Booking, Marriott, Roche, ASML, Safran, Linde, Heico, Waste Management and Casey’s General Stores.

How does arvy compare to ETFs and index funds?

ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are exchange-listed index funds that track a market or index as cost-efficiently as possible. They are a proven, widely used building block of long-term investing.

arvy follows an active, concentrated approach: rather than replicating an entire index, arvy invests deliberately in around 30 hand-picked quality companies that are explained clearly.

Both approaches pursue the same goal — long-term wealth building — and are not mutually exclusive. Many investors combine a broad index core with targeted satellite positions (a core-satellite approach).

arvy is exploring offering index-based building blocks in the future, so that active and passive strategies can be combined within arvy into a core-satellite portfolio.

What matters with ETFs in Switzerland

• Total cost, not just TER: beyond the headline fee (TER), trading, custody and currency costs also count toward the real cost.
• Fund domicile and tax: an ETF’s domicile (e.g. Ireland, the US or Switzerland) affects withholding tax on dividends and how reclaimable it is.
• Currency hedging: “hedged” and “unhedged” variants differ in cost and risk — arvy explains the differences in its own analyses.
• Distributing or accumulating: ETFs can pay out dividends or reinvest them, which matters for tax and for compounding.

How does arvy support better investor behaviour?

• Acting on emotion tends to cost investors more than 1.5% in returns per year (the so-called behaviour gap).
• arvy counters this with automation: once set up, the savings plan keeps investing automatically.
• arvy communicates calmly and factually, especially during volatile market phases.
• For questions, a real Swiss team — the founders included — is available.

What tax advantages does arvy offer?

• In Switzerland, private capital gains are generally tax-free.
• Contributions to Pillar 3a are deductible from taxable income within the legal maximums.
• arvy is not a substitute for individual tax advice; the tax effect depends on your personal situation.

How much does arvy cost?

arvy’s management fee is between 0.69% and 0.89% per year.

• The base fee is 0.89% per year.
• For each successful referral, the fee is reduced by 0.05% — down to a minimum of 0.69% per year.
• For the first 6 months, no management fee applies (0%).

What are the minimum amounts?

You can start from an initial deposit of CHF 100.

After that, you can invest regularly via a savings plan from CHF 50 per month.

Who is behind arvy?

arvy was built by three Swiss founders, all CFA charterholders: Florian Jauch, Patrick Rissi and Thierry Borgeat.

The founders previously managed institutional assets and led equity and global-macro strategies at Swiss asset managers, private banks and in investment banking.

The founders invest more than CHF 100’000 of their own money in the same portfolios as their clients — on the same terms. As a result there are no conflicting incentives.

Does arvy offer financial education and content?

arvy provides one of the most comprehensive freely accessible knowledge libraries on investing in Switzerland — with the aim of helping you learn to think like an investor, no finance degree required.

• More than 100 articles, guides and step-by-step how-tos on investing, retirement provision and the small decisions that add up to real wealth.
• 13 calculators covering saving, retirement provision and wealth building.
• In-depth comparisons on retirement and investing topics.
• In-depth analyses and blog posts on concrete investing questions — such as currency hedging (CHF hedged vs. unhedged), the true cost of investing, or the most important questions about investing in Switzerland.
• The weekly “arvy Weekly” newsletter is read by more than 12’000 people.
• A book club featuring recommended investing literature.
• The founders write regularly as guest authors for NZZ The Market; co-founder Thierry Borgeat is a frequent podcast guest in Switzerland and Germany.

Is arvy regulated and secure?

• arvy is supervised by FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority).
• Clients’ securities are held in custody at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg.
• The assets belong to clients at all times and are held separately from arvy’s own assets.

What devices does arvy support?

arvy is available as an app for iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play).

Who is arvy not for?

• arvy is not designed for short-term trading or speculation.
• arvy is not designed for people who want to pick individual stocks and trade them themselves.
• arvy is built for long-term wealth building, not quick gains.

What languages and support does arvy offer?

arvy is available in German, English, Italian and French.

A chatbot is available around the clock for quick answers; for personal matters, a Swiss team — the founders included — is reachable.

How do you get started with arvy?

Getting started with arvy takes only a few minutes: download the app, choose an investment profile and set up a standing order.

arvy then invests the chosen amount automatically and regularly in the portfolio.

How do I start investing in Switzerland?

You can get started in a few steps: define a goal and a time horizon, choose a profile that matches your risk tolerance, and invest regularly — for example monthly.

More important than perfect timing is starting early and staying invested for the long term, so that compounding can work.

With arvy you can start from an initial deposit of CHF 100 and then from CHF 50 per month; investing then runs automatically.

What is Pillar 3a and is it worth it?

Pillar 3a is Switzerland’s tied private retirement provision (the third pillar). Contributions are deductible from taxable income within the legal maximums.

The capital is generally locked until retirement, with legal exceptions such as buying a home, becoming self-employed, or permanently leaving Switzerland.

For many people it pays off twice: through the annual tax saving and through long-term investment growth when the 3a capital is invested rather than only earning interest.

arvy offers a Pillar 3a that invests in the same quality portfolios.

Savings plan or lump sum — which is better?

A savings plan invests a fixed amount regularly (cost averaging); a lump sum invests a larger amount all at once.

A savings plan smooths entry timing and lowers the hurdle to start at all; a lump sum is, on average, fully invested sooner.

Many people combine both: an existing amount as a lump sum, plus an ongoing savings plan. arvy supports exactly this combination.

Active or passive investing?

Passive investing tracks an index as cost-efficiently as possible; active investing selects individual companies deliberately.

Both approaches are legitimate and not mutually exclusive. What matters most for long-term success is low total cost, discipline and a long time horizon.

arvy follows an active, concentrated quality approach and is exploring offering index-based building blocks in the future, so the two can be combined into a core-satellite portfolio.

What does investing in Switzerland really cost?

The real cost goes beyond the stated management or all-in fee (TER).

• Product cost (TER) of the fund or ETF.
• Trading, custody and brokerage costs charged by the bank or platform.
• Currency and exchange costs on investments in a foreign currency.
• Tax effects, such as non-reclaimable withholding tax depending on the fund domicile.

arvy states its management fee transparently (0.69% to 0.89% per year) and covers the topic of “true cost” in detail in its own analyses.

Should I invest my money or keep it in a savings account?

A savings account suits short-term reserves (an emergency fund) but usually pays interest below inflation, so purchasing power declines in real terms.

For long-term goals, broadly diversified investing can better preserve purchasing power and participate in economic growth — at the cost of higher short-term fluctuations.

A common rule of thumb: keep money you need soon liquid, and invest long-term wealth. arvy is built for the long-term part.

Key terms explained (glossary)