Minimum Amount for an ETF Savings Plan?
June 10, 2026
4 min read
What Is the Minimum Amount for an ETF Savings Plan?
Why the question says less about you than about your provider's fee structure.
The short version
- Fixed fees per execution create a floor. CHF 9 on a CHF 100 contribution is 9% — gone before anything is invested.
- Percentage fees create none. At 0.45% a year, the burden on CHF 20 is exactly the same as on CHF 100,000.
- The arvy ETF Savings Plan therefore has no minimum contribution. Entry starts at CHF 500; after that every instalment is equally efficient, whether CHF 20 or CHF 2,000.
- The real minimum is behavioural: enough that you notice it, little enough that a bad month does not stop you.
01Why the question is usually framed wrongly
It sounds like a question about you: do I have enough money? In reality it is a question about fee structure. There are two models, and they lead to entirely different answers.
| Monthly contribution | no fixed fee | CHF 2 per execution | CHF 9 per execution |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHF 20 | 0% | 10% | 45% |
| CHF 50 | 0% | 4% | 18% |
| CHF 100 | 0% | 2% | 9% |
| CHF 500 | 0% | 0.4% | 1.8% |
| CHF 1,000 | 0% | 0.2% | 0.9% |
Burden on the individual contribution from the fixed fee. The ongoing management fee applies in every case on top.
Read the first row twice. With a fixed fee of CHF 9 on a CHF 20 contribution, almost half disappears before a single franc is invested. The market would have to rise 80% just to offset that start.
With such providers the correct answer is therefore: at least CHF 500 a month, preferably more. Not because small amounts are pointless, but because their fee model makes them unusable.
02What changes without a fixed fee
A purely percentage-based fee behaves completely differently: it is proportional. 0.45% on CHF 20 is the same share as 0.45% on CHF 100,000. There is no threshold above which it "becomes worthwhile", because the burden is never disproportionate.
The arvy ETF Savings Plan has no minimum contribution
Entry into the mandate starts at CHF 500 — the amount from which the split between the building blocks can be represented cleanly. After that there is no fee per execution, no minimum instalment and no minimum term. The costs are 0.39% management plus 0.06% product costs — whether you contribute CHF 20 or CHF 1,000 a month. That is a different matter from a fixed fee, which eats into every single contribution, permanently.
That is not a marketing trick but a consequence of the design: because contributions are pooled and executed weekly, no costs arise per individual investor that would have to be passed on.
03Is a small amount worth it at all?
Arithmetically yes, if the horizon is right. CHF 25 a month over thirty years at a 7% gross return and 0.45% in costs produces roughly CHF 28,000 — from contributions of CHF 9,000.
Far more important is something that cannot be calculated: a small savings plan that is running is worth infinitely more than a large one you have not started. The most common cause of an empty portfolio at forty is not a small contribution at twenty. It is having waited at twenty for the right moment.
04The amount that fits you
Upper boundlow enough that a bad month does not force a pause
Lower boundhigh enough that you notice it, otherwise it becomes arbitrary
Before you startthree to six months of expenses in cash, expensive debt cleared
Afterwardsraise it when your salary rises, rather than overstretching today
Scenarios for different amounts and horizons are in How much should you invest each month?. How to find an amount that is genuinely free is covered in How much money do you need in Switzerland?.
05Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum amount for an ETF savings plan?
It depends on the fee model. With fixed fees per execution, the sensible floor is several hundred francs a month. With purely percentage-based fees there is no floor, because the burden is identical at any amount.
Is there a minimum?
Entry into the arvy ETF Savings Plan starts at CHF 500. After that there is no fee per execution, no minimum contribution and no minimum term. With providers charging a fixed transaction fee, the same amount would be economically pointless.
Is CHF 25 a month worth it?
Over thirty years at a 7% gross return and 0.45% in costs, the model produces roughly CHF 28,000 from contributions of CHF 9,000. More decisive than the amount is that the plan is running rather than waiting for a better moment.
Is it better to wait and invest more later?
Usually not. Waiting costs time in the market, and that cannot be recovered. Starting small today and raising later produces a better result in almost every model than starting late with a large amount.
What matters more: the amount or the horizon?
The horizon, by a wide margin. An early start with a small amount regularly beats a late start with a large one, because returns on returns only begin to bite over the years.
Keep reading
No minimum contribution. No reason to wait.
The arvy ETF Savings Plan starts at CHF 500 — no minimum contribution thereafter, no fee per execution and no minimum term.
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 FINMA under Art. 24 CISA. This article is for information purposes only and constitutes neither investment advice nor tax or legal advice. All amounts are indicative and depend on canton, municipality and personal circumstances. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
