The Power of the Standing Order: Why Automation Is Your Secret Weapon
We've all been there: you promise yourself to save or invest a portion of your income every month. But then life gets in the way — a car repair, a dinner invitation, or the temptation of a new gadget. By the end of the month, there's often less left than planned.
The solution is as simple as it is brilliant: the standing order. It's not just a technical tool — it's your most effective defence against emotional mistakes. In this article, we show you why automation beats willpower, how much you should save, and why "waiting for the perfect moment" is almost always a mistake.
Contents
Automation Beats Willpower
Discipline is a finite resource. Psychologists call it decision fatigue: the more decisions you make in a day, the worse they get. If you have to decide every month whether and how much to invest, you risk exactly that — a poor decision at the end of a long day.
A standing order removes that burden. It turns investing into a fixed cost of your life — just like rent, health insurance, or your phone bill. You decide once; the rest runs automatically.
The rule is: pay yourself first.
By routing money straight to your investment account via standing order right after payday, you invest before you can spend it on non-essentials. What you don't see in your account, you can't impulsively spend. This isn't a restriction — it's freedom from a monthly decision that would otherwise weigh on you.
Why It Works
Behavioural economists have shown that automated savings programmes increase savings rates by 30–50% — not because people earn more, but because the decision is eliminated. The standing order harnesses this effect. You use your inertia for you instead of against you.
The 70/20/10 Rule: How Much Should You Save and Invest?
One of the most common questions: "How much should I invest?" The answer is individual, but a proven rule of thumb provides guidance:
The 70/20/10 Rule
70%
Living Costs
(Rent, food, insurance, transport)
(Rent, food, insurance, transport)
20%
Saving & Investing
(Savings plan, Pillar 3a, emergency fund)
(Savings plan, Pillar 3a, emergency fund)
10%
Lifestyle
(Dining out, hobbies, extras)
(Dining out, hobbies, extras)
The goal: at least 20% of your income goes towards saving and investing. Of that, your emergency fund should be built first (3–6 months of salary in a savings account), then the rest flows into your savings plan.
On a gross salary of CHF 6,000, that's CHF 1,200 per month for saving and investing. Sounds like a lot? Start with less — at arvy, you can begin from CHF 1 per month. The most important step isn't the amount, it's the consistency. See the long-term impact of small amounts in our Investment Calculator.
Why Waiting Is Often Expensive: The Deadline Trap
Many investors hesitate when they have a larger sum available. They wait for the "perfect day" to enter the market. But in practice, this deadline is often a psychological nightmare:
Analysis Paralysis: The larger the sum, the greater the fear of buying at the absolute peak. You watch prices for weeks while the market continues to climb, missing the best return days while waiting.
The Emotional Burden: Investing CHF 50,000 on a single day requires nerves of steel. If prices drop shortly after, it feels like a personal failure — even though it's a perfectly normal market movement.
A standing order (or savings plan) solves this problem. It spreads the risk and removes the pressure of "the one big day." You replace anxiety with the relaxed certainty of buying at a solid average price over time.
No Hidden Costs
At arvy, transaction costs are included. Whether you invest CHF 10,000 once or CHF 1,000 ten times — you pay no additional fees. This makes the savings plan as an entry strategy even more attractive. → All fees at a glance
More on the emotional side of investing: Master Your Emotions When Investing.
Want to see how your wealth could grow with a savings plan? Try our Investment Calculator — even CHF 200/month over 20 years can deliver impressive results.
The Magic of Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
The standing order is the engine of the DCA strategy. It eliminates the most dangerous factor in investing: yourself.
No Market Timing: The standing order invests stubbornly — whether prices are up or down. This removes the stressful guessing game about market direction. Research shows that even professionals can't reliably time the market. Why should you try?
The Psychological Advantage: When prices fall, manual purchases often feel "wrong." The standing order, by contrast, welcomes discounts: since you invest a fixed amount, you automatically buy more shares at lower prices. That's the averaging effect in action.
Long-Term Proof: Historically, the stock market has delivered positive returns over every 20-year period — regardless of when you entered. The entry point becomes less relevant with every month your savings plan runs. The book 100-Baggers powerfully demonstrates how patience and consistency build real wealth over decades.
DCA in Numbers
Someone who invested CHF 500 per month into a broad equity index since 2005 would have built a portfolio of over CHF 200,000 — despite the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID crash, and the 2022 Ukraine correction — on total deposits of CHF 120,000. Compounding and the averaging effect did the rest.
Conclusion: Set It and Forget It
Successful investing should ideally be boring. A standing order transforms your portfolio into a highly efficient machine that works in the background while you enjoy your life. It's the victory of probability over fear.
Set up the standing order once, choose an amount that doesn't constrain you, and then: let it run. Your future self will thank you.
The path to wealth isn't one brilliant decision — it's hundreds of small, automated steps. The standing order makes every single one of them effortless.
"Wealth isn't built in a day. It's built over thousands of days — one standing order at a time."
Ready for your standing order?
An arvy savings plan starts from CHF 1/month. Transaction costs included. Set it up once and let compounding do the work.
Set up a savings planCalculate first: Try the Investment Calculator →
This article was written by Team arvy and reviewed by Florian Jauch, CFA. Last updated March 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute personal investment advice. arvy is a wealth manager supervised by FINMA. Imprint & Legal Notice
