For many of Switzerland’s residents, smartphones have long become a staple of everyday life, and that fact is apparent in retirement planning as well. An increasing number of savers now use app-based asset management services to save an invest in the pillar 3a. These apps are easy to navigate, and often have lower fees than the retirement solutions offered by established banks.
It has been eight years since Viac launched the first online asset management service for the pillar 3a. Today, numerous app-based pillar 3a solutions vie for the favor of retirement savers. Online pillar 3a solutions are no longer a niche product: Viac now manages more than five billion francs of assets, while Frankly from the Zürcher Kantonalbank manages more than four billion francs.
A moneyland.ch cost simulation reveals the costs over a 10-year term
Independent online comparison service moneyland.ch calculated the costs of Swiss app-based retirement saving solutions for a 10-year term. The cost calculation is based on a monthly payment of 500 francs into the pillar 3a, for a total of 60,000 francs paid in over 10 years. The calculations account for both the asset management fees charged by the service provider, and the product fees (TER) charged by the providers of the investment products used.
“Swiss retirement apps have a relatively simple fee structure,” explains moneyland.ch analyst Felix Oeschger. The costs of using classic retirement funds, on the other hand, are harder to calculate, as they may include things like custody fees and sales commissions.
Liberty Green, True Wealth, and Viac are the cheapest
The moneyland.ch cost simulation reveals two victors. The cheapest offer is a portfolio from Liberty Green, with total costs of 303 francs over the 10-year term. But it is important to note that this specific offer only has a stock component of 25 percent. Liberty Green portfolios with higher stock components can have total costs of up to 1150 francs for the same term.
Additionally, the winning portfolio from Liberty Green only includes around 30 different securities – which is very few compared to other offers.
The cheapest Portfolio with a large stock component and a broadly-diversified portfolio is offered by True Wealth, and costs between 424 and 635 francs over 10 years. The reason for the price span is that the costs can vary depending on which investment vehicles are used.
Viac, which pioneered online pillar 3a asset management, is also among the cheapest, with costs of between 484 and 1331 francs, depending on the portfolio used. The costs are higher depending on which portion of your money is invested, with no fees being charged for the cash portion. Finpension is also among the more affordable options, with costs of between 1180 and 1240 francs. The pillar 3a product to be launched by Swiss neobank Neon in November is also among the cheaper solutions, with costs of 1232 francs.
The most expensive online pillar 3a asset management solution has total costs of nearly 3500 francs over the simulated 10-year term.
The graph below shows the costs of all pillar 3a asset management solutions included in the cost simulation.
“The price differences between service providers are huge. The most expensive offer costs eight times more than the cheapest offer,” observes moneyland.ch analyst Felix Oeschger.
But there are other pillar 3a services that are even more expensive, as revealed by a supplemental cost simulation that also includes classic retirement funds from established banks. The costs of using retirement funds from certain banks range between 3000 and 5000 francs, across a 10-year term. Compared to those retirement funds, even the more expensive online pillar 3a asset management services are relatively cheap.
The larger the stock component, the higher the potential returns
Online pillar 3a asset management services are geared towards investors who want to invest their retirement savings in securities. Investing in securities carries a risk of loss, as the value of your savings can fluctuate and even decline. If falling stock prices make you nervous, then you are better off avoiding securities investments.
But over long terms – typically at least 10 years – the returns from securities investments have usually been much higher than the interest yielded by bank accounts. Still , the risk of making a loss with securities investments can never be ruled out.
“Investment solutions offer high potential returns, but require patience and risk tolerance,” says Felix Oeschger from moneyland.ch.
A guide to online pillar 3a asset management services
The moneyland.ch guide to online pillar 3a asset management services answers many questions about using retirement apps for saving and investing. A detailed comparison with additional information is available as a PDF.
Methodology
For this analysis, online comparison service moneyland.ch calculated the costs of Swiss online pillar 3a asset management services. The cost simulation is based on the assumption that a person will contribute 500 francs per month to the pillar 3a for 10 years. Calculations account for both the asset management fee charged by the asset management service provider, and the fees paid to fund managers (TER) for the use of investment funds. The cost simulation uses a simplified model, with calculations being based on the assumption that the value of assets will remain the same throughout the 10-year term. In practice, the value of invested assets will normally increase over time, and the higher portfolio value will result in fees being higher as well.
These pillar 3a asset management services with mobile apps are included in the analysis: Finpension, Frankly, Gioia 3a, Liberty Green, My Liberty, Pilla, Selma, True Wealth, Viac, and Volt. The analysis also includes the pillar 3a offers from Swiss neobanks Alpina, Neon, Radicant, and Yuh. Other online pillar 3a services included in the analysis are Descartes (web portal only), as well as Denk 3a and Fluks, both stand-alone pillar 3a services that are integrated into the online banking services of established banks.
One service provider could not be included in the comparison: Inyova is currently revamping its offers, and was not able to share information about the changes. The analysis only includes pillar 3a solutions that enable users to invest in securities. It does not account for stand-alone pillar 3a savings accounts or for vested benefits solutions. Discounts and special pricing for customers who use multiple products from the same service provider are not accounted for.
The costs of custom portfolios can differ from the costs of standard portfolios, which were used for the analysis.
Remark: Vontobel Volt was added belatedly on November 7, 2025.
