Swiss online Asset Management Services Compared

Over recent years, the trend towards online services has changed asset management as well. Investors are increasingly opting for asset management providers that offer their services exclusively via online channels like mobile apps and web-based platforms.

What is an online asset management service?

Asset management services let you invest with little involvement on your part. With online asset management services, the process of signing up for a mandate and tracking your investment portfolio is done entirely online via an app or web-based platform. The service provider puts together a suitable investment portfolio based on an initial questionnaire.

The term robo advisor is often used to describe an asset management service that is offered exclusively online.

Are there any Swiss online asset management service providers?

Yes. These Swiss robo advisors offer online asset management for:

• Alpian
• clevercircles
• cleverinvest (Bank CIC)
• Descartes Finance
• Digifolio (BLKB)
• findependent
• Finpact
• Finpension
• Inyova Impact Investing
• Kaspar&
• PostFinance E-Vermögensverwaltung
• Radicant
• Raiffeisen Rio
• Selma Finance
• Swissquote Invest Easy
• True Wealth
• Viac Invest
• wiLLBe (LLB)

You can get a detailed comparison of Swiss online asset management services (robo advisors) using the form at the foot of this guide.

The biggest Swiss robo advisors, in terms of assets under management (AUM), are True Wealth with 2 billion francs and Postfinance E-Asset Management with 1.8 billion francs. When compared to the total asset management market, though, the AUMs of Swiss robo advisors are still relatively small, and many robo advisors are not yet turning a profit.

In addition to standard robo advisors, there are also Swiss online asset management offers for retirement savings in the pillar 3a and for vested benefits. You can find an overview of these in the guide to online retirement asset management services.

Do robo advisors actually use robots to make investment decisions?

Robo advisors are not robots, as their name suggests, and not all of them offer advice. The term is simply used to describe asset management services that are only available online, and largely automate their onboarding and investment processes.

How much money do I have to invest?

In contrast to conventional asset management offers, which often have very high minimum requirements for the initial amount you have to invest, there are some robo advisors that let you start investing with as little as 1 francs (Finpension, Viac Invest). Other robo advisors have minimum initial investment requirements of 500 francs (Findependent, Swissquote Invest Easy), 1000 francs (Cleverinvest, Radicant), 2000 francs (Selma Finance), or 8500 francs (True Wealth). You can find more details in the PDF available via the form at the foot of the article.

On the whole, Swiss robo advisors are substantially cheaper than conventional asset management services. Depending on the amount you invest and the portfolio you use, the most affordable robo advisors can be up to ten times cheaper than the most expensive conventional asset management service.

However, it is important to consider whether or not you need an asset manager at all. Investing directly in suitable ETFs yourself using an affordable stockbroker is usually the cheapest solution.

Online asset management services with investment consultation

All Swiss robo advisors offer basic customer services that you can contact with general questions. However, most do not offer investment advice.

But there are a few Swiss online asset management offers that do include consultation. These hybrid models work in the same way as other robo advisors, but also give you the option of getting personal consultation from a financial advisor.

These robo advisors offer personal consultation:

• Alpian
• BLKB
• Finpact
• Postfinance
• Selma Finance

Which assets do robo advisors invest in?

The majority of Swiss online asset management services automate many investment processes, with passively-managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds being widely used for portfolios. But there are also robo advisors that actively manage investments. The process of putting together a portfolio is generally automated. A portfolio consisting of various ETFs and index funds is chosen for you based on your risk capacity and risk tolerance, as determined by an initial online questionnaire.  

Robo advisors may invest your money in many different asset classes, including stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and cryptocurrencies. Some service providers give you some room to choose how different asset classes and world regions should be weighted in your portfolio. Most, however, do not give you the option of naming the specific ETFs, funds, or individual stocks that you want to invest in.

How much do Swiss online asset management services cost?

The most important fees to pay attention to when choosing a Swiss robo advisor are the flat asset management fees, and fees charged by the ETFs 

• Asset management fees: The flat asset management fee covers the cost of buying, holding, and selling assets. It also covers the service provider’s administrative costs. 
• Product fees: Investment funds and certain other investment vehicles have ongoing fees charged by the fund manager or other service provider than issues the product. These ongoing fees are typically shown as the total expense ratio (TER). Many online asset management services pass on these fees to you as the customer.

In addition to fees, there are also Swiss stamp duties that apply across all Swiss asset management services. Many robo advisors also pass on value-added tax (VAT) and stock exchange fees to you on top of the fees you pay.

You can find an overview of product fees and currency exchange markups by robo advisor in the PDF available via the form at the foot of this article.

How secure are Swiss online asset management services?

Most online asset management service providers do not use their own custody accounts to hold assets. Instead, they use a third-party custodian bank with a Swiss banking license. There are also service providers that have their own banking license and handle the custody of assets themselves. If a robo advisor were to become insolvent, the managed assets are secure, as they are held by the custodian bank.

If the custodian bank were to become insolvent, assets like shares in ETFs and index funds would not be liquidated along with the bank’s other assets. Only possible cash balances would be liquidated, but these are still protected within the limits of Swiss bank depositor protection.

Is a robo advisor the right investment solution for me?

There are a number of situations in which using an asset management service can be beneficial:

• You do not want to spend time or effort on investments - either because you do not feel confident investing yourself, or because you prefer not to make investment decisions or spend time on the research required for choosing investments.
• You want to be able to choose the specific allocations for your portfolio, rather than investing in just one or several ETFs.
• You do not have any experience with online trading platforms, or do not feel confident using them.

More on this topic:
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Compare Swiss asset management services now
Swiss pillar 3a and vested benefits robo advisors compared