Build up your assets step by step: with an ETF saving plan that invests regularly and also works with small amounts, you save systematically over the long term.
ETFs represent entire markets and invest in many companies at the same time. This ensures broad diversification. At the same time, ETFs are inexpensive and transparent. This makes them particularly suitable for building up assets in the long term.
With the ETF saving plan, you build up your assets step by step over the long term – flexibly, transparently and in line with your goals. For example, for the future of your children, a bigger goal or as a supplement to traditional savings.
Three reasons for an ETF saving plan
Starting small is enough
You can invest from as little as CHF 1 per month. Here’s how to get started easily and in a way that suits your personal life situation.
Automatic and flexible
Pause, adapt, increase – possible at any time. This allows you to save conveniently at your own pace, without stress or obligations.
Invest today, benefit tomorrow
The longer you invest, the more the compound interest effect will occur. Your money works for you – month by month, year by year. Starting today pays off tomorrow.
The most popular ETF products from our partner companies
Over 100 ETFs eligible for saving plans for a broadly diversified portfolio
Set things up in the PostFinance App or in e-finance in just a few minutes
Flexibly adaptable: it is possible to change, pause or stop at any time
Trade free of charge for the equivalent value of your e-trading custody account fees You will receive CHF 18 of trading credit per quarter. This is automatically offset against the trading costs.
Set up in three steps
Select ETF
In e-trading, select the ETF in which you wish to invest. Enter the name of the ETF or the ISIN number in the search. Tip: you can also set up multiple saving plans to diversify your portfolio further.
Set up a saving plan
With the “Saving plan” order type, you can set the amount, frequency and start date yourself. You decide how much to invest and how often.
Activate and relax
The saving plan is now set up. Has anything changed? You can adapt everything at any time in the overview.
At PostFinance, over 100 ETFs are available for your saving plan. The selection includes the most popular ETFs from various markets and regions. This makes it easy for you to find a suitable entry point – either broadly diversified or with a targeted focus.
You can trade saving plans in e-trading from as little as CHF 1.
You pay custody account fees of CHF 18 per quarter for e-trading. In return, you will receive CHF 18 of brokerage credit, which will be used automatically for your securities purchases and sales. A saving plan costs 1% on the investment amount to execute (minimum fees CHF 1). This means that three saving plan payments of CHF 600 per quarter are free of charge.
You can start an ETF saving plan from as little as CHF 1 per investment. This means you can also get started with small amounts.
How much you pay in and how often depends on your personal situation and your goals. You can invest flexibly in the ETF saving plan – you don’t have to buy entire units.
Regular inpayments can make sense as you invest at different rates over time. This means that inpayments are more evenly distributed and individual market fluctuations are less significant. Find out in our blog how the cost averaging effect works.
You decide for yourself how often you pay in. Inpayments can be made weekly, every two weeks, monthly, every two months or quarterly. Select the rhythm that best suits your income and personal financial situation.
An ETF saving plan generally incurs two types of costs:
Ongoing ETF costs (TER)
These cover the management of the ETF and are already included in the ETF. You will not be debited directly from your account.
Trading costs
Trading fees are usually incurred for purchases. At PostFinance, you will receive CHF 18 of brokerage credit per quarter, which will be offset against these costs. This allows you to trade with no additional costs within the scope of the custody fee.
No. An ETF saving plan is flexible and adapts to your life.
Regular inpayments can be a good way of staying on top of your investment over the long term. If your situation changes, you can pause, adjust or end the saving plan at any time – with no obligation whatsoever.
Yes, you can use an ETF saving plan to build up assets for a child. Many parents opt for widely distributed and cost-effective ETFs with a long-term focus.
As e-trading is only accessible from the age of 18, the custody account is in the name of the parents. The custody account remains their property, enabling them to manage the handover time. This means that tax must be paid on the assets by the parents until the child reaches legal age or until the custody account is transferred.
With a funds saving plan, you invest regularly in an actively managed fund. Fund management decides which securities are bought or sold.
An ETF saving plan also invests regularly, but follows a market or index automatically and is not usually managed. As a result, ETFs are often structured more cost-effectively and transparently.
Both saving plan types have their advantages and disadvantages. The type of saving plan that suits you best depends on your goals, your investment horizon and your personal preferences.
There may be fluctuations on the financial markets in the short term. This is normal and an inherent part of investing. Long-term investors give their money time to even out such fluctuations.
With an ETF saving plan, you invest regularly over many years. This means that you automatically make purchases at different times and prices. This can help you to invest more calmly and to build up assets step by step.
The ideal holding period always depends on personal goals, risk capacity and the planned purpose (e.g. retirement planning, home ownership, asset growth).
An ETF saving plan is generally suitable for long-term asset growth. Accordingly, an investment horizon of at least five to ten years is often recommended – the longer, the better. This allows short-term market fluctuations to be compensated more easily and the cost averaging effect to be reflected in regular inpayments.
You don’t have to make inpayments permanently: you can pause, adjust or resume your saving plan at any time. The assets already invested remain invested in the ETF – regardless of whether further inpayments are currently being made.
This information and these statements are for information purposes only and do not constitute either an invitation to tender, a solicitation, an offer or a recommendation to purchase a service, buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments or to perform other transactions. This information does not take into consideration the specific or future investment goals, financial or tax situation or particular needs of any specific recipient and is therefore not a suitable basis for investment decisions. We recommend that you consult your financial or tax advisor before every investment. The price, value and return of investments may fluctuate. Investment in financial instruments is subject to certain risks and does not guarantee the retention of the capital invested or an increase in value. All investment services and financial instruments provided by PostFinance Ltd are unavailable to US persons and other persons whose domicile or tax liability is outside of Switzerland and will therefore neither be offered nor sold/provided to them.
