Invest with an ETF saving plan

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.