Getting started with e-trading

Experience e-trading entirely according to your needs: the PostFinance App offers you a quick overview and the most important functions for when you’re on the go. Use the desktop version to access advanced functions and high-performance tools for your comprehensive trading experience. Familiarize yourself step by step with our trad-ing platform in the desktop version.

E-Trading explained simply

Before you start investing, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the key features of the platform. This will help you find your way around more quickly and make targeted use of the available options.

On this page, you will find an overview of:

  • how to manage and monitor your portfolio
  • how to find suitable investments
  • how to invest step by step
  • which tools support you along the way

Whether you are just getting started or would like to become more familiar with the features, you will find the key basics explained concisely here. In the next step, we will introduce you to the platform’s main sections and show you how they support you in investing.

Portfolio (active element, highlighted) “Icon of a screen with a diagram, label: Portfolio.” | Tools “Icon of a magnifying glass above a curve, label: Tools.” | Markets “Icon of an upwards line, label: Markets.” | Inspiration “Icon of a lightbulb, label: Inspiration, currently selected.” | Trading space “Icon of a square grid, label: Trading space.”

“Overview” shows your e-trading assets at a glance. Your assets include your account balances and your securities.

In this area, you’ll also find all executed transactions, your order history, all documents and any corporate actions that you have received for information or for response.

To keep up to date about the securities you have bought, news about securities from your position list is shown below.

With watchlists, you can save and monitor securities that interest you without investing directly. This allows you to keep track of relevant investments and follow their performance over time.

You can create multiple watchlists, each of which can be customized individually. Within the lists, you can view information such as current prices and price changes in a clear format.

In addition, you can set price alerts directly from a watchlist to be notified of specific market movements. Your watchlists can also be downloaded as a CSV file, allowing you to use or analyze them externally.

Portfolio “Icon of a screen with a diagram, label: Portfolio.” | Tools (active element, highlighted) “Icon of a magnifying glass above a curve, label: Tools.” | Markets “Icon of an upwards line, label: Markets.” | Inspiration “Icon of a lightbulb, label: Inspiration, currently selected.” | Trading space “Icon of a square grid, label: Trading space.”

We support you in your decision making with useful tools. 

Scanner

The Scanner search function enables you to set filter criteria (e. g. by segment, sector, market, etc.) to find the shares, bonds and structured products you want quickly, according to your needs.

Price alerts

To make sure you don’t miss an opportunity, you can use this function to set a price alert for any instrument. To do so, simply select the corresponding security via the search field and enter a target rate or %-change. As soon as the title reaches this threshold, you will be notified according to your settings.

TradingView

This tool offers numerous, versatile options to analyse titles and compare them with others (chart analysis, intraday analysis, etc.) and also offers you professional help with making decisions.

The Markets section provides you with an up-to-date overview of the most important indices, currencies, and commodities. This gives you a quick snapshot of daily developments in global markets.

By clicking on an index, currency, or commodity in the daily overview, you can access detailed information. Using the “all constituents” function, you can also view the individual securities of an index.

In addition, a global news feed is available to keep you continuously informed about relevant market news. The Markets section thus helps you to monitor developments in a targeted manner.

inspiration_en.jpg

The “Inspiration” section supports you in searching for investment ideas and selecting securities.

You can search specifically for saving plan-compatible shares, ETFs and themed certificates, or for structured products that you can purchase free of charge on the primary market.

The “Top Media Buzz” section provides information on current market trends and shares that are mentioned particularly frequently in the media. The “Most Visited” widget shows the ten shares searched for most frequently by other customers in the selected period. The “Trend Radar” shows the shares that have posted the most significant improvement in ratings over the past two weeks. You can trigger a trade directly in all three areas.

esg_en.jpg

The “ESG-Screener” is available in the ESG section. Using your selected sustainability criteria, you can filter by company or exclude certain sectors that do not suit you. You also have access to a range of ESG-related information. This includes explanations of key terms, evaluation principles and how ESG criteria are used in the investment context. In addition, five selected companies are displayed in each of the following categories: environment, society, and governance.

In the Offers section, you will find an overview of all current promotions. These are created in collaboration with our partners and include, for example, reduced brokerage fees on selected products such as ETFs or structured products.

In addition, you can activate the “products with reduced brokerage fees” flag in the respective scanner to display all sponsored products directly.

You can also find the current promotions here.

Profile and settings

In the Profile and Settings section, you can customize the platform according to your needs and manage your personal preferences. The following options are available, among others:

  • Grouping your positions: Sort your investments by currency or product type to improve the overview of your portfolio. You can also adjust the visual layout and organization of your trading pages, for example by enabling compact mode, selecting the trading layout (simplified or advanced), or displaying the status bar.
  • Price display: Define whether bid or ask prices are shown in the tables.
  • Start date for performance calculation: Specify the date from which the overall performance of your investments is calculated.
  • Warrant expiry manager: Enable or disable the function that supports you when warrants reach their expiry.
  • Fractional trading: Enable fractional trading to invest in fractions of shares, ETFs, and thematic certificates.
  • Default values in the trading mask: Define default settings in the trading interface to simplify entries.
  • Pre-market trading: Enable trading before official market opening hours, where available.
  • Reference currencies and accounts: Define your preferred reference currencies and open new currency accounts if required.
  • Notifications: Enable pop-up notifications for executed transactions.

Brief explanation of key functions

  • You have several options to deposit or withdraw funds in E-Trading:

    • In E-Finance: via Payments > Enter payments > Transfers > E-Trading
    • In E-Finance: via Assets overview > E-Trading portfolio > Transfer
    • In E-Trading: via the “Transfer” menu at the top right

    You can also set up standing transfers to make regular deposits automatically.

  • You have different options for purchasing or selling your desired title:

    Trading directly from the search screen (“Quicksearch”)
    On this search screen, you can find securities by name, icon or ISIN, and can trade them directly from here.

    Trading from position list in the Account overview
    To sell or purchase existing positions, go to “Positions” and select “Buy” for buying and “Sell” for selling.

  • Savings plans can be set up for selected ETFs, shares, and thematic certificates.

    1. Select the desired security
    2. In the trading interface, set the “order type” to “Savings plan”
    3. Choose the maximum amount you wish to invest regularly
    4. Select the frequency – weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly
    5. Define the start date for your first order

    Important: To ensure the full savings plan amount is invested, enable fractional trading in the settings. More information can be found under “Fractional trading”.

  • Fractional trading allows you to buy and sell fractions of shares, ETFs or tracker certificates in addition to the usual full shares. This is particularly useful if you’re looking to invest small or specific amounts.

    For example, rather than buying a full share for 1,000 francs, you can instead invest just 100 francs and receive 0.1 shares. This makes it possible to start trading with smaller amounts – ideal for long-term investments or saving plans.

    How does it work?

    Because fractions cannot be traded directly on the market, PostFinance buys whole units and holds them in trust for you. You receive a proportional right to them – known as a fiduciary share.

    For example, if you purchase 0.5 shares, PostFinance holds one whole share and grants you a fiduciary share in the ratio of 0.5.

    Suitable financial instruments

    Selected shares, all ETFs from the saving plan universe and tracker certificates are eligible for fractional trading. These are marked in e-trading.

    Use of fractional trading

    1. Activate fractional trading
      Activate the “Fractional trading” function in your e-trading settings under “Trading screen”. Activation is only required once and can be reversed at any time in the settings.
    2. Choose your security
      Search for your security and click “Trade”.
    3. Enter your amount or fraction
      Specify how much you want to invest in the currency you have selected or how many fractions you want to buy or sell, then click “Prepare order” to continue.

    Display in e-trading

    You can view your fiduciary shares in the item overview by hovering the mouse over the info icon.

    Placing orders

    When buying, you can specify either a quantity (e.g. 0.3 shares) or an amount (e.g. 1,000 francs).

    Selling is only possible for a specific quantity (e.g. 0.3 shares) and only fractions of holdings can be sold.

    For fractions, only market orders are possible. For whole units or more, limit and stop limit orders are also available.

    The saving plan is only available for buy orders.

    Execution and trading hours

    Orders can be placed at any time, but are usually executed between the following hours:

    • Swiss markets: on trading days from 9.10 a.m. to 5.20 p.m. CET
    • European markets: on trading days from 9.10 a.m. to 5.20 p.m. CET
    • UK markets: on trading days from 9.10 a.m. to 5.20 p.m. CET
    • US markets: on trading days from 3.40 p.m. to 9.50 p.m. CET
    • Themes trading: on trading days from 9.25 a.m. to 5.05 p.m. CET

    Conversion into whole units

    If your fractions add up to a whole unit (e.g. 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.25), they are automatically converted into a whole unit. You then hold the financial instrument directly – no longer as a fiduciary share.

    Dividends

    You receive dividends in proportion to your fraction (e.g. 20 percent of the dividend per share for 0.2 shares).

    Transferability

    Fiduciary shares are not transferable. Transfer is possible only after conversion into whole units.

  • Search via “Quicksearch”

    On this search screen, find securities by name, icon or ISIN.

    Search via Scanner in the “Tools” area

    The Scanner search function enables you to set filter criteria (e.g. by segment, sector, market, etc.) to find the shares, bonds and structured products you want quickly, according to your needs.

    Search via the “Markets” section

    The Markets section provides an up-to-date overview of key indices, currencies, and commodities.

    Search via the “Inspiration” section

    The Inspiration section supports you in finding investment ideas and selecting suitable securities.

    Search via the “ESG” section

    In the ESG section, the ESG screener is available. Based on your selected sustainability criteria, you can filter specifically for companies.

  • Click on the desired title (Swiss registered share) on the “Position list” in the “Account overview” area then select “Register my shares”.

Additional helpful services

Information about using e-trading.

Go to e-trading FAQs