{"id":8676,"date":"2026-04-10T17:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smolio.ch\/wissen\/passive-pillar-3a-the-best-offers-with-the-lowest-costs\/"},"modified":"2024-09-17T08:34:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T06:34:31","slug":"passive-pillar-3a-the-best-offers-with-the-lowest-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smolio.ch\/en\/wissen\/passive-pillar-3a-the-best-offers-with-the-lowest-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Passive pillar 3a: The best offers with the lowest costs"},"content":{"rendered":"Lesedauer<\/span> 3<\/span> Minuten<\/span><\/span>\n

If you want to invest in passive pillar 3a products, you are not necessarily spoiled for choice.\nMany banks do not offer passive pension ETFs, preferring to sell their own, often more expensive active funds. We have therefore done some research and put together a list of the most attractive providers<\/strong> \u2013 using Reto as an example. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reto is 34 years old and has an investment horizon of 31 years until retirement.\nHis long-term investment horizon allows him to build up his 3rd pillar pension provision with equity funds.\nBut what is the best way for him to do this? <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Reto recently learned that , in addition to active funds, there have also been <\/strong>much cheaper passive funds in the 3rd pillar.<\/strong> <\/a> <\/span>Passive funds (ETFs or index funds) do not even try to \u201cbeat the market\u201d and achieve a higher return, but automatically track a market index.\nThis requires less active fund management; an algorithm does most of the work.\nThat\u2019s why these products are much cheaper.\nYou can find out more about ETFs in our eBook<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Reto also learned that the difference in fees between the two types of product makes a substantial difference to his pension assets in retirement. In his example calculation, this would have been a 30% difference in his final assets<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n

Today Reto wants to know: How can he access the low-cost passive 3a funds?<\/strong> His bank only offers him its own 3a pension funds with nice-sounding names.\nHe can have these in various forms, i.e. with different equity ratios.\nBut they are all actively managed and Reto doesn\u2019t want that \u2013 after all, the fee savings from a passive product should make a contribution to his final assets.\nThat\u2019s why he looks around the web for providers that offer various passive 3a funds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

We compare the providers with Reto on the basis of the expense ratio and the included or additional costs and the possible equity ratios for passive 3a pension funds. Reto wants a high equity ratio and broad risk diversification because of his long investment horizon<\/strong>.\nAs he doesn\u2019t have the confidence to combine different products sensibly himself, a predefined strategy is more his thing.\nThe table shows you Reto\u2019s findings. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/th>\n

VIAC<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/th>

\n

Asset center<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/th>

\n

Banque CIC Suisse<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/th>

\n

Liberty Vorsorge AG<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/th><\/tr>

Cost ratio p.a.<\/b><\/td>

0.00-0.70<\/span>%<\/span><\/p><\/td>

0.68%<\/span><\/td>0.5%<\/span><\/td>

0.4%<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr>

\u2013 Included therein<\/b><\/td>\n

Costs for custody account, administration and transactions <\/span>and product costs<\/strong> (TER) of the ETFS \/ index funds used<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

Costs for custody account, administration (investment, rebalancing) and transactions<\/span><\/td>Costs for custody accounts, acquisition, exchange or redemption of fund units.<\/span><\/td>Foundation fee for custody account management<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
\n

\u2013 not included<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>

Dissolution of 3rd pillar for home ownership financing without mortgage at WIR Bank <\/span><\/td>Product costs of ETFs and index funds (TER) of approx. 0.2%; immediate buy and sell orders are settled at the e-banking rate of VZ Depotbank.<\/span><\/td>Product costs of ETFs and index funds (TER)<\/span><\/td>Fund fees (product costs of ETFs and index funds, TER) of 0.28-1.19%), possibly bank costs (transaction fees for purchase\/redemption) and stamp duties<\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Equity exposure depending on strategy<\/b><\/td>\n

20 \u2013 97%<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

15 \u2013 100%<\/span><\/td>15 \u2013 80%<\/span><\/td>\n

12 \u2013 95%<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

Investment products used<\/b><\/td>\n

The majority of the investments used are index funds<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

Index funds and ETFs traded on the Swiss stock exchange<\/span><\/td>35 active and passive BVG funds from 6 cooperation partners<\/span><\/td>\n

55 active and passive BVG investment products from all renowned Swiss banks, fund providers and investment foundations<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

Product selection<\/b><\/td>\n

Select from 15 predefined strategies (5 gradations in each of 3 strategies)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

Choose from 6 risk-related strategies or put together your own portfolio<\/span><\/td>Entries for risk profile, analysis horizon and active \/ passive product lead to fund proposal<\/span><\/td>\n

Choose your own standard strategy or a maximum of 5 funds according to your risk profile<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

Number of customers<\/b><\/td>\n

16\u2019000<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

25\u2019000<\/span><\/td>n\/a<\/span><\/td>\n

24\u2019000<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

Partner<\/b><\/td>\n

Terzo Pension Foundation(part of WIR Bank)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

Asset Center AG<\/span><\/td>Bank CIC(part of the Cr\u00e9dit Mutuel Group)<\/span><\/td>\n

Liberty 3a Pension Foundation<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr>

Minimum investment in CH<\/b>F<\/strong><\/td>\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>

1<\/span><\/td>1\u2019000<\/span><\/td>\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>

Source: Websites of the respective providers, as at December 2019.\nThe overview is not a recommendation or invitation to purchase individual products. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The VIAC solution appeals to Reto<\/strong>.\nViac invests his money with the Terzo pension foundation of WIR Bank, a purely Swiss, cooperatively organized bank.\nReto only has to decide on the investment focus (Switzerland, global or globally sustainable) and the equity allocation (20, 40, 60, 80 or 100%). With very low total costs of 0.53% per year<\/strong>, he can invest 80% or even 97% in equities with a global investment focus by investing in standard indices such as SMI, SPI, MSCI Europe excl.\nSwitzerland, S&P500 etc. And to top it all off, the external product costs (i.e. ETFS \/ index fund costs) are already included.<\/strong> In addition, all costs for custody accounts, administration and transactions are also covered.\nThe only thing that bothers him is not being able to transfer the investments to his private assets when the pillar 3a is dissolved, but that is still more than 30 years away.\nIn the meantime, he wants to benefit from the top conditions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n