# ETF in der Schweiz: Wie du mit wenig Kosten investierst — innoVorsorge AG

> ETFs in Switzerland: TER comparison active vs. passive, stamp tax, withholding tax, broker comparison 2026, pillar 3a with index funds and concrete ETF recommendations for Swiss investors.

Adresse: https://www.innovorsorge.ch/en/blog/etf-switzerland-low-cost-investing

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6 Jun Written by Lukas Bachmann

# ETFs in der Schweiz: Wie du mit wenig Kosten investierst
*As of May 2026 · By[Lukas Bachmann & Alessandrina Gull](https://www.innovorsorge.ch/ueber-uns), innoVorsorge AG*

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a stock-exchange-listed index fund. It tracks an index — the SPI, the MSCI World, the S&P 500 — and automatically buys all the stocks contained in it. Instead of picking individual companies, you invest in hundreds or thousands of companies simultaneously with a single purchase. ETFs are traded on the stock exchange like shares: you can buy and sell them at any time at current market prices.

The concept is simple. Its impact on your wealth is not. The difference between an ETF with 0.2% annual costs and an actively managed fund with 1.2% costs over 32 years amounts to over CHF 166'000 — with the same starting capital, the same return. This article shows you why that is, how taxes work in Switzerland, which broker is worth it and how you can also use ETFs in pillar 3a.

## Why ETFs (Almost) Always Win
Actively managed funds have a structural problem: their costs. An average active fund in Switzerland charges a TER (Total Expense Ratio) of around 1.2%. Some are at 1.5%, cheaper ones at 1.0%. In addition, there is often a front-end load of 1–5% upon purchase — money that is immediately deducted from your investment amount.

ETFs, by contrast, cost between 0.06% and 0.20% TER. The average is around 0.30%. There are no front-end loads.

This would not be a problem if active fund managers could justify their higher costs through better returns. But they cannot. Morningstar evaluated the long-term performance of active funds in February 2026:**Fewer than 4% of all actively managed funds beat their benchmark index after costs over a period of 10 years.**

**96 out of 100 active funds lose against the index.**And you do not know in advance which four will win. Statistically, the probability of picking the right fund is worse than a coin toss.

Why? Fund managers trade more often, pay transaction costs, have research teams and bonuses — all of that must be earned before you as an investor profit. ETFs, on the other hand, simply buy the entire index and hold it. No research, no active trading, no expensive salaries. Hence the low costs.

## What Costs Do Over 30 Years
The compound interest effect works in both directions. It makes your wealth grow exponentially — but costs also eat away exponentially. Here is the calculation with CHF 100'000 starting capital and 7% gross return per year:

Final wealth after 32 years (CHF 100'000, 7% gross)

ETF (0.2% TER)

CHF 610'020

Active fund (1.2% TER)

CHF 443'080

Difference: CHF 166'940 — costs alone reduce your final wealth by 27%

Read that again: A one percentage point difference in annual costs costs you over CHF 166'000 over 32 years. No fund manager in the world has to pay that back to you. You do not notice it because it is only a few francs each day. But the compound interest on that difference works against you — silently, steadily, irrevocably.

And that is without even including the front-end load. Anyone investing CHF 100'000 in a fund with a 3% load starts with CHF 97'000 instead of CHF 100'000. This missing starting capital is missing over the entire term.

## Taxes on ETFs in Switzerland
Taxes on ETFs in Switzerland are less dramatic than often portrayed, but there are a few peculiarities worth understanding.

### Stamp Tax (Transfer Duty)
Every purchase and sale incurs the federal stamp tax. The amount depends on where the ETF is domiciled:

- **Swiss ETFs:**0.075% per transaction
- **Foreign ETFs:**0.15% per transaction

If you trade with a foreign broker such as Interactive Brokers or DEGIRO, you pay**no stamp tax**— it is only due when a Swiss securities dealer is involved.

### Withholding Tax (35%)
On dividends from Swiss ETFs, the ESTV deducts 35% withholding tax. You can reclaim it in full via your tax return — provided you declare everything correctly. For foreign ETFs, no Swiss withholding tax is due.

### US Withholding Tax and the Domicile Issue
This is where it becomes relevant: US stocks pay out dividends. The US levies 30% withholding tax on them. Thanks to the double taxation agreement (DTA), this is reduced to 15% — but only if the ETF is domiciled in a country with a good DTA treaty.

Ireland has one of the best DTA treaties with the US: only 15% withholding tax on dividends instead of 30%. That is why most major global ETFs are domiciled in Ireland (identifiable by the ISIN prefix IE).

Faustregel zum ETF-Domizil

**Swiss stocks:**Buy CH-domiciled ETFs (lower stamp tax, withholding tax reclaimable).

**Global stocks (MSCI World, ACWI):**Buy Ireland-domiciled ETFs (better withholding tax treatment on US dividends).

## Where to Buy ETFs: Broker Comparison
The broker determines how much you pay per trade, whether custody fees apply and whether stamp tax is charged. The differences are significant — especially between Swiss banks and international platforms.

| Broker | Transaction costs | Custody fees | stamp tax |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Interactive Brokers** | from CHF 1.25 | CHF 0 | None |
| **Saxo Bank** | 0.08%, min. CHF 3 | CHF 0 | 0.15% |
| **Swissquote** | CHF 3–90 | CHF 80–200/year | 0.15% |
| **Yuh** | 0.5%, min. CHF 1 | CHF 0 | Yes |
| **neon** | 0.5%, min. CHF 1 | CHF 0 | Yes |

**Interactive Brokers**is the clear cost winner: lowest transaction costs, no custody fees, no stamp tax. The downside: the platform is functional, but not pretty. If you want a simple app, Yuh or neon are better suited for you — with the price of 0.5% per trade, which becomes noticeable with larger amounts.

**Swissquote**is the Swiss market leader and offers everything under one roof: stocks, ETFs, crypto, pillar 3a. The costs are higher, but you get Swiss depositor protection and a FINMA-regulated bank. For buy-and-hold investors who make few trades per year, this matters less.

**Saxo Bank**sits cost-wise between IB and Swissquote — good platform, no custody fees, but stamp tax applies.

## Pillar 3a with Index Funds
A common misconception: In pillar 3a you invest not in ETFs, but in index funds. Technically similar — both track an index — but a tax-relevant difference: index funds within the 3a wrapper pay no withholding tax on dividends. Depending on the equity allocation, this saves 0.1–0.3% per year compared to ETFs.

The three cheapest providers compared:

| Provider | Total costs (TER) | Max. equity allocation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **finpension** | 0.39–0.42% | 99% |
| **VIAC** | 0.00–0.44% | 99% |
| **frankly (ZKB)** | 0.44–0.48% | 95% |

All three are worlds apart from classic bank 3a solutions, which often cost 0.8–1.5% and limit the equity allocation to 50%. With VIAC, you pay 0.00% TER on the bond portion in the cheapest case — costs only increase with the equity share.

finpension offers the highest degree of customization: you can select individual index funds and adjust the weighting. VIAC has the largest user base and a solid app. frankly is the solution from the Zurich Cantonal Bank — if you are already a ZKB customer, you have everything in one place.

**3a-Tipp:**The maximum amount for employees in 2026 is CHF 7'258 per year. Anyone who maintains multiple 3a accounts with different providers (max. 5 are sensible) can withdraw them in a staggered manner and thus save taxes upon withdrawal in old age.

### Popular ETFs for Swiss Investors
For non-restricted assets (outside pillar 3a), these ETFs are common among Swiss investors:

- **Global:**SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI (TER 0.12%) — over 9'000 stocks from developed and emerging markets in one product
- **Global:**Vanguard FTSE All-World (TER 0.19%) — similarly broad, slightly more expensive, but with distributions
- **Schweiz:**iShares Core SPI (TER 0.10%) — covers the entire Swiss market, including small caps
- **Schweiz:**UBS ETF SPI (TER 0.09%) — the cheapest option for the SPI
- **Emerging markets:**iShares Core MSCI EM IMI (TER 0.18%) — broad coverage including small caps

A simple two-ETF portfolio — 80% Vanguard FTSE All-World and 20% iShares Core SPI — covers the world and Switzerland and costs you around 0.17% TER on average. Done. No rebalancing stress, no fund manager, no hidden fees.

## Conclusion
ETFs are no longer a secret tip. They are the logical consequence of decades of data: passive investing beats active in over 96% of cases. Costs are the strongest lever you have as an investor — and the only one you fully control.

For Swiss investors, this concretely means: Ireland-domiciled ETFs for global stocks, CH-domiciled for the Swiss market. Choose a broker with low fees — Interactive Brokers for cost optimizers, Swissquote for convenience. Pillar 3a with finpension or VIAC instead of your household bank. And then: buy, hold, keep buying. Time does the rest.

Do you want to know whether your portfolio is optimally set up?

In a free strategy meeting, we look at your current situation — ETFs, pillar 3a, broker, taxes.

[Book a strategy meeting](https://www.innovorsorge.ch/strategiegespraech) Free · 15 min · Online

## Frequently Asked Questions about ETFs in Switzerland
What is an ETF? An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a stock-exchange-listed index fund that tracks a specific index such as the SPI or MSCI World. With a single product, you buy shares in hundreds or thousands of companies and can trade ETFs on the stock exchange at any time like stocks.

How much does an ETF cost in Switzerland? Die laufenden Kosten (TER) von ETFs liegen zwischen 0.06% und 0.20%, im Schnitt bei rund 0.30%. Dazu kommen Transaction costs beim Broker (from CHF 1.25 bei Interactive Brokers) and possibly stamp tax of 0.075% (Swiss ETFs) or 0.15% (foreign ETFs).

Which broker is cheapest? Interactive Brokers is the cheapest broker with transaction costs from CHF 1.25, no custody fees and no stamp tax. Saxo Bank offers 0.08% (min. CHF 3) with free custody accounts. Swissquote costs CHF 3–90 per trade plus CHF 80–200 custody fee per year.

Should I buy Swiss or Irish ETFs? For Swiss stocks: CH-domiciled ETFs (lower stamp tax, withholding tax fully reclaimable). For global stocks: Ireland-domiciled ETFs, because Ireland has a better double taxation agreement with the US and US withholding tax is reduced to 15% instead of 30%.

Can I invest in ETFs in pillar 3a? Yes, but technically pillar 3a uses index funds instead of ETFs, because these are treated better for tax purposes (no withholding tax on dividends). The cheapest providers are finpension (0.39–0.42%), VIAC (0.00–0.44%) and frankly from ZKB (0.44–0.48%), alle mit bis zu 99% Aktienquote.

### Quellen

- [Morningstar Active/Passive Barometer, Februar 2026](https://www.morningstar.com/lp/active-passive-barometer)
- [finanzen.ch — ETF-Übersicht Schweiz](https://www.finanzen.ch/etf/)
- [etfschweiz.ch — ETF-Vergleich und Broker-Bewertungen](https://www.etfschweiz.ch/)
- [VZ Wealth Center — ETF vs. index funds](https://www.vermoegenszentrum.ch/wissen/etf-indexfonds-vergleich)
- [finpension — pillar 3a conditions](https://www.finpension.ch/de/3a/)
- [Schwiizerfranke — ETF Schweiz Guide](https://www.schwiizerfranke.com/blog/etf-schweiz)
- [The Poor Swiss — Best Brokers Switzerland 2026](https://thepoorswiss.com/best-broker-switzerland/)

[BackPension Fund – Pension or Capital?](https://www.innovorsorge.ch/en/blog/pension-fund-pension-or-capital)[Fee-Only Financial Advisory: What Real Independence MeansNext](https://www.innovorsorge.ch/en/blog/fee-only-financial-advisory)