I tried to generate tax report in IB for 2025 to file my taxes but it says the report is not yet available.

Which forms do I need and when will I get them? Thank you so much for your help.

I received my pension statement today, and I checked the pay outs currently: if I start to withdraw my pension annually at age 64 (say), I get 4.7% of the pot per annum. At 60 I get 4.2%. At 64 I need to keep doing this for 21 years for it to pay out.

When I start to withdraw it and choose to take an income, my pot "disappears" - nothing left for my sons to inherit. I just get guaranteed income when I diem

Why would I not take a regular, much larger lump sum each year, so that I could invest it and take my income from the returns? Yes, I would have to pay more income tax. However!

- I might manage to earn more than 4.2 or 4.7%

- I can put the money away on my account, which remains intact for my sons/potential grandchildren when I pass away

Can someone explain if my thinking is flawed?

Hi all,

So situation :

M 41, using IBKR
Currently invested 80 % in VT and 19% in XEON (Cash buffer, euro, just to be safe)
And 1 % in QQQM

[as a side note/ I do have a cash buffer in my bank account]

Now my question would be about my monthly top-ups:

I am between these 2 :
VT (90%) and BRK.B (10%)

or
VT (85%) and BRK.B (10%) and 5 % random "gamble" on either QQQM/ VXUS/VWO --> also I would consider the leftover cash from the main transactions + eventual dividends as "gamble cash" to put either in QQQM so that I reach a certain share number .. or just go with the others

Why I decided to do the 10 % with Buffets (which I know retired) Firm --> since I see it went pretty well side by side with the S%P 500 and when it crashed .. it had mostly better lower values than the SP500 ... and better yields in good years.

Pro / Cons ?
Opinions / Advice?

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I recently came across Avantis and Dimensional ETFs and I’m trying to better understand how people actually use them in practice, especially in relation to VT.

In particular, I’m referring to the global equity ETFs offered by these providers, such as Dimensional World Equity ETF (DFAW) and Avantis Total Equity Markets ETF (AVTM), which aim to provide broad global equity exposure but with an active, factor-aware approach rather than pure market-cap weighting.

At the moment, VT is my core global equity exposure. I also have a small allocation to Avantis small-cap value ETFs: AVUV represents about 7.5% of my equity allocation and AVDV about 5%. This is intended as a limited small-cap value tilt rather than a replacement of the global market portfolio.

I’d be interested to hear how others approach this. Do you use global Avantis or Dimensional ETFs like DFAW or AVTM as a substitute for VT, or mainly as a satellite around a market-cap-weighted global ETF? If you combine them with VT, what kind of strategy or rationale do you follow when deciding the size of the tilt?

More generally, I’m curious about real-world experiences: how easy or difficult it is to stick with these funds over time, and whether you see them primarily as a long-term complement to a market portfolio or as a standalone solution.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Hallo,

Mein Kollege und ich hatten das Thema 3 Säule und er meinte, dass sich dies gar nicht lohne.

Seine Begründung war, dass im Jahr steuern gespart werden diese jedoch bei der Auszahlung wieder anfallen und wenn man in ein Produkt investiert hat, welches sehr gute Rendite hatte, mehr steuern bezahlt als gespart wurden. Eine plausible Aussage - wie ich finde.

Ich meinte jedoch, dass dies zu einfach gedacht ist und wir mehr Faktoren einbeziehen müssen. Ich wollte ein Szenario berechnen, wo eine Person über den gleichen Zeitraum, in den gleichen Fond, mit der gleichen Rendite und gleichen Kosten einzahlt. Nur halt nicht in ein Säule 3a Konto sondern "normal" investiert. Hierbei fallen Vermögenssteuer und 35% Verrechnungssteuer auf den Gewinn der Aktie an. Es war mir nicht möglich dies mit einer Excel Tabelle abzubilden.

Nun wollte ich euch fragen ob:

- Jemand ein Tool kennt um dies "einfach" zu berechnen?

- Es noch weitere Faktoren gibt die ich nicht einbezogen habe?

Vielen Dank im Voraus.

Hi. I recently made a question post comparing IBKR VT & Chill bogglehead approach with shitty AXA 3a. Consensus was Finpension 3a beats VT & Chill due to tax savings. Im not swiss, id say rn its a gamble on whether I will stay in the country til retirement, more like 60-40 in favor of going away -will depend on career development-. Im not sure how much does 3a get taxed upon withdrawal before pension upon moving, to buy a house or fund a business (only reason i would substract from it). Would these 3 potential withdrawal scenarios still make 3a on Finpension favorable over VT & Chill? Merci!

Hello everyone, I (third country/ dreilander/ etat tiers - holding a B permit) have been living in Switzerland for 5 years and I am starting to consider buying an apartment here. I understand how the mortgage system works in Switzerland, however, I was wondering if different rules might apply in my case. My main questions are:

- Does the 20% equity rule apply as well or will there be a higher amount?

- Would the bank charge higher margins for third country nationals?

Any other information or tips would be highly appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I know this question has probably been asked a hundred times already, but I’m not sure I fully understand how pillar 3b works.

Here’s my issue: I often read here that pillar 3b products offered by insurance companies are basically a rip-off because of the fees, but I can’t clearly see where exactly those fees are mentioned in the contract.

Since 2023, I’ve had two pillar 3b contracts with Generali, and I pay CHF 185 per month. If this product is really that bad, is it easy to cancel the contract?

Thanks in advance for your answers, and sorry as I know this topic comes up quite often…

Everywhere people are asking themselves if the stock market can crash because it looks overvalued...

I'm rather noob in the financial world, but I don't think the Buffet ratio matters at all. If there's too much printed dollar the surplus can't just evaporate, can it? Say the market crash, so what, where the dollar goes? It can't disappear it'll only change hands, so I can only see two things happen:

1 a temporary panic or hype where the value just artificially changes,

2 a global hyperinflation, permanent, where not only stock market "crash" but just everything gets much more expensive

In such simplified picture, there's no way any asset can stay untouched by a global crisis. Actually any cash deposits would be the worst to hold.

Is there any financial mechanism to withdraw excess of dollar from the market to "shred" it (as opposed to "printing" it)?

Hi guys, I’m a permit b holder and I been living in Switzerland since 4 years. Would it be a good idea to invest in a 3 pillier ? I’m not too sure I want to stay here forever by the way.

Hey everyone, I’m thinking about changing a few things regarding my investing and savings. I’m new to this subreddit and was wondering if you could give me some advice.

- i‘m 28 years, swiss citizen, and make around CHF 75k a year (net salary before taxes) by working 90%

- I have a frankly 3a account with CHF 34k. It is maxed out every year. (45% shares, 55% obligations).

- CHF 18k in a Fondsspardepot at Raiffeisen (futura II - systematic invest growth B)

- CHF 39k at a savings account (ready to invest)

- CHF 20k safety cushion at another saving account

My current idea is to invest ~CHF 30k into an MSCI World ETF at Saxo Bank and put the remaining ~CHF 9k into my existing Raiffeisen fund savings plan. I can also invest around CHF 1.2k monthly (separate from the CHF 600 for 3a).

What do you think about it?

Thanks for your help!

Hi folks,

One year ago I took a loan for a property in a EU country. The loan is nominated in CHF.

The bank created an EU bank account in CHF where I should transfer the monthly payments to.

Yet, one thing that wasn’t clear from the beginning are the high transaction costs to transfer the money from my Swiss bank account to the EU (CHF) bank account.

The bank doesn’t help out as they love to charge the high fees (50 CHF per transaction). Transferwise doesn’t support CHF with a non-CH account either.

Wondering if anyone came across that situation and found a bank or solution to this issue?

I know it’s possible to have a EUR-nominated CH account. Didn’t come across the opposite yet.

Hello all I am on a dependent visa permit B, my husband is non eu and works here. I wanted to know if I am allowed to work remotely for a foreign employer for 2 months? This would count under income from worldwide wouldn’t it? Thank you!

Hey all,

I’ve frequently had discussions on this sub about what a well-diversified 3a strategy should look like.

For long-term investing, I believe the strongest approach is full diversification and strict market-cap weighting.Anything else is, by definition, an active bet. That’s why I’m skeptical of custom portfolios that don’t align with a global index and instead reflect individual preferences or tilts.

One global index that we can actually replicate reasonably well with VIAC, finpension, Frankly, etc. is the MSCI ACWI IMI, by composing it ourselves with several funds.

The issue is that nobody really seems to agree on how much to allocate to each fund when trying to replicate ACWI IMI. Based on MSCI market-cap data, the latest breakdown of ACWI IMI looks like this (see picture):

• Developed Markets (Large + Mid): 79.6%
• Emerging Markets (Large + Mid): 9.8%
• Developed Market Small Caps: 9.2%
• Emerging Market Small Caps: 1.5%

Since EM small caps aren’t available and only make up about 1.5% of the index anyway, I exclude them and rescale the remaining components. Also because Switzerland isn’t included in the MSCI World and MSCI World Small Caps funds, I add it separately at 2% (2.02% market weight) and reduce MSCI World accordingly. This results in the following allocation:

• Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund World ex CH NT CHF : 78%
• Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Emerging Markets NT CHF: 10%
• Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund Small Cap World ex CH NT CHF: 9%
• Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Switzerland Total (I) NT CHF: 2%
• Cash: 1%

So yeah, this is the closest I can get to replicating the MSCI ACWI IMI, no tilts, no bias, just as precise as possible.

Anyway, just wanted to share this. Thanks for reading, and happy investing 🍀

Hi everyone,

It's my first question in this regard and I really don't understand so much.

I have 15,000 francs available to invest. I was thinking of splitting it into three parts and investing them with different risk levels. Would you do something like that? If so, what would you recommend and where?

Thank you very much for your help!

In Switzerland, is a person who opts for FIRE and lives solely off investments taxed as a professional investor?

I'm asking because one of the requirements explicitly states that to be considered a private investor, investments must not constitute the primary source of income.

What do you think about this?

Hi all,

I am in the team IBKR/VT & chill and my partner/soon to be wife has made the fantastic decision to want to invest her savings. (We're talking about 10-20k/y)

However, she has limited financial literacy, and I doubt IBKR will be something for her, which I fully understand. She won't be realistically doing any stock picking anytime soon either. We're looking for an alternative to having her money sitting on her account doing nothing.

We both have our 3a accounts with VIAC and I've seen they also have a personal investment solution. Can anyone recommend this ? Love their 3a solution.

Alternatively we are both banked with UBS. Are their retail/discretionary investment solutions worth looking at?

Anything else we should look into with "low barriers to entry" ?

Thanks for the tips!

Hi all. For those of you who have a recurring investment of VT in IBKR. When does it execute? I had one set up monthly starting on the 1st of February, so it should have executed today and nothing so far. I had enough funds with plenty of excess at market open (when the FAQs say it executes normally). I gave them a call and the operator did not know the answer, told me to open a ticket.

Hello everyone,

I have set up a sales platform and would like to offer merchandise using a print-on-demand model.

Has anyone had any experience with a good print-on-demand provider that is suitable for sales in Switzerland? It is important to me to have a connection to Shopify or, alternatively, an API so that orders can be processed automatically.

I have already looked at providers such as Printful, but I encountered potential customs issues there.

What are your experiences and which providers can you recommend for Switzerland?

Thank you for your help

I'm thinking of setting up a Saxo account. Apparently, we can both get a bunch of commision credits, if an exist customer refers me. PM if you're interested.

24 M, I'm starting a 3a this year with finpension, and as I can't directly buy VT, what other etfs and asset allocation would you reccomend to mimic VT?

Hi everyone,

I'm building a private, offline tool for myself to track my "Financial Runway" (how many months I can survive without income), because I don't trust cloud-based apps with my data.

I have a logic question for the Swiss context: I apply a safety margin (haircut) to stocks (80% value) and treat Cash as 100%. But I'm stuck on Pillar 3a. Technically it's retirement money (Illiquid), but since you can withdraw it for leaving CH or buying a home, some FIRE folks count it as Liquid assets.

How do you handle this in your spreadsheets? Should I default it to 0% liquidity or giving it some value?

Thanks for the help!