I'm thinking of investing some money in shares with the intention to hold them for a couple years (buy & hold). I'm mostly interested in tech companies (e.g. microsoft) and of course i'm planning to start really small (~5k), while i learn more about the stock exchange.
I've read a couple posts in the forum, latest being 2016, about SwissQuote as a good online broker in CH. So my questions:
- is SwissQuote still a good online broker for CH and for beginners like me (because i've seen International Brokers also recommended, but only for experienced people)?
- alternative recommended brokers?
- do these companies also take care or provide assistance for proper tax declaration? if yes, for free or not?
- do they provide consultation on what to invest? if yes, for free or not?
If you don't have one already you could open a PostFinance account and use their e-trading service, which was developed by Swissquote. You can trade shares, bonds, funds, ETFs and derivatives in Switzerland, Europe and North America in real time and Swissquote is responsible for custody account management, with a fixed fee of only CHF 90 per annum.
There is plenty of information about each security on e-trading, and the online order book allows you to track bids and offers and see exactly what trades are happening. After you have made some investments you can see your wealth rise and fall before your eyes...
Of course after the end of each year they provide for download all the documents required for your tax declaration and there is no charge for this.
if you already have a bank account I'd suggest talking to them. Less hassle than opening an account elsewhere and probably just as competitive. I use Raiffeisen, and while they don't have the best of platforms it's fine for my needs and inexpensive.
If you want to follow prices, use an app such as ADVFN. At the basic level it's free and more than adequate.
Finally, may I say, no amount is too small. It's your hard earned money and it's great you're looking to do something with it other than leaving it in a bank account paying nothing. If you can add to it on a regular basis you'll likely find after 10 years you may have a good sized portfolio.
And now a warning. Most of the bigger banks will try and persuade you to invest in one of their funds. They'll be convincing but resist. They'll make the most money, you'll likely end up in finds of funds where the bank will make more than you. A good sound portfolio will usually perform better and at less costs than the big banks offerings!
I am actually using SwissQuote for my 'long term' holdings because I like the company. They are however expensive for my taste.
- I wouldn't use them for frequent transactions. The commission will be at least 20 CHF per transaction.
- There are quarterly holding fees (frais de garde) of up to 50 CHF. WTF.
- Specific to long term positions: dividend reinvestment of my Canadian stocks works well enough but the shareholder communications are not at all supported. That feature seems to depend on the geographic market.
-> If anyone knows a Swiss broker that supports communication, please tell me.
If you want a cheaper Swiss broker, you could also check Cornèr. I've read good things in the Mustachian forum. Anyway, I don't trust any US or EU based brokers so there aren't one hundred cost effective options
But evaluate what makes sense for your specific investing frequency.
They have 10 USD account activity fee (for accounts <100k), which does get discounted by your transaction fees (i.e. total monthly fee = 10 USD - commissions in that month).
If you plan to invest once and then not for the whole year, then it's probably not the optimal choice.
1) @Stendec is opening an account in PostFinance free? Wasn't my choice when i arrived in Switzerland, because colleagues/friends told me that their cards (credit etc) are not that versatile like the other big banks' (UBS, CC etc). Also, it's weird how their platform is cheaper than SwissQuote's (based on what @alexyalmtl mentions), although they built it ! In any case, your recommendation looks quite straightforward and simple for buy & hold investments. Have you tried / are you using this PostFinance platform yourself?
2) @LuganoPirate to be honest, my current bank (UBS) sent me a leaflet the other day to "build up assets". Of course i always wanted to invest something on shares, but i guess was too lazy to sit down and start working on it. But anyway, UBS reminded me that you can indeed do something more than leaving your money in an account. I'll definitely give them a call, thanks for the advice of resisting their push . And when it comes to checking the prices, i was using Google so far, so anything more advanced will definitely work!
3) @dbucar i've seen this "mustachian forum" mentioned in other posts too, is this one? And i assume it's a global community for financial advice?
Yes, I have used PostFinance e-trading since 2016, when I moved most of my securities over from UBS. I was astonished that the custody fee is only CHF 90 per annum, whereas I was paying several KCHF per annum with UBS. Personally I prefer a system that just provides the online facilities I require, without the UBS wealth manager pestering me with phone calls even though I asked him not to, but others may appreciate such advice.
There are no charges for opening PostFinance accounts, but since 1 Jan 2019 there is an account management charge of CHF 5 per month for a Private Account if you don't have investment products or custody account assets of at least CHF 25,000.
Be aware that they don't allow purchase of US-domiciled ETFs anymore (following some EU regulation, which is not obligatory for CH residents as of yet at least) - if that is of any significance to you that is.
Yes there are plenty of platforms.
Which one best suits your needs - depends; it is a matter of your investment schedule plan, and some other parameters.
Just note that many who went with other platforms in the beginning (recently or years ago) are today switching to IB, because it has the lowest fees (if you trade any more often than 1-2-3 times a year).
I am using DeGiro for ~3 years already and I am happy with it --> very low costs and user-friendly app.
On the downiside, they don't provide any analysis and their documents for tax declaration were somehow complex for my tax advisor, but... I changed tax advisor and now it seems all good :-).
- IBKR Lite (free trading, no min assets) - once it becomes available here (currently limited to US, India)
- Schwab (now trading is free)
I used Swissquote and PF before. Cancelled both.
IB is better execution wise than Schwab but less user-friendly and you need to pay for data separately. IBKR lite will probably hit the sweetspot for most people once it becomes available.