Asset management clients are in high demand. This is also because banks can earn a lot of money from wealthy clients. One reason for this is the still high fees in private banking.
For the 2024 analysis, moneyland.ch examined the fees in Swiss asset management and investment advice for three different investment strategies and investment amounts.
Conclusion: Asset management in Switzerland has its price. But the cost differences are large. “Depending on the strategy, the most expensive mandates cost more than three times as much as the cheapest banks,” says Benjamin Manz, managing director of moneyland.ch. It is worth comparing fees for asset management. Good to know: Depending on your assets and bank, the fees are not set in stone, so it can be worth asking or negotiating.
Mandate fees on average 1.32 percent
A traditional asset management with a pure equity strategy for an investment amount of 250,000 francs costs an average of 3,289 francs per year in mandate fees at the Swiss banks examined. This corresponds to 1.32 percent of the investment amount per year. This does not include various additional costs such as foreign exchange costs, taxes, stock exchange and fund fees. In particular, the funds used are often as expensive as the mandate itself.
Digital investment apps, sometimes called “robo advisors,” are cheaper, however, and cost on average less than half as much as traditional asset management, as various comparisons by moneyland.ch show. Hybrid models that combine digital apps with advice are also on the rise.
Costs vary with the equity strategy
Many banks still follow the rule: the more stocks are used, the more expensive it becomes. For example, asset management for assets of one million francs with a pure stock strategy (80 to 100 percent stocks) costs an average of 12,574 francs per year, which corresponds to around 1.26 percent. With an average share of 40 to 60 percent, customers pay 1.16 percent for the mandates, and with a strategy without stocks, they pay 0.92 percent.
The cheapest asset management mandates
There are large cost differences in the flat-rate fees between the mandates examined (see Tables 1, 2 and 3). Of the providers examined, the cheapest are Sparkasse Schwyz, Alpian, Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank and, depending on the equity strategy and assets, other banks.
An example: With assets of 500,000 francs and a pure equity strategy, customers of the Sparkasse Schwyz with an ETF mandate pay 3,500 francs per year. At Alpian it is 3,750 francs, at the Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank 5,000 francs, followed by the private bank Piguet Galland with 5,400 francs.
The cheapest consulting mandates
In addition to asset management mandates, Swiss banks also offer investment advisory mandates. With investment advice, customers can choose between various investment recommendations, whereas with asset management they can no longer have a say once the strategy has been chosen.
For a pure equity portfolio of 500,000 francs, the investment advice from Sparkasse Schwyz is the cheapest at a cost of 1,500 francs per year, followed by the Uno mandate from Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank at a cost of 1,750 francs. In addition to the mandate fees, however, most banks also generally charge product fees.
Table 1: Flat fees for assets of CHF 250,000
| |
Shares:
80-100% |
Shares:
40-60% |
Shares:
0% |
Sparkasse Schwyz ETF mandate
(with/without ESG) CHF 1875 CHF 1875 CHF 1125
Alpian
Managed by Alpian
CHF 1875
CHF 1875
CHF 1875
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Asset Management CHF 2500 CHF 4500 CHF 4500
Piguet Galland Asset Management
Confort CHF 2875 CHF 2375 Not available
Bank Cler Asset Management CHF 3000 CHF 3000 CHF 3000
Migros Bank Asset Management
Direct investments CHF 3000 CHF 3000 CHF 3000
Sparkasse Schwyz Single title mandate CHF 3125 CHF 2625 CHF 1125
Basler Kantonalbank Asset Management CHF 3250 CHF 3250 CHF 3250
Zurich Cantonal Bank Asset Management
Classic CHF 3250 CHF 3250 Not available
Avantage Service (BCGE) Best-of-Mandate CHF 3750 CHF 3750 Not available
Basel Countryside
Kantonalbank
Managed Fund Portfolio
CHF 3750
CHF 3125
CHF 2500
Raiffeisen Futura Global in CHF CHF 3750 CHF 3250 Not available
Valiant Classic
Asset management CHF 3875 CHF 3375 Not available
Valiant Helvetic
Asset management CHF 3875 CHF 3375 Not available
Berner Kantonalbank Asset Management CHF 3875 CHF 3375 CHF 2875
UBS
Manage Advanced
CHF 5000
CHF 4375
CHF 2625
Table 2: Flat fees for assets of CHF 500,000
| |
Shares:
80-100% |
Shares:
40-60% |
Shares:
0% |
Sparkasse Schwyz ETF mandate
(with/without ESG) CHF 3500 CHF 3500 CHF 2000
Alpian
Managed by Alpian
CHF 3750
CHF 3750
CHF 3750
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Asset Management CHF 5000 CHF 5750 CHF 5000
Piguet Galland Asset Management
Confort CHF 5400 CHF 4400 Not available
Sparkasse Schwyz Single title mandate CHF 6000 CHF 5000 CHF 2000
Bank Cler Asset Management CHF 6000 CHF 6000 CHF 6000
Migros Bank Asset Management
Direct investments CHF 6000 CHF 6000 CHF 6000
Basler Kantonalbank Asset Management CHF 6500 CHF 6500 CHF 6500
Zurich Cantonal Bank Asset Management
Classic CHF 6500 CHF 6500 Not available
Zurich Cantonal Bank Asset Management
Premium CHF 6500 CHF 6500 Not available
Avantage Service (BCGE) Best-of-Mandate CHF 7500 CHF 7500 Not available
Bern Cantonal Bank Asset Management CHF 7500 CHF 6500 CHF 5500
Raiffeisen Futura Global in CHF CHF 7500 CHF 6500 Not available
Basel Countryside
Kantonalbank
Managed Fund Portfolio
CHF 7500
CHF 6250
CHF 5000
Valiant Classic
Asset management CHF 7750 CHF 6750 Not available
Valiant Helvetic
Asset management CHF 7750 CHF 6750 Not available
UBS
Manage Advanced
CHF 9750
CHF 8250
CHF 5000
Table 3: Flat fees for assets of 1 million francs
| |
Shares:
80-100% |
Shares:
40-60% |
Shares:
0% |
Sparkasse Schwyz ETF mandate
(with/without ESG) CHF 6500 CHF 6500 CHF 3500
Alpian
Managed by Alpian
CHF 7500
CHF 7500
CHF 7500
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Asset Management CHF 10000 CHF 11500 CHF 10000
Piguet Galland Asset Management
Confort CHF 10500 CHF 8500 Not available
Bank Cler Asset Management CHF 11000 CHF 11000 CHF 11000
Migros Bank Asset Management
Direct investments CHF 11000 CHF 11000 CHF 11000
Sparkasse Schwyz Single title mandate CHF 11500 CHF 9500 CHF 3500
Basler Kantonalbank Asset Management CHF 12000 CHF 12000 CHF 12000
Zurich Cantonal Bank Asset Management
Premium CHF 12000 CHF 12000 Not available
Zurich Cantonal Bank Asset Management
Classic CHF 13000 CHF 13000 Not available
Avantage Service (BCGE) Best-of-Mandate CHF 14250 CHF 14250 Not available
Berner Kantonalbank Asset Management CHF 15000 CHF 13000 CHF 11000
Raiffeisen Futura Global in CHF CHF 15000 CHF 13000 Not available
Basel Countryside
Kantonalbank
Managed Fund Portfolio
CHF 15000
CHF 12500
CHF 10000
Valiant Classic
Asset management CHF 15500 CHF 13500 Not available
Valiant Helvetic
Asset management CHF 15500 CHF 13500 Not available
UBS
Manage Advanced
CHF 18500
CHF 15500
CHF 9500
Table 4: Advisory fees for assets of CHF 500,000
| |
Shares:
80-100% |
Shares:
40-60% |
Shares:
0% |
Sparkasse Schwyz Investment advice CHF 1500 CHF 1500 CHF 1500
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Investment Advisory UNO CHF 1750 CHF 1750 CHF 1750
Sparkasse Schwyz Investment Advice Plus CHF 2750 CHF 2750 CHF 2750
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Investment Advisory DUO CHF 2750 CHF 2750 CHF 2750
Piguet Galland Investment Advisory Smart CHF 3500 CHF 3500 Not available
Alpian
Guided by Alpian
CHF 3750
CHF 3750
CHF 3750
Postfinance Investment Advice Plus CHF 4000 CHF 4000 CHF 4000
Basler Kantonalbank investment advisory package
Excellence
CHF 4000
CHF 4000
CHF 4000
Bank Cler advisory package
Excellence Plus
CHF 4250
CHF 4250
CHF 4250
Zürcher Kantonalbank Investment Advice Classic CHF 4750 CHF 4750 Not available
Basel Countryside
Cantonal Bank Investment Advisory TRIO CHF 4750 CHF 4750 CHF 4750
Zürcher Kantonalbank Investment Advisory Premium CHF 5500 CHF 5500 Not available
Valiant
Professionell
CHF 6250
CHF 5250
CHF 4250
UBS
Advice
CHF 8500
CHF 7500
CHF 5000
methodology
moneyland.ch has collected and compared the flat-rate fees for three different investment amounts of 250,000, 500,000 and 1 million francs for three different equity strategies from classic Swiss asset management mandates. The three strategies compared are as follows: minimal risk (0 percent equities, mainly bonds), medium risk (40 to 60 percent equities) and high risk (80 to 100 percent equities). In the area of investment advice, moneyland.ch compared the fees of these strategies for an investment amount of 500,000. The product fees could not be collected due to a lack of data.
