Alpian Global Balanced

A 50/50 global 3a that quietly costs more than its Alpian siblings. Here's where the extra basis point goes.

Alpian Global Balanced ranks #62 among 90 3a investment funds in Switzerland, in the lower half of the field. It splits the portfolio evenly, 50% equities and 50% bonds, with a global reach and a 2-out-of-4 risk rating. It's the middle option for investors who want growth and ballast in equal measure, but its 0.16% TER nudges the all-in cost a hair above the rest of the Alpian range, and the track record is backtested, not live.

Where Does the 0.76% Go?

All-in cost here is 0.76% (0.16% TER plus the 0.60% flat fee), a notch above the 0.74% to 0.75% on Alpian's other plans because the balanced mix uses slightly pricier building blocks. It's a small gap in isolation, but it lands you in a higher cost tier than the cheaper Swiss Balanced twin, which holds a near-identical 50/50 split for 0.74%.

Balanced plans at VIAC or frankly sit closer to 0.30% to 0.44%. On CHF 100,000 that's about CHF 760 here versus roughly CHF 300 to 440 elsewhere. For a strategy where half the book is low-returning bonds, that fee gap is a meaningful slice of the total return on offer.

What Actually Stands Out

It's the true middle of the range. With a 50/50 split, a 7.6% simulated volatility and a -30.0% worst-case drawdown, it sits neatly between the defensive Moderate plans and the racier Dynamic ones. If you want equity upside without a near-full-equity heart attack in a crash, this is the balance point.

The portfolio is globally spread and passive, built from Alpian's BlackRock index funds, with at least 30% in or hedged to Swiss francs. The backtested 10-year return of +54.0% shows the equity half doing the heavy lifting while the bond half smooths the path.

What Most Reviews Miss

The extra 0.01% TER isn't nothing. Alpian markets one flat 0.60% fee across the range, so it's easy to assume every plan costs the same. It doesn't: the 0.16% TER here pushes total cost to 0.76%, into a worse cost band than the 0.74% Swiss Balanced plan that holds the same 50/50 mix. Same risk level, slightly more expensive.

And the numbers are backtested. The +16.2% five-year figure trails the +25.0% three-year because a rough bond stretch sits in the five-year window. Simulated index returns from 2000 to 2025 flatter any strategy, so treat the 3.5% annualized backtest as an illustration of shape and risk, not a forecast.

The Bottom Line

Global Balanced is a sensible middle path for an investor who wants an even mix of growth and stability and likes the Alpian experience. But paying 0.76% when the near-identical Swiss Balanced plan does 50/50 for 0.74%, and when VIAC or frankly do it for far less, is hard to rationalize on cost alone. Compare the whole balanced field on our Pillar 3a comparison tool.

Verdict: A well-built 50/50 global option, but it's quietly the priciest 50/50 plan in Alpian's own range, so cost-aware savers can do better even without leaving Alpian.