Our Take on Bank Cler Nachhaltig Wachstum (CHF) V
Same management team as BKB's growth fund. The label changed, the product didn't.
Bank Cler Nachhaltig Wachstum ranks #39 among 82 3a investment funds in Switzerland. This is BKB's subsidiary running the same sustainability-focused growth strategy with 77% stocks and 20% bonds. The five-year return of +22.72% is virtually identical to its BKB sibling, which tells you everything about how "different" these two funds really are.
Are the Fees Worth It?
The 1.23% TER is a penny higher than BKB's identical fund. On a CHF 50,000 portfolio, that's CHF 615 per year in management fees. Over 25 years of compounding, this fee level eats into returns significantly compared to funds charging 0.40-0.60%.
The performance numbers tell the real story: +22.72% over five years versus BKB's +22.61%. A 0.11% difference over five years. Same managers, same strategy, same securities. The two funds are functionally interchangeable, and your choice should come down to which bank you already use.
What Actually Stands Out
Bank Cler positions itself as the more modern, digitally-focused arm of the BKB group. The app experience is generally considered more polished than BKB's traditional offering. If you're a younger investor who wants sustainability without visiting a branch, Bank Cler's digital-first approach may appeal.
Swing pricing is included, protecting you from transaction costs caused by other investors' trades. The fund's sustainability criteria exclude controversial weapons, coal mining, and companies with poor ESG governance scores. The CHF 64 million fund size is smaller than BKB's version, but still adequate.
What Most Reviews Miss
With CHF 64 million in assets compared to BKB's CHF 106 million, Bank Cler's version is meaningfully smaller. Smaller funds carry slightly higher per-unit operational costs and face greater closure risk if they don't grow. For a 20-30 year retirement investment, the larger BKB fund offers marginally more stability.
The active management has not justified its cost. A passive global 75/25 fund available through frankly or VIAC would have delivered comparable or better returns at roughly half the total cost. You're paying 1.23% for ESG screening and cantonal bank comfort, not for performance alpha.
The Bottom Line
If you bank with Bank Cler and sustainability matters to you, this fund is a reasonable choice within your existing relationship. But it's essentially the same product as BKB's version at a marginally higher price. For a broader view of your options, explore our Pillar 3a comparison tool.
Verdict: A perfectly adequate ESG growth fund, but the 1.23% TER is hard to justify when cheaper alternatives deliver similar or better results.
Pros
- Good 3-year performance (+23.4%)
- No custody fee
- Swing pricing protection
Cons
- Higher total costs (1.23% p.a.)
- Active management = higher fees
- Smaller fund size
Product Details
At a Glance
- 77% stocks allocation
- TER: 1.23%
- Swing pricing protection
- Actively managed
- No custody fee
Fund Details & Allocation
Fund Details & Allocation
Asset Allocation
Stocks
77%
Bonds
20%
Other
2%
Investment Strategy
Actively-managed fund
Fund Size
CHF 64M
Depositary Bank
UBS Switzerland AG, Zürich
Swing Pricing
Yes
Fees & Costs
Fees & Costs
Synthetic TER
1.23%
Custody Fee
Free
Performance Over Time
Historical performance of this investment fund. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
1 Year
+3.0%
3 Years
+23.4%
5 Years
+22.7%
Retirement Projection
Based on max. contribution of CHF 7'258/year, age 30 to 65 (35 years), starting from CHF 0.
Compare to Similar Products
Frequently Asked Questions
- How attractive is +22.72% over 5 years for a 77% equity fund?
- The 5-year return of +22.72% is solid but below what a typical 80% equity 3a passive fund delivered in the same window. The gap traces back to the 1.23% TER, which is roughly double the segment average of 0.68% and compounds aggressively against a high-equity allocation.
- Is the fund big enough to be stable?
- Fund size is CHF 63.7 million, smaller than the segment average of CHF 464 million but larger than Cler's other Nachhaltig vehicles. It sits in a comfortable mid-band that is unlikely to be wound down, but is not yet at the scale where active management can negotiate the deepest cost concessions on the underlying holdings.
- What does swing pricing actually do here?
- Swing pricing adjusts the daily unit price when large flows happen, so existing investors don't subsidise the trading costs of joiners or leavers. On a CHF 63.7 million equity-tilted fund, this can save existing holders 0.1 to 0.3% per year in volatile markets. It is a real benefit of UBS-backed Swisscanto-style mandates.
How We Rated This Product
Bank Cler Nachhaltig Wachstum (CHF) V was evaluated as a product using our weighted scoring system.
Ratings are updated monthly based on the latest available data. All products are evaluated using the same methodology.
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