Our Take on Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80
An 80%-risk-asset 3a built on OLZ minimum-variance equity plus a 5% iShares Bitcoin sleeve.
Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80 ranks #51 among 82 3a investment funds in Switzerland. It's an actively-managed strategy combining 75% OLZ Optimized ESG factor equity, 5% iShares Bitcoin ETP and 20% Swisscanto money market, held in a personal securities account at Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank Zürich. The 80-tier version of Descartes' unique BTC barbell.
What 5% BTC Does to an 80% Risk-Asset Portfolio
Total risk-asset weight is 80%: 75% OLZ equity plus 5% iShares Bitcoin ETP. The remaining 20% sits in Swisscanto money market. All-in cost is 0.72% (0.52% weighted TER plus 0.20% flat fee). On CHF 50,000 that's CHF 360 per year.
The BTC sleeve is a small percentage but a large volatility contributor. A 5% allocation with 60-80% annual volatility behaves more like a 15-20% allocation in a standard equity fund in terms of portfolio-level return swings. That's the barbell: low-volatility OLZ equity on the big sleeve, asymmetric crypto on the small sleeve, with the two often moving differently.
What Actually Stands Out
The Bitcoin exposure runs through iShares Bitcoin ETP, a regulated exchange-traded product physically backed by BTC held at an institutional custodian. No private keys, no wallet management. It's the cleanest way to get crypto exposure inside a 3a-compliant wrapper.
The 75% OLZ Optimized ESG factor equity sleeve uses minimum-variance construction rather than cap-weighted indexing. Custody runs at Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank Zürich in your personal securities account with weekly trading in the 3a domain. The Descartes hybrid model means on-demand human advisor access on top of the digital platform.
What Most Reviews Miss
The 20% defensive bucket is money market, not bonds. Bond percent on the strategy is 0%. So the defensive sleeve gives short-duration stability rather than bond duration. Combined with the volatile BTC sleeve, that creates a barbell with no middle: low-vol equity, no-duration cash, asymmetric crypto. By design.
The 5-year return of +16.90% sits above Descartes Minimum Risk 80 (+10.20%), and most of the gap reflects the BTC sleeve compounding through the recent crypto cycle. Reasonable to expect that gap to swing in both directions over time. The 10-year +85.10% is a representative long-run figure for this barbell structure given Bitcoin's historic returns.
The Bottom Line
Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80 is a coherent 80-tier strategy for investors who want both factor-based equity and a small structural Bitcoin allocation. It's the only product of its kind in Swiss 3a. Compare against the standard 80-tier alternatives in our guide to the best 3a investment funds in Switzerland.
Verdict: Makes sense for long-horizon investors who specifically want a small BTC sleeve plus factor-based equity in a regulated 3a wrapper.
Pros
- Good 3-year performance (+22.4%)
- No custody fee
Cons
- Active management = higher fees
- No swing pricing protection
Product Details
At a Glance
- 75% stocks allocation
- TER: 0.52%
- Actively managed
- No custody fee
Fund Details & Allocation
Fund Details & Allocation
Asset Allocation
Stocks
75%
Bonds
0%
Other
25%
Investment Strategy
Actively-managed fund
Depositary Bank
Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank Zürich AG
Swing Pricing
No
Fees & Costs
Fees & Costs
Synthetic TER
0.52%
Flat Fee
0.20%
Custody Fee
Free
Performance Over Time
Historical performance of this investment fund. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
1 Year
+2.1%
3 Years
+22.4%
5 Years
+16.9%
10 Years
+85.1%
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 is the Bitcoin exposure held inside Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80?
- Through iShares Bitcoin ETP (5% of the strategy), which is a regulated exchange-traded product physically backed by Bitcoin at an institutional custodian. No private-key management, no separate wallet. The ETP trades in your Lienhardt depot alongside the OLZ funds and the money market position.
- What sits in the 20% non-risk-asset bucket of Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80?
- Swisscanto Money Market Fund CHF FT, a cash-equivalent fund. Bond percent is 0% on the strategy. The defensive sleeve provides short-duration stability rather than bond duration, which is the Descartes-wide design choice.
- Which OLZ funds power the equity sleeve of Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80?
- Three OLZ Optimized ESG factor-based funds (Equity World ex CH, Switzerland, Emerging Market) totalling 75% of the strategy. OLZ uses systematic minimum-variance construction with low-correlation portfolio selection rather than cap-weighted index tracking.
- Are there entry or exit fees on Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80?
- No. Issuing fee 0%, sales fee 0%, custody fee CHF 0. The 0.72% all-in (0.52% weighted TER plus 0.20% Descartes/Lienhardt fee) covers Lienhardt custody, weekly trading and monthly contribution investing. No separate fee on the iShares Bitcoin ETP sleeve.
How We Rated This Product
Descartes Minimum Risk BTC 80 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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