findependent Global 99

#1 of 109 3a funds on day one. The catch: that score rests on a back-test, not a track record.

findependent Global 99 ranks #1 of 109 3a investment funds in our ranking, scored on findependent's back-test because the 3a only launched on 19 October 2026. It holds 99% stocks with only 10% of them in Switzerland, and about 60% of the equities sit in the US. It's built for long-horizon investors who want global equity at the lowest all-in fee we track.

Is #1 Deserved Without a Track Record?

On cost, yes. You pay 0.29% a year, all-in, with zero-fee Swisscanto institutional index funds underneath. On CHF 50,000 that's CHF 145 a year, against CHF 195 at finpension and about CHF 205 for VIAC Global 100. The simple average of the other 3a funds in our database is 0.82%, or CHF 410 on the same balance.

On returns, be careful. The +51.8% over five years and +180.6% over ten are back-tested: index data after all costs from January 2005 to September 2026, not money anyone actually earned. The underlying fund classes only launched on 5 March 2026. Our ranking scores those simulated figures with the same bands as every other fund, which is how Global 99 collects the full 35 of 35 performance points.

What Actually Stands Out

The US and Japan slices use IPF funds, a Swisscanto share class reserved for tax-exempt pension institutions that isn't hit by foreign withholding tax. With about 60% of your equities in the US, that matters more here than anywhere else in findependent's range. Every fund trades in CHF, so there's no FX markup, stamp duty or exchange fee on top.

Your 3a also belongs to the findependent 3a Vorsorgestiftung, a pension foundation legally separate from Findependent AG, the FINMA-supervised securities firm behind the app. Fund units sit at Zürcher Kantonalbank as special assets, outside any bankruptcy estate. If the company ever failed, your 3a wouldn't go down with it.

What Most Reviews Miss

In findependent's own back-test, this strategy lost 42.9% in 2008 and 17.4% in 2022. That's the price of 99% stocks, and nothing in this portfolio cushions it: no bonds, no real estate, no gold, just 1% cash. If a 40% drop would make you sell, the #1 rank won't help you one bit.

The mechanics are leaner than at older providers, too. Money is invested once a week, on a fixed trading day. Everything runs through the iOS or Android app, with no web version and no advisor. And early withdrawals for a home, self-employment or emigration follow a fee schedule whose amounts findependent hasn't published.

The Bottom Line

Global 99 is the cheapest way we know to hold a near-100% global equity 3a, and the legal structure is solid. What it can't show you yet is a single real year of results. If you can live with that, it belongs on your shortlist next to VIAC Global 100 (#2) and finpension Global 100 (#7). Our ranking of the best 3a investment funds in Switzerland puts all three side by side.

Verdict: The best-value global equity 3a on paper, for investors with 15+ years to go who accept a back-tested record for now.