finpension Switzerland 0

Same fund and same returns as finpension Global 0. The real question is whether you need it at all.

finpension Switzerland 0 ranks #91 among 122 3a investment funds in our comparison. It holds 99% short- to medium-term Swiss franc bonds and 1% cash, with no stocks at all. It's identical to finpension Global 0, and honestly, most people who want zero stocks are better served elsewhere.

Is It Any Different From Global 0?

No. finpension Switzerland 0 and finpension Global 0 hold the exact same single fund, the Swisscanto Index Bond Fund Total Market AAA-BBB 1-5 CHF (CH1529124245), plus 1% cash. Same allocation, same fee, identical performance. finpension lists it under both its Global and Switzerland focus because each range runs from 0% to 100% equity. Picking one or the other makes no difference.

With no stocks, there's nothing to tilt toward Switzerland, which is what separates the two ranges at higher equity levels. Both score identically in our ranking (53.33%) because they're the same fund. If you've read our Global 0 review, everything there applies here too, down to the last decimal of performance.

What Actually Stands Out

The fund tracks the SBI AAA-BBB 1-5Y index: investment-grade Swiss franc bonds with one to five years left to maturity. Shorter bonds react less to interest rate moves than long ones, and because everything is in francs, there's no currency risk. Short of finpension's 3a account, it's the calmest option on the menu.

The setup matches every finpension strategy: institutional Swisscanto index funds reserved for pension money, no stamp duty on purchases and sales, and one flat 0.39% a year, all-in. These funds reclaim a large part of the foreign withholding tax on dividends, though that perk matters far more in the equity strategies than in a franc bond fund. Swisscanto by Zürcher Kantonalbank is the custodian.

What Most Reviews Miss

No stocks doesn't mean risk-free. Bond prices fall when interest rates rise, and there's no guaranteed interest. After the 0.39% fee, this fund is down 1.22% over five years and 5.66% over ten. It's up 4.04% over three years but down 0.88% over the past year. Over a decade, you'd have lost money in a strategy most people pick to avoid exactly that.

Now compare a 3a savings account. The best one in our ranking pays 1.00% with no market risk, which is CHF 500 a year on CHF 50,000. Even an account at the 0.25% median would have beaten this fund over ten years. The flat 0.39% fee takes a big share of what short Swiss franc bonds yield, and that's the core problem here.

The Bottom Line

finpension Switzerland 0 is hard to recommend as a standalone 3a. If you want zero market risk, the best 3a savings accounts do that job better, with interest instead of price swings. The one case where it fits: you already run several of finpension's up to five 3a portfolios and want to park one in francs ahead of withdrawal. If you open an account anyway, code RTEQJB gives a CHF 25 fee credit once you've paid in CHF 1,000 within 12 months (enter it at sign-up or within 24 hours).

Verdict: Identical to finpension Global 0 and hard to justify over a good 3a savings account, except as a parking spot inside an existing finpension setup.