Etf for an 18 years old

H

Haroldsun

New member
Hello,

I recently turned 18 and I want to invest my money into some single stocks and ETF.
I've read about the Swiss Investing Etf blog. Here's my take

I did some research and came up with this:

Vanguard All world Etf (VWCE) - 80%

UBS Core SPI Etf acc (SPIA) - 20%

*correction for the blog. The TER for the VWCE is going from 0.19% to 0.14% on 28.7.26

What do you guys think or what do you think Baptiste about this portfolio for 40+ years investment?
 
Congratulations for wanting to invest at 18 already!

Overall, it looks like a very solid portfolio!

A few questions:
* Are you doing accumulation on purpose?
* Which broker are you going to use? Depending on your broker, you might use US ETFs for the world ETF.

Haroldsun said:
*correction for the blog. The TER for the VWCE is going from 0.19% to 0.14% on 28.7.26
Click to expand...
Nice (y)
 
Baptiste Wicht said:
Congratulations for wanting to invest at 18 already!

Overall, it looks like a very solid portfolio!

A few questions:
* Are you doing accumulation on purpose?
* Which broker are you going to use? Depending on your broker, you might use US ETFs for the world ETF.


Nice (y)
Click to expand...
Hello Baptiste,

I am using IBKR for Investing. I am accumalting because, I think it would be easier. In my opinion, if the reinvestment is automated its great. In addition, I don't really need the profits from the VWCE, since my goal is, to invest until my retire age of 65.
 
Baptiste Wicht said:
Makes sense!


In this case, you have access to US ETFs, which can be slightly more efficient.

But I guess you are not using them since you want accumulating ETFs, and US ETFs are all distributing.
Click to expand...
Oh okay, mind me asking, why is it more efficient, investing in US Etfs instead of Eu etfs?

I mean it doesn‘t really matter if it is accumulating or distributing, but I didn‘t choose the Vanguard All world distributing, because I thought I‘ll be more stressful to invest all dividend payments haha. Since Gaijin mentionned you could reinvest all payments, that‘s cool.

But why is the VWCE not efficient?
 
Haroldsun said:
Oh okay, mind me asking, why is it more efficient, investing in US Etfs instead of Eu etfs?
Click to expand...
Because of tax treaties and US dividend withholding.
* If you have a fund in Ireland, 15% of US dividends will be withheld before reaching the fund and lost for you.
* But we have a tax treaty with the US. So, if we use a US ETF, we also get 15% dividends withheld, but they are withheld directly from us. This means that we can claim them back in our tax returns, resulting in a 0% effective withholding.

You can read more details on my blog:

thepoorswiss.com

US ETFs Are The Best ETFs For Swiss Investors - The Poor Swiss

Why US ETFs? Discover why US-domiciled ETFs are superior for Swiss investors due to lower fees, better tax efficiency, and wider diversification.
thepoorswiss.com thepoorswiss.com
 
Baptiste Wicht said:
resulting in a 0% effective withholding.
Click to expand...
Please correct me if I'm wrong. To my understanding there is a small caveat that you might not get the full 15% back, depending on the total amount of taxes we pay. In other words, if you declare a total income of 50k CHF and claim withholding for 1900 units of VT (total value 300kCHF), you will not get the full withholding since the withholding amount is higher than the total amount of taxes that you have to pay.
Of course, this does not change the overall assessment of US ETFs as being more efficient.
 
Baptiste Wicht said:
Because of tax treaties and US dividend withholding.
* If you have a fund in Ireland, 15% of US dividends will be withheld before reaching the fund and lost for you.
* But we have a tax treaty with the US. So, if we use a US ETF, we also get 15% dividends withheld, but they are withheld directly from us. This means that we can claim them back in our tax returns, resulting in a 0% effective withholding.

You can read more details on my blog:

thepoorswiss.com

US ETFs Are The Best ETFs For Swiss Investors - The Poor Swiss

Why US ETFs? Discover why US-domiciled ETFs are superior for Swiss investors due to lower fees, better tax efficiency, and wider diversification.
thepoorswiss.com thepoorswiss.com
Click to expand...
The article was exactly what I needed. What made it click for me was understanding where the 15% is taken. With an Irish fund it's taken at the entrance to the fund, so it's gone before the money is ever mine and there's nothing to reclaim. With a US fund it's taken from me personally on the way out — which is precisely why I can claim it back. I hadn't understood that distinction before.


And the caveat makes sense as well. If the credit is capped by the Swiss tax actually due on that income, then someone with a low income and a large portfolio wouldn't get the full amount back. But even in that case VT still comes out ahead, because with an Irish fund that money is lost regardless. So I'm convinced — I'll go with VT for my new contributions.


Which brings me to my real problem: I have never filled out a tax return myself. I'm in Thurgau. Does anyone here have practical tips for the DA-1 part? A few things I'm unsure about:


  • IBKR doesn't provide a Swiss tax statement. Do you just work from the annual activity statement and the 1042-S, or is it worth paying for one of the services that generate a proper Swiss statement?
  • Do you enter every single dividend payment, or just the yearly total per position?
  • Anything in eFisc that tripped you up the first time round?

I know the 100 CHF threshold means this won't be relevant for me for another two or three years, but I'd rather understand it before it actually matters.


Thanks again to both of you.
 
Haroldsun said:
Do you just work from the annual activity statement
Click to expand...
That's what I do. Unless you have many positions, I don't think it makes sense to pay for a tax statement. You just have to add the balance of your cash account in CHF and USD as well as the VT position (using ISIN) by yourself.

Haroldsun said:
Do you enter every single dividend payment, or just the yearly total per position?
Click to expand...
You enter the yearly total per position plus any buys and sells during the year. As for me, I consolidate the yearly buy and sell into one entry. Never had any problems with this.

Haroldsun said:
Anything in eFisc that tripped you up the first time round?
Click to expand...
I guess eFisc is the tax software of Thurgau. One thing: make sure to enter the VT position in the DA-1 form, not the normal Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis. Only the positions listed in the DA-1 form are eligible for withholding tax return. Make sure to pay attention in eFisc for this detail. It shouldn't be too complicated. Of course, the cash account of IBKR can be entered in the normal Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis, since there is no withholding tax to reclaim on a cash account.
 
Last edited:
gaijin said:
That's what I do. Unless you have many positions, I don't think it makes sense to pay for a tax statement. You just have to add the balance of your cash account in CHF and USD as well as the VT position (using ISIN) by yourself.


You enter the yearly total per position plus any buys and sells during the year. As for me, I consolidate the yearly buy and sell into one entry. Never had any problems with this.


I guess eFisc is the tax software of Thurgau. One thing: make sure to enter the VT position in the DA-1 form, not the normal Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis. Only the positions listed in the DA-1 form are eligible for withholding tax return. Make sure to pay attention in eFisc for this detail. It shouldn't be too complicated. Of course, the cash account of IBKR can be entered in the normal Wertschriften- und Guthabenverzeichnis, since there is no withholding tax to reclaim on a cash account.
Click to expand...
Hmm thanks a lot for your help, it's quite a lot information all at once xD.
 
gaijin said:
Please correct me if I'm wrong. To my understanding there is a small caveat that you might not get the full 15% back, depending on the total amount of taxes we pay. In other words, if you declare a total income of 50k CHF and claim withholding for 1900 units of VT (total value 300kCHF), you will not get the full withholding since the withholding amount is higher than the total amount of taxes that you have to pay.
Of course, this does not change the overall assessment of US ETFs as being more efficient.
Click to expand...
That is correct; you cannot get back more than what you paid. And there are some cantons that have some complex rules if you also deducting mortgage payments, for instance.
 
Haroldsun said:
Which brings me to my real problem: I have never filled out a tax return myself. I'm in Thurgau. Does anyone here have practical tips for the DA-1 part? A few things I'm unsure about:
Click to expand...
It's fortunately not that complicated :)

I can't speak about Thurgau, but I have an example with Fribourg on my site:

thepoorswiss.com

How To File Your Taxes With Swiss And Foreign Securities In 2026 - The Poor Swiss

A step-by-step guide to filing your taxes with Swiss and US securities. It is really not that complicated!
thepoorswiss.com thepoorswiss.com

Haroldsun said:
IBKR doesn't provide a Swiss tax statement. Do you just work from the annual activity statement and the 1042-S, or is it worth paying for one of the services that generate a proper Swiss statement?
Click to expand...

You don't need the 1042-S at all, it's only for the US. The annual activity statement is enough. If you want to make it automated, you can use the e-tax statement provided by a company like datalevel or any other such alternative.

Haroldsun said:
Do you enter every single dividend payment, or just the yearly total per position?
Click to expand...
I always entered each dividend payment. In Fribourg, they are automatically calculated based on the number of shares.
 
Baptiste Wicht said:
I always entered each dividend payment. In Fribourg, they are automatically calculated based on the number of shares.
Click to expand...
Not sure I fully understand. Do you have to enter the dividend numbers manually once they have been calculated (copy-paste)? In Zurich, these numbers are calculated and inserted automatically.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top