Sharing my 3a strategy (finpension) – What’s yours?

S

StrummingStocks

New member
Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my current asset allocation for my 3a (I'm using Finpension) and maybe get some feedback! It would also be interesting to see how others have structured their 3a, whether you use Finpension or another provider.

I’m a long-term investor with a minimalist mindset. My aim was to replicate a globally diversified portfolio similar to VT – simple, broad, and international. I’ve allocated 10% to Swiss equities, a small home bias, just to maintain some local exposure.

Here’s how I’ve allocated:
  • 75% – Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund World ex CH NT CHF
  • 10% – Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Switzerland Total (II) NT CHF
  • 8% – Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Emerging Markets NT CHF
  • 6% – Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund Small Cap World ex CH NT CHF
Note on the Swiss Equity Fund:
Finpension gave me the option to choose between two versions of the Switzerland Total fund: the “I” version and the “II” version. I chose the “II” version because it does not engage in securities lending. This gives me more peace of mind for a long-term investment, even though I know the lending risk is generally low. Still, I prefer to avoid it entirely in the context of a pension investment.

What do you think?
Feel free to share your 3a allocations as well, whether you're using Finpension or another provider — I'd love to see how others have structured theirs!

And a big thank you to Baptiste for all the helpful insights on this blog — they’ve been really valuable!
 
Hi,

My allocation:
85% - CSIF (CH) III Equity World ex CH Blue - Pension Fund Plus ZB (= MSCI World ex Switzerland, not hedged)
15% - UBS (CH) Index Fund - Equities Switzerland All NSL I-X-acc (= SPI)

As my investment account (100% VT) is much “bigger” than my 3rd pillar, I don't invest in emerging markets and small caps in my 3rd pillar.
And as my 2nd pillar, my savings account/security funds and my job are strongly linked to Switzerland & the CHF, I invest in Swiss equities in my 3rd pillar mainly to reduce the weight of the US (70-75% of the MSCI World index).
 
Mine is very simple: 99% CSIF (CH) III Equity World ex CH Quality - Pension Fund DB

But I don't necessarily recommend such an aggressive approach. I have no strong reason to use that quality factor over a full index.
On the other hand, I have enough in my second pillar and in my stocks portfolio in CHF to not need CHF in my third pillar.
 
I do not invest in a 3a because of the withdrawal restrictions (generally minimum of age 60) and high management fees.

Instead I prefer to invest in a brokerage account that I can flexibly liquidate at anytime. I do not like that a significant percentage of my net worth is locked in a Swiss 2nd pillar pension account and inaccessible until age 60.

I think the Swiss retirement system is too inflexible. It does not trust people to manage their own retirement money until age 60.

One reason I think there are so many early retirees in the US is because of the flexibility built into the financial system. For example, it is possible to withdraw money from retirement accounts before age 59.5. It can even be done tax free using the clever strategies developed by the FI community. But even without those tax minimization strategies it is still possible to withdraw money before age 59.5 by paying a tax penalty that more or less just negates the money previously saved by using those specific tax advantaged retirement accounts.
 
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Rebecca said:
Instead I prefer to invest in a brokerage account that I can flexibly liquidate at anytime. I do not like that a significant percentage of my net worth is locked in a Swiss 2nd pillar pension account and inaccessible until age 60.
Click to expand...
I would still encourage you to do the math based on the tax savings. Even though it is inflexible, it's still quite worth it.
Rebecca said:
I think the Swiss retirement system is too inflexible. It does not trust people to manage their own retirement money until age 60.
Click to expand...
It's probably too inflexible. But it's also a necessary protection because most people would not be too capable of handling the money and would then need social security to cover the holes they created. But it does a disservice to people that can manage their money properly.
 
Hi,

My strategy with finpension:

Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund World ex CH NT CHF 39%
Swisscanto (CH) IPF I Index Equity Fund Small Cap World ex CH NT CHF 39%
Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Large Caps Switzerland NT CHF 10%
Swisscanto (CH) Index Equity Fund Emerging Markets NT CHF 10%

Feel free to comment.

Have a nice day.
 
Isa said:
To diversify, the small-cup index has 3719 positions, whereas the large-cup index has 1308.
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That will add more company, you only need to realize that you are overweighting them since they now represent the same weight as the world large caps, which is not representative of the world allocation.
 
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