[Jerome]

Totally agree. No federal stamp, ridiculous commissions, instant and free tax statement (at least at IB), huge choice of products, quality of platforms... in short, foreign brokers are really cheaper while being of a much better quality than Swiss intermediaries.

I am also surprised that this foreign competition does not have more of an effect on the Swiss market. Perhaps we should understand that ordinary Swiss investors are reluctant to invest their money outside our borders. It must be said that the traditional image is rather that foreigners come to hide their money with us, so why would we do the opposite... The other possible explanation is the gigantic fees for transferring positions, which makes clients captive to their bank/broker.

I still have my Postfinance account because the management is free and there are no custody fees. I still have a few large positions there. But I have to say that when I see the amount of transaction fees, it really hurts. So I try to limit myself to stocks that I plan to keep for as long as possible. Sometimes these fees seemed so dissuasive that I almost wanted to feed even more IB but I didn't do it for the sake of diversification. A 3rd broker, via Degiro, will therefore be welcome.

The worst thing is that Postfinance is by far not the worst in Switzerland. All inclusive, it is even relatively cheap compared to what is done in this country. I have seen UBS fees for example (custody + transactions). It is a real scandal. When you think that almost everything is managed automatically by computer and that you are charged several hundred francs just for a click… Nonsense.

 

[Jerome]

So in the end I opted for a model at 449 fr! It's hard to change your nature when you're a real frugal person!

Dying of laughter. The other day I bought a second-hand almost state-of-the-art laptop on Ricardo for 270 bucks.

[Jerome]

Little tip for IB I go through everything through the Android APP. It's much simpler.

[Jerome]

Well I bought myself a Christmas present and after much thought I still fell back on Degiro as an additional gateway, in order to diversify the risks. On paper it doesn't reach the level of IB but I will keep you informed.

[Jerome]

I must say that I am also in the same thoughts, looking for a third broker and nothing suits me. In any case compared to IB it is difficult to keep up. Even for degiro. And corner offers almost nothing on the Japanese market.

[Jerome]

Hi Soon. All your thoughts are perfectly correct. ETFs, contrary to popular belief, can be riskier than stocks. I have already mentioned this many times on this blog and in my e-book. Their construction (swaps, securities lending), their exposure (mostly US big caps), and the style of the indices followed (capitalization - favoring growth stocks to the detriment of value) create systemic risks. As you say, this can recall 2008 with subprimes. As you also mention, if they are domiciled in the USA, there is a tax risk that is added in the event of death, but this is not specific to ETFs.

This does not mean that we should do without them completely, because in some cases they are very useful. I am thinking in particular of:

– for beginners: allows diversification despite low capital

– for the more experienced: allows you to quickly take a position on an asset class representing a minority position in the portfolio and therefore to diversify

– for all: allows you to buy asset classes that are more difficult to trade or for which you have less affinity or skills (gold, real estate, bonds, emerging country stocks, etc.)

The important thing, again and again, is to DIVERSIFY. Not just ETFs, but also (and above all) all approaches. As soon as you have passed the beginner stage and have capital of several tens of thousands of francs or euros, the portfolio must therefore include shares, in addition to a few ETFs.

These ETFs should be considered as an asset class in their own right. They are not completely equivalent to the assets that make up the indices tracked. They have their own risks.

[Jerome]

Yes I actually thought you were talking about this company :)

Keep us posted, these tax parentheses are always instructive.

[Jerome]

Gladly!

[Jerome]

Thanks for the clarification Will.

Well, your story doesn't seem all that simple to me. In any case, there's a lot of work to do. I might get down to it in a year, when I've finished setting up my side business and I'm no longer an employee. I'll then have more time to devote myself to this idea. Or another one.

[Jerome]

Hello Will

And welcome to you. You are right to plan ahead because despite all that is said about it, the pension system in Switzerland is far from being a panacea. Moreover, since you have about twenty years left, you will most certainly be able to retire earlier.

You are right to have used your 2nd pillar to buy your house (as long as you bought it at a good price of course).

Hey, there's someone who's still investing in oil, it's not really trendy and you're not going to make any friends 😉

I must say that you have piqued my curiosity a little with your investment company story. Given how you explain it, it seems interesting. However, it still raises a lot of questions (anonymity, double taxation, complexity to create and manage, etc.)

In short, we look forward to reading your experiences on this subject, it may interest more than one person.

 

[Jerome]

With IB I only have a European value since this year, so not taxed yet. However, I really wouldn't see why IB would do things differently than they usually do.

For Japan, they typically tax me 15%. I report this during the annual taxation via the tax service software (which completes the DA1 form). It then goes into flat-rate imputation and, as for the CH withholding tax, the amounts withheld are deducted from the income tax.

[Jerome]

Yes, to be sure, you can contact them.

Keep us posted.

And I confirm that I do not come into contact with the tax authorities of other countries. It would be funny with Japan....

[Jerome]

Hi

I have no experience with French securities on IB. However I imagine that IB will play the role of financial intermediary as it does with shares of other countries by collecting what you owe as a natural person, therefore 12.8% according to the agreement with France.

If other readers have experiences with French titles they are welcome.

[Jerome]

I don't really see what else they want to do? ...

[Jerome]

It's fixed again. I think I found the problem. Let me know if it happens again.

[Author]

Posts