The optimal addition to VIAC outside of pillar 3a

You also use VIAC for your Pillar 3a? We at findependent also use the VIAC app and are really satisfied with it. Thanks to the great pioneering work of VIAC, saving securities in pillar 3a has become much easier and much cheaper in recent years. We have compiled the most important points in the VIAC comparison for you, such as VIAC fees, VIAC experiences and VIAC criticism. And of course a VIAC code.

Advantages and disadvantages of pillar 3a

The great advantage of pillar 3a is that the payments are deducted from taxes. The offers can often be used for as little as CHF 1. On the other hand, a maximum of CHF 7’056 can be invested annually and the options for withdrawing the money are limited (e.g. retirement, home ownership promotion and pension fund purchases). Of course, these disadvantages do not weigh equally on everyone. However, if you would like to invest more than the maximum amount of CHF 7’056 per year, or if you would like to invest part of your money with more flexibility, you need a suitable supplement to VIAC outside of pillar 3a.

findependent as a suitable complement outside pillar 3a

It was precisely with this idea in mind that we founded findependent in 2019. We want to make investing money outside of pillar 3a just as easy and affordable as with VIAC. With the added advantage that you can deposit and withdraw as much money as you want at any time.

As a VIAC customer, simply enter the code “startnow” when opening your findependent account and benefit from a special offer. Find out more here.

qr code for download of findependent investment app - as a supplement

The optimal addition to VIAC outside of pillar 3a

You also use VIAC for your Pillar 3a? We at findependent also use the VIAC app and are really satisfied with it. Thanks to the great pioneering work of VIAC, saving securities in pillar 3a has become much easier and much cheaper in recent years. We have compiled the most important points in the VIAC comparison for you, such as VIAC fees, VIAC experiences and VIAC criticism. And of course a VIAC code.

Advantages and disadvantages of pillar 3a

The great advantage of pillar 3a is that the payments are deducted from taxes. The offers can often be used for as little as CHF 1. On the other hand, a maximum of CHF 7’056 can be invested annually and the options for withdrawing the money are limited (e.g. retirement, home ownership promotion and pension fund purchases). Of course, these disadvantages do not weigh equally on everyone. However, if you would like to invest more than the maximum amount of CHF 7’056 per year, or if you would like to invest part of your money with more flexibility, you need a suitable supplement to VIAC outside of pillar 3a.

findependent as a suitable complement outside pillar 3a

It was precisely with this idea in mind that we founded findependent in 2019. We want to make investing money outside of pillar 3a just as easy and affordable as with VIAC. With the added advantage that you can deposit and withdraw as much money as you want at any time.

As a VIAC customer, simply enter the code “startnow” when opening your findependent account and benefit from a special offer. Find out more here.

Get the findependent investment app

VIAC comparison with findependent

Name: findependent
Brand: findependent
Rating: 5.0 (63 reviews)

All data in this pillar 3a comparison of VIAC and findependent is based on the company websites as of 12.02.2020 and 01.08.2023 respectively.

VIAC strategies and findependent investment solutions

VIAC strategies	findependent investment solutions
Strategies: Switzerland, global and sustainable	Strategies: Currently only one investment strategy with sustainable ESG screened ETFs for all investments outside Switzerland.
Equity share: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 97% shares	Equity share: 40%, 60%, 80% and 98% shares
VIAC forgoes the use of bonds and instead relies on a pillar 3a account with 0.10% interest	findependent focuses on corporate bonds in CHF (80%) and sustainable government bonds from emerging markets in USD (20%)
Passive investment strategy with index ETFs or index funds	Passive investment strategy with index ETFs

The VIAC strategies are therefore called VIAC Global 80 or VIAC Global 100, for example.

Conclusion: Both findependent and VIAC rely on a broad-based, passive investment strategy with low-cost index funds or ETFs. Since the selection of equity shares is the same, findependent offers an investment solution with an identical risk-return profile as VIAC.

Fees

VIAC fees	findependent fees
0.17%-0.59% per year depending on the investment solution (under 20% shares: 0.00%)	0.33 - 0.44% per year for all investment solutions. ETF costs (0.12 - 0.23% per year) and as a one-off stamp duties and stock exchange fees also apply, plus potentially currency exchange fees.
In addition, you can increase your fee-free amount on which no fees are charged, to up to CHF 5'000 with referrals.	All customers benefit from a fee-free amount of at least CHF 2'000, on which no fees are charged. You can increase this amount to up to CHF 10'000 through referrals.

Conclusion: Depending on the investment solution, VIAC is somewhat cheaper than findependent. This is mainly due to the fact that with findependent you receive your own securities custody account, whereas with VIAC all funds are managed together in the pension foundation. Like VIAC, findependent is also around 60% cheaper than comparable bank investment products.

So much for the VIAC comparison with findependent in terms of fees.

Who stands behind it

Is there a VIAC Bank? Not quite, because VIAC is a product of the Terzo Pension Foundation, which belongs to WIR Bank.

findependent is an independent asset manager regulated in Switzerland. For our investment solutions, we work together with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. This means that our customers’ money and investments are held securely in their personal accounts with the bank. The investments belong to the customers and are available at any time. findependent takes care of the investment solutions and the financial markets.

App

VIAC	findependent
Absolutely top! a bunch of (some say almost too many) functions and a beautiful design.	Beautifully slim and clear. Still a bit basic in parts, but more functions are rolled out step by step.
Our rating: 5 stars	Our rating: 4.75 stars

Account opening

With both VIAC and findependent, you can open your account easily and without paperwork on your smartphone. Since the account opening requirements for a bank account are somewhat higher than for a Pillar 3a account, the opening process at findependent takes a few minutes longer.

Starting amount and annual deposit

VIAC	findependent
Start from CHF 1	Start from CHF 500
Maximum payment CHF 7'056 per year	Neither a maximum nor minimum deposit per year

Tax treatment

VIAC	findependent
Payments into pillar 3a do not have to be taxed as income and the credit balance in pillar 3a also does not have to be taxed as assets	The income (interest payments, dividends) from the investments must be taxed as income and the investments themselves as assets
When withdrawing from pillar 3a, however, the entire credit balance must then be taxed separately rom other income and at a reduced rate	In return, capital gains resulting from the increase in value of the investments do not have to be taxed as income.

Experience and criticism

The VIAC experience seems to be consistently positive. On Google, VIAC gets 4.9 stars.
So there seems to be hardly any criticism of VIAC.

findependent also receives a strong rating, even better with a 5-star rating from users.

VIAC comparison with findependent

All data in this pillar 3a comparison of VIAC and findependent is based on the company websites as of 12.02.2020 and 01.08.2023 respectively.

Investment solutions

VIAC Strategies
Strategies: Switzerland, global and sustainable
Equity share: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 97% shares
VIAC forgoes the use of bonds and instead relies on a pillar 3a account with 0.10% interest
Passive investment strategy with index ETFs or index funds

findependent investment solutions
Strategy: Currently only one investment strategy with sustainable ESG screened ETFs for all investments outside Switzerland.
Equity share: 40%, 60%, 80%, 98% shares
findependent focuses on corporate bonds in CHF (80%) and sustainable government bonds from emerging markets in USD (20%)
Passive investment strategy with index ETFs

The VIAC strategies are therefore called VIAC Global 80 or VIAC Global 100, for example.

Conclusion: Both findependent and VIAC rely on a broad-based, passive investment strategy with low-cost index funds or ETFs. Since the selection of equity shares is the same, findependent offers an investment solution with an identical risk-return profile as VIAC.

Fees

VIAC fees
0.17% - 0.59% per year depending on the investment solution (under 20% shares: 0.00%)
In addition, you can increase your fee-free amount, on which no fees are charged, to up to CHF 5'000 with referrals.

findependent fees
0.33 - 0.44% per year for all investment solutions. ETF costs (0.12 - 0.23% per year) and as a one-off stamp duties and stock exchange fees also apply, plus potentially currency exchange fees.
All customers benefit from a fee-free amount of at least CHF 2'000, on which no fees are charged. You can increase this allowance to up to CHF 10'000 through referrals.

Conclusion: VIAC is slightly cheaper than findependent. This is mainly due to the fact that with findependent you receive your own securities account, whereas with VIAC all funds are managed together in the pension foundation. Like VIAC, findependent is also around 60% cheaper than comparable bank investment products.

So much for the VIAC comparison with findependent in terms of fees.

Who stands behind it

VIAC is a product of the Terzo Pension Foundation, which belongs to WIR Bank.

findependent is an independent asset manager regulated in Switzerland. For our investment solutions, we work together with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. This means that our clients’ money and investments are held securely in their personal account with the bank. The investments belong to the clients and are available at any time. findependent takes care of the investment solutions and the financial markets.

App

VIAC App
Absolutely top! a bunch of (some say almost too many) functions and a beautiful design.
Our rating: 5 stars

findependent investment app
Nice and slim and clearly laid out. Still a bit basic in parts, but more functions are planned.
Our rating: 4.5 stars

Account opening

With both VIAC and findependent, you can open your account easily and without paperwork on your smartphone. Since the account opening requirements for a bank account are somewhat higher than for a Pillar 3a account, the opening process at findependent takes a few minutes longer.

Starting amount and annual deposit

VIAC
Starting from CHF 1
Maximum deposit CHF 7'056 per year

findependent
Starting from CHF 500
Neither a maximum nor minimum deposit per year

Tax Treatment

VIAC
Payments into pillar 3a do not have to be taxed as income and the credit balance in pillar 3a also does not have to be taxed as assets
When withdrawing from pillar 3a, however, the entire credit balance must then be taxed separately from other income and at a reduced rate

findependent
The income from the investments must be taxed as income and the investments themselves as assets.
In return, capital gains resulting from the increase in value of the investments do not have to be taxed as income.

Experience and criticism

The VIAC experience seems to be consistently positive. On Google, VIAC gets 4.9 stars.
So there seems to be hardly any criticism of VIAC.

findependent also receives a strong rating, even better with a 5-star rating from users.

Try out findependent in an uncomplicated way

Would you like to try out the findepend investment app? As mentioned above, you can invest as little as CHF 500 and pay no management and custody fees on the first CHF 2’000 invested. There is no minimum contract period and you decide yourself at any time when and how much you invest and when you take your money back.

As a VIAC client, simply enter the code “startnow” when opening the account and increase your fee-free amount to CHF 3’000.

qr code for download of findependent investment app - as a supplement

Try out findependent in an uncomplicated way

Would you like to try out the findepend investment app? As mentioned above, you can invest as little as CHF 500 and pay no management and custody fees on the first CHF 2’000 invested. There is no minimum contract period and you decide yourself at any time when and how much you invest and when you take your money back.

As a VIAC client, simply enter the code “startnow” when opening the account and increase your fee-free amount to CHF 3’000.

Get the findependent investment app

overview of VIAC and findependent advantages

Get started with findependent