In search of valuable advice to put our money at work

Investing / Others
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If you are looking for taxable account and mainly thinking about Stocks/ Equity exposure, then my suggestion for simple start would be following. However, if you are looking for low risk assets like Bonds or something, then please ignore the following. You can always decide have a mix of Stock-ETFS and Bonds.

Following is driven with assumption that Invidual stock picking is not of interest for you. You can also do that but it is not recommended for new investors. Watch this video for some insights Hence all of the info below is about Index funds which is passive investing and targeted towards achieving market average returns.

  1. Decide which broker you like -: if you want Swiss broker for specific reason then you need to consider higher costs , stamp duties and custody fees . If you are okay with international brokers , I suggest Interactive brokers. Review of brokers

  2. Decide your regional allocation strategy. Typical suggestions are

  • One ETF strategy -: buy one World ETF. I think best place to start is one ETF strategy. You can learn more as you go along

  • Two ETF strategy -: buy one World ETF + one Swiss ETF to allow home bias. For example 90% World / 10% Swiss

  1. Decide which ETF domicile you want.
  • US domiciles are better from income tax perspective
  • IE (Ireland) domiciles are better from estate tax laws perspective. Nothing to worry about but just to be aware of
  1. Decide which type of ETF you want -: accumulating or distributing. Distributing would give frequent payout which you can use or reinvest. Accumulating will automatically reinvest.

To keep life simple , following are examples. If you mainly use Swiss CHF to invest, then maybe the ETFs with CHF denomination would be better for you when using Swiss brokers. For interactive brokers , forex is very cheap, so I wouldn’t worry.

Broker -: Interactive brokers
ETF -: VT or SPYI (for world ETF) , CHSPI (for Swiss ETF)
This would be the most income tax effiicent and cheapest option

Broker -: Swissquote
ETF -: VWRL or SSAC_CHF or FWRA (for world), CHSPI (for Swiss ETF)

There are also other brokers -: Degiro, Saxo, Neon, Cornertrader etc. There are many different combinations of things possible. The suggestions above are the ones I use myself. I am sure others can suggest more things. All the best. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.

In the end, do not invest in anything you do not understand clearly. This is very important. Investment comes with its risks, they need to be understood. Diversification can help reduce risk but it would never eliminate it. If you are in mood of some geeky stuff, watch this Is investing risky?

P.S -:

  • SSAC and FWRA are accumulating . Rest are distributing.

  • VT is domiciled in US. SPYI, VWRL and SSAC are domiciled in Ireland. CHSPI is domiciled in Switzerland

  • To learn about what I mean by US Estate tax , please read the thread. Please read it completely as there is a lot of debate. Again, nothing to worry about but something to be aware of. Are US ETFs worth the (estate tax) troubles?

If you decide on Interactive brokers or Swissquote, I can share discount voucher. For other brokers most likely someone on forum can help. Just that you know when you use voucher , you will get discount but also the person sharing referral.

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