Hi all,
I just want an opinion. Today I was approached by VZ VermogensZentrum. Do you have any experience? Do you advise their investment products? High fees?
thank you
From what I see, they don’t have own products and implement portfolios via usual UCITS ETFs. It has both positive and negative aspects.
Not unreasonable for Switzerland.
Might be an option for financial planning, which is actually more tricky than executing an investment strategy.
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Can’t substantiate it with facts, but from what I heard from a (self-proclaimed) truly independent advisor, VZ gets kickbacks for recommending certain financial instruments.
That said, VZ would be my first choice after independant advisors.
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They used to offer really independent advice on a per hour rate. If that’s still the case, I would go for it. Ask your questions, have them run the analysis and get the advice. They are also a Depotbank (with a banking licence) and claim to be cheaper than the big banks (accounts, trading, safekeeping, card).
What bugs me is their lack of digital products. Whenever I’m interested in one of their many publications, I need to wait for them to send it via snail mail.
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All in all heard good things from them from friends.
They have reasonable asset allocations with low cost ucits funds.
Relatively high fees, especially for wealth management.
But: depending on need, expertise, risk tolerance etc. they might be a very good deal still.
All to be seen relative.
If you have the confidence and knowledge to manage everything yourself, then it‘s too expensive normally.
Also difference of accumulation and retirement,
In the latter stage something like this gets more interesting for peace of mind. Or if your 60 year old mum would otherwise not like to invest.
For the service they offer, they seem to be price competitive in Switzerland.
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They did a quite detailed financial planning / retirement analysis for my mother. Without trying to talk us into anything. We got peace of mind for something around 1000 Swiss francs. I think it was worth it.
For my own financial planning, I‘ve had a first chat with one of their advisors. Remained somewhat superficial but then again it was free and I still got some advice. Oddly enough, he never got back to me.
Would do it again.
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They are advisers really… Financial planning, estate planning and investment planning.
They’re independant
They’re quite well regarded and cheaper than going to a lawyer, a notary etc.
Good to get a broad complete advice on your various financials. Will save time in the long run.
If you deposit money with them, they have a banking depot, or create a portfolio with them, they will get a kickback depending on the products you buy. Just like everybody else.
Otherwise, their advice and planning are on a per-hour basis which I find reassuring.
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I’ve been working with VZ for a few years now, and every year, I sit down with them for a meeting and let them update the long term financial planning with different scenarios/changes that happened during the year. These chats are always helpful—whether it’s about moving to another canton, tweaking my investments, or checking in on real estate. Nothing groundbreaking (that you couldn’t do in your own time with .xls), but really solid and useful, especially if you are middle aged or a bit older.
I’ve also moved some funds to VZ Depotbank (replacing UBS/CS). One thing I really like: they’ve never tried to push anything (Service/Prouct/Investment) on me. Their banking setup is stable and works well (use it for day to day banking), though I still keep accounts with other banks/brokers in Switzerland and the U.S. for diversification.
Overall in my experience VZ offers good advice and solid banking services at fair prices. If you’re all about cutting every last CHF from your costs (i.e. the IBKR crowd), they are certainly not be the cheapest and probably only worthwhile to consult above a certain threshold of investable assets. But if you want solid, long-term financial planning without the sales pitch, they’re an option.
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