Let’s just say , i was looking for a Swiss broker as a backup of IBKR. So when I was evaluating, I concluded Swissquote, Postfinance, UBS etc were more “Swiss” from my perspective. That’s all
I feel IBKR, Degiro and Saxo are all international given their ownership structure and in that case IBKR was good enough.
Has anybody ever talked to a saxo-advisor on the phone? I know, availability of such a service does also depend on the amount invested.
I regard having a swiss bank/broker as a “jurisdictional hedge”, but would want to be able to reliably reach somebody in case I need to ask something (not technical). No need for being best buddies or even meeting them face to face, but having more to rely on than a ticket at ibkr.
I have before becoming a client to see what they are like.
Since becoming a client only via chat, they tend to be fast. There was an issue for me about a delisting, but with just a bit of prodding from me I think they cleared it up fast.
Conversely I had one question for IBKR support and they took like 2 weeks to say sorry it’s taking longer than usual. At least I suppose they haven’t forgotten about it (not a huge deal so I am not pushing).
Hi, could please confirm that these US ETF can be bought without being a professional trader?
VTI, VOO, SCHG, QQQM, SCHD, VYM.
I’m on the fence to start investing using IBKR. But if Saxo offers the same (although bit pricier than IBKR), then I’d rather stay with a swiss broker.
Hi, Yes I just checked at the platform and I can buy them despite I do not have professional status. But maybe it is something with the options volume I trade (until July I could not trade them)? I do not think so.
Saxo has now released “AutoInvest” for Switzerland. Reminds me of the savings plans from Yuh, Neon and Co. This allows to create a monthly automated savings plan.
Haven’t tested it yet.
They’re doing it through fractional shares I’d wager? And you’d need to add 120.– p.a. for custody fees and 0.15% stamp tax per purchase.
Quote from the linked website:
Currently, AutoInvest offers a selection of ETFs, including equity-based ETFs. Investing in single stocks or fractional shares is not supported at this time.
They advertise on the website with “No monthly fees”. But yes, that seems to be in connection with securities lending. In other words, it costs nothing, as long as you have activated it. Which, of course, you also have to think about carefully… (I am not familiar with security lending)
Yes, as with any Swiss broker.
Nice to see some movements in the Swiss brokerage market.
Another fee to keep in mind with Saxo: the tax statement costs CHF 100 plus VAT.
I’ve only added that because they compared the fees of this new solution to IBKR. For an honest comparison to IBKR, and neon and Yuh which are also part of it, IMO they should include stamp tax, FX fees and custody fees.
They are running a campaign with an Influnzer. If you register via the campaign, you will receive the tax statement free (and the influencer will probably get something too, I don’t know…).
True.
https://thepoorswiss.com/saxo-vs-interactive-brokers/
I will use an opportunity to ask few questions:
The currency conversion fees is flat 0.25%.
Can one buy Swiss bonds which are traded at SIX? What are the fees? Screener in the demo trading platform finds some bonds in CHF.
How is the access to Swiss mutual funds? What are the fees?
Are there joint accounts? Yes, according to the website.
谢谢
元
P.S. sorry, now I looked at the review
https://thepoorswiss.com/saxo-bank-review/
However, in some countries, you can opt-in for share lending and receive 50% of the profits. Currently, this feature is not available in Switzerland.
As of the 26th of June 2024, you can enable Securities Lending on your account. If you do so, Saxo will be able to lend your shares to other market participants.
There are two benefits of doing that. First, the custody fees will be waived entirely. This can save you a significant amount of money. And moreover, you will receive 50% of the revenue generated by securities lending.
Just one more point to be aware of, Saxo maintains one currency per account. You can have multiple accounts
So for example, it’s best to keep CHSPI in CHF account and maybe WEBG in USD account. This would avoid multiple conversion fees.
I don’t use Saxo anymore but I had an account so I know about this topic a bit.
I don’t remember about Swiss funds and Bonds , so I would let others comment
What are the costs for currency conversion? I’ve found both that it costs 1.8 pips and that there’s a 0.25% fee. Is it both combined?
As per their website
When you trade an instrument in a currency that differs from your base denomination, conversions—including trading profits/losses—are executed using the FX spot mid-price, based on the time you close your position plus/minus 0.25 percent. We charge no more than plus/minus 0.25 percent in currency conversion fees.
Since Saxo is stating they take the mid-price then most likely the actual rate is impacted by the spread of given currency pair.
So it’s cheaper to convert currency manually and then buy stocks?
I was mainly talking about the investing account.
I believe trading of currency needs a different account. I am not knowledgeable of that.
Do you actually buy it?
I have never used it and never needed it. I just submit the pdf showing all trades and transactions (which aren’t many) and the ending balances. Never was asked for more.
Seems Saxo is closer to find a partner.
One of the potential is … IBKR 
I haven’t heard from Altor nor CenterBridge brokerage platform.
I was on Binck before that was acquired by Saxo and the transition was painful.
On one hand, I wanted this broker diversity but I will fill safer if IB settle the deal.