Who is behind it

finpension was initiated in 2015 by Beat Bühlmann. Together with Ivo Blättler, a former colleague at a Swiss private bank, they founded a 1e collective foundation in 2016. finpension AG is based in Lucerne and has an office in Geneva.

In 2018 finpension expanded the offering to include vested benefits. In autumn 2020 Pillar 3a was added. The finpension 3a Vorsorgestiftung has been entered in the commercial register since June 2020, with its seat in Schwyz; according to the milestones page, the 3a securities app went live on 6 October 2020 – with a flat fee of 0.39 percent.

In 2024 finpension received its FINMA licence as a «kontoführendes Wertpapierhaus» and launched finpension Invest, an investment solution for free assets. The business-figures page and reporting state more than CHF 6 billion in assets under management and more than 75,000 customers across all offerings – 1e, vested benefits, Pillar 3a and free assets. On the 3a product page, finpension also names more than 25,000 Pillar 3a customers.

What is distinctive about the 3a offering is access to institutional index funds in an app, combined with a single flat fee. As fund houses, finpension names Credit Suisse, Swisscanto and UBS. On the structure page of the 3a foundation, the custodian banks listed are Swisscanto by Zürcher Kantonalbank and UBS Switzerland AG. finpension describes itself as bank-independent: no custodian bank holds a stake in the company.

What the 0.39% flat fee means

Anyone comparing the fees of 3a securities accounts encounters a flat figure at finpension. The fee page states a flat administration fee of 0.39 percent per year for the finpension 3a Vorsorgestiftung – for the account solution and the securities strategies alike. No transaction fees are charged.

According to finpension, the standard strategies are implemented with fee-free funds. The TER of the funds used for the standard strategies is 0.00 to 0.02 percent; the foundation bears the cost of access and includes it in the flat fee. According to its own account, finpension does not charge additional issue or redemption commissions.

For currency exchanges: where possible, finpension uses CHF funds. If a fund cannot be subscribed in francs, the custodian bank charges a minimum fee of 0.05 percent on the exchange according to the fee page; internal netting can reduce it further. Expenses for the promotion of home ownership, pledging, or a withdrawal with residence abroad are charged on a cost-causation basis.

How does the company earn money then? Through the 0.39 percent on Pillar 3a and through the other pension and investment products. For vested benefits, the flat fee is 0.49 percent according to the fee page. For free assets (finpension Invest), the custody and wealth-management fee together amount to 0.39 percent; according to the provider, fund costs of around 0.08 to 0.10 percent TER on the standard strategies are added there. Pillar 3a is thus one of several revenue legs – not the only one.

In short: in the public price lists, finpension 3a appears with 0.39 percent all-in administration, including the disclosed standard fund costs. The ongoing business runs across several foundations and free assets. The figures come from finpension.ch and public sources. They do not replace a check of your own statement or policy.

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Sources

This is not a recommendation of which account you should choose.