ETF Compass

ETF stands for exchange-traded fund. In other words, ETFs are investment funds that are traded on the stock exchange. Nowadays, there are ETFs to suit a wide range of needs and investment strategies. 

ETFs offer three key advantages over other investments: they are generally broadly diversified, cost-effective and transparent. 

By tracking an index, ETFs enable you to invest in dozens or even hundreds of securities via a single product. For the most part, ETFs passively track an index – that is, they invest the money in the underlying securities according to their respective weightings. As a result, they're very cost-effective compared with traditional, actively managed funds. Another advantage is their high level of transparency, as the composition of ETFs is always disclosed. 

These advantages have led to ETFs becoming increasingly popular. There are now over 2,000 such products traded on SIX Swiss Exchange. This makes it difficult to choose the right ETF. The ETF Compass therefore aims to help investors by enabling them to compare key figures such as costs and returns.

There are an increasing number of thematic funds, focusing on topics such as artificial intelligence, longevity or robotics. These often disappear from the market again rather quickly. Especially when it comes to trending themes, prices often factor in a great deal of euphoria. If public interest in the theme wanes, providers sometimes decide to close the funds. VZ VermögensZentrum therefore advises against chasing trends. Find out more about the topic in this article on thematic equity funds (only available in French and German). 

That depends entirely on your investment profile and return expectations, and possibly also your market expectations. Just a few ETFs are usually sufficient, as they're often diversified products in their own right. If you're unsure, VZ VermögensZentrum can help you develop and implement your personal investment strategy. 

To find an ETF tracking the SPI, simply enter "SPI" in the ETF Compass search field. All products with the index in their name will then be displayed. However, the search may also return products that don't explicitly track the SPI. Another option is to open the index search field and then click on "SPI" in the drop-down menu. The third option is to click on "SPI" in the tiles for the various indices. In both the second and third case, your search will exclusively show all ETFs tracking the SPI. 

The ETF Compass lists the ongoing costs as stated in the fund documents. In addition to the management fees, these also include the costs for advertising and distributing the product. They don't take other costs into account, such as transaction costs within the ETF. The only difference from the standard TER metric is that funds of funds also include the costs of the sub-funds they contain. The performance figures already take into account all ongoing fund costs. There's nothing else to deduct. 

Depending on its composition, an ETF may be able to track an index with varying degrees of accuracy. This is what determines the VZ rating. Indices with a large number of competing ETFs tend to have better VZ ratings. It's therefore advisable to switch to another index within the same asset class in this case. If this isn't possible, it's worth checking whether, for example, the securities you're interested in are included in other indices. 

You'll need a trading account if you want to invest in ETFs. In the VZ Financial Portal, you can trade securities at attractive conditions. This naturally includes ETFs. If you don't have an account yet, simply sign up for free. 

You can find more details about ETFs on the following page