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What’s the best way to make money on your investments in Switzerland?

You must have noticed by now that your bank savings accrue very little interest these days — well below 1 percent. And rates are not likely to go up in the foreseeable future.

Published: 3 January 2020 12:00 CET
Updated: 16 May 2021 09:36 CEST
What's the best way to make money on your investments in Switzerland?
Where should you put your Swiss franc in 2020? Michele Limina/AFP

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is keeping its key interest rate at minus 0.75 percent, charging banks that park their money there negative interest. The pressure is now increasing on the banks to pass this penalty interest on to their customers.

You may therefore be tempted to invest your money elsewhere, but be cautious. The promise of a potentially higher yield may actually backfire, according to the financial expert from the VZ Vermögenszentrum in Zurich. 

Consider these options carefully:

Shares

Shares are an attractive investment, Rolf Biland, head of investment at VZ Vermögenszentrum told the Bluewin.ch web portal. “Depending on the stock index, dividend income of around 1.5 to 3.5 percent is distributed before taxes,” he said.

However, keep in mind that there are risks involved: larger fluctuations in value can occur in the equity area, which can significantly — though temporarily — reduce the invested assets. “Therefore, in addition to the necessary risk capacity and risk tolerance, equity investors also need a multi-year investment plan,” Biland noted.

Gold

In terms of risk, investing in gold is similar to investing in stocks but, unlike stocks, “no long-term asset accumulation is to be expected”, Biland noted. And gold does not generate any returns, while savings interest rates could rise again.

However, “gold can make sense in a diversified portfolio as an addition to other investments”, he added.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are hot-button topics, but they are “a highly speculative investment”, according to Biland. The price fluctuations are immense and there are no signs that this could change in the future. Bitcoins should therefore “not even be seen as an investment, let alone as an alternative to cash or bank balances”.

READ ALSO: Switzerland leads the way as Bitcoin makes a return 

Real estate

Real estate can generate a higher dividend yield than other investments. “However, there are also major risks on the real estate market, particularly in Switzerland, such as bubbles or liquidity risks”, Biland said. But, like gold, real estate could make sense as part of a diversified investment portfolio.

Art or vintage cars

If you are considering investing in art objects, watches, vintage cars, and such, think again, Biland said. The lack of a regulated market is particularly problematic and “a very high level of specialist knowledge is required to make a purchase decision. Such items should, in the best case, make up a small proportion of a large fortune”.

Conclusion:

You have to decide how much of a financial risk you are willing to take in order to grow your assets. If you are not totally risk-averse, then a diversified investment portfolio may be your cup of tea. Otherwise, stick to the traditional savings account, which will not yield you interest but at least your money will be safe — unless the bank goes bankrupt.

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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

In Switzerland, like in other countries, people sometimes lose their belongings in various places. Many ultimately find their way to their rightful owner.

Published: 19 April 2024 12:10 CEST
Lost and found: where to look for your ‘missing’ items in Switzerland

Unlike socks that disappear in the wash, never to see the light of day again (which is a global, rather than just Swiss phenomenon), many lost items often do reappear. 

The bigger the item is, the more chance there is of it being found.

But even smaller objects like keys are often returned to their owners — it all depends on who finds them and to what lengths these people are willing to go to ensure that lost items are returned to their owners.

(Human nature being what is it is, you have more chances of being reunited your keys than with your jewellery or a wallet that still has all its contents inside).

But you may be surprised to learn that cases of exemplary honesty still exist.

One such example, in 2022, involved an envelope containing 20,000 francs found lying on a sidewalk by passersby and returned to the man who dropped it while getting into his car. 

What are some of the more unusual things people leave behind?

Each year, Uber Switzerland publishes a list of things that passengers forget in cars. 

This year, among purses, cell phones, laptop computers, umbrellas, and pieces of jewellery, drivers found in the back seats items including a purple wig, carnival mask, coffee machine, and a spatula for crêpes.

The items found on trains are even stranger. 

They include, according to the national railway company SBB, taxidermy animals, an authentic samurai sword, and a prosthetic leg (it’s not clear whether this was a spare or whether the passenger had to hop off the train).

Where should you look for the items you lose in Switzerland?

It depends on where you think, or know, you left your belongings.

Public transport

If it’s on the train, file a lost property report here. 

For the PostBus, it’s here. 

Additionally, public transport companies in your community have their own ‘lost and found’ offices, as do local police stations.

Airports

Zurich 
Geneva 
Basel 

Additionally, to maximise your chances of being reunited with your lost property, report it here.

Through this site, you can also check whether your lost item has been found and handed in at one of the offices.

If your lost item is found, must you pay a ‘finder’s fee’?

Yes, Swiss legislation says so.

No exact amounts are specified, but “the reward should be appropriate in relation to the find,” according to Moneyland consumer platform.

In principle, “a finder’s fee equal to 10 percent of the amount returned to the owner is considered an appropriate reward.” 

Also, if the process of finding out who the lost object belongs to and returning it to you generates extra expenses for the finder (such as train fare or other travel costs, for example), you have to reimburse these expenses in addition to the reward.

(By the same token, if you find and return someone else’s belongings, you can expect the same compensation).

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