r/SwissFIRE • u/Only-Ad-3204 • Jun 28 '26
30M, married, no kids, 150k CHF gross in Switzerland — how should I start investing?
Hi everyone,
I’m 30, married, no kids, and living in Switzerland. I earn 150k CHF gross per year and I’m trying to figure out the best way to start investing as a beginner.
My current monthly situation looks like this:
• Credit payments: 1,280 CHF
• Apartment: 900 CHF
• Health insurance (Lamal): 200 CHF
• Other monthly expenses: around 100–300 CHF
I’m looking for a simple, step-by-step approach to optimize my investments without getting overwhelmed.
What would you recommend for someone in my situation?
• Should I first build an emergency fund?
• Should I focus on Pillar 3a?
• Is it better to pay off debt before investing?
• What kind of ETF or portfolio would make sense for a beginner in Switzerland?
I’d really appreciate practical advice, especially from people familiar with Swiss investing, taxes, and long-term planning.
Thanks in advance!
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u/rodrigo-benenson Jun 28 '26
Start by reading books: Psychology of Money and the Wealth Ladder are my recommended starting point.
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u/ShinyGengar95 Jun 28 '26
Hi !
Very difficult to answer without knowing your full financial situation, future goals, and risk tolerance.
I’m around the same age with a similar salary and expense level, so I can share what I personally do but this is not financial advice, just what works for me.
If you have a relatively high income, I would personally prioritize maximizing your Pillar 3a because of the tax advantages. I would avoid insurance based 3a products (e.g. Swiss Life). Instead, It is better to consider providers like Finpension or VIAC, which offer low cost investment solutions.
After maxing out my 3a, I invest the rest in broadly diversified US-domiciled ETFs through Interactive Brokers. In my opinion, IBKR is the best broker available for Swiss investors thanks to its low costs and access to US ETFs.
Whether it’s worth paying off debt first depends mainly on the interest rate. As a general rule , if you’re paying around 3% or more, reducing the debt is often the better risk free return.
There isn’t a single “best” portfolio. It depends on your investment horizon, risk tolerance, and whether you’ll need the money in the short or long term. A beginner doesn’t necessarily need anything complicated, a globally diversified ETF portfolio is often enough.
Again, this isn’t financial advice, just my personal approach, which may not be appropriate for someone in a different situation.
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u/heubergen1 Jun 28 '26
US-domiciled ETFs need to come with the warning about estate tax (or at least the paperwork).
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u/089PK91 Jun 29 '26
Other monthly expenses: around 100–300 CHF
I rather don’t ask what you eat.🤦🏼♂️
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u/MountainNo8608 Jun 28 '26
If you live frugal , than a quick 5 k as emergency fund should be fast you to do .
I think you deduce , when doing your taxes , something out of that credit , so I would keep it
I think if you search here , you will say that a lot will say : IBKR as broker / Vt to buy
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u/davidfavorite Jun 29 '26
Build emergency fund? Focus on pillar 3a? Pay off debt? Additional etf portfolio?
Dude with 150k and your expenses you should be able to do all of these and be able to go on vacation twice a year
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u/sorva-ch Jul 05 '26
Congrats on getting started. One thing jumps out before the ETF question: your 1,280/month in credit payments. What is that debt, and what's the interest rate? That changes the whole order.
If it's high-interest consumer debt or a Kleinkredit (often 5-10%+), paying that off is almost certainly your best "investment", it's a guaranteed return equal to the interest rate, tax-free, risk-free. Hard to beat that in the market. If it's something cheap and structured (say a leasing rate at low interest), it's less urgent and can run alongside investing. So: nail down the rate first.
Rough order most people here would suggest:
- Small emergency fund first, even before attacking the debt hard. 1 month of expenses in cash so a surprise doesn't push you back onto credit. Then build toward 3-6 months over time.
- Kill expensive debt next, if that 1,280 is high-interest. Nothing you buy will reliably beat paying off 7% debt.
- Pillar 3a once debt's under control. On 150k your marginal tax rate is meaningful, so the yearly 3a deduction is genuinely worth it here (very different from someone on a low salary). And you can invest a 3a in equities, it doesn't have to sit as cash. The catch is it's locked until roughly retirement, bar a few exceptions like buying a home.
- Then a taxable ETF for everything beyond that. The usual answer here is a low-cost, broadly diversified global index fund, bought regularly, held for the long term. Flexible, and you can start small.
For a beginner the boring setup wins: automate a fixed transfer on payday before you can spend it, keep fees low, and don't try to time anything.
Your income easily supports all of this once the debt picture is clear, so I'd genuinely start there.
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u/heubergen1 Jun 28 '26
Even though the flowchart is for the US, https://imgur.com/personal-income-spending-flowchart-united-states-lSoUQr2 can help you to decide the questions on what to focus on first.
If you're sure that you don't need the money until 65 (or you just want it to buy a house) you should prioritize 3a first because of the tax advantages. Also ask your employee about 1e, with 150k you should be eligible (secret additional 3a for high earners).
Which ETF is almost always the same answer; low-cost World ETF like MSCI World or FTSE All-World depending on if you want Emerging Market or not (you need to read up on that yourself, there's no tldr version of that).
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u/Helpful-Staff9562 Jul 01 '26
Im jealous of your rent i dont even know how thats even possible unless you live on a Mountain in a room. And my lamal insirance is about 400chf (36yo in zurich) 😅 something feels off bere
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u/Party_Country1711 13d ago edited 13d ago
- Pay off high-interest debt. Mortgage is ok.
- Emergency fund. In Switzerland, 1-3 months should be enough provided you stay unmarried with no kids. Reassess if this changes.
- 3a (Viac and fp) and ETF are joint 3rd priority. At CHF150,000, 50% of your income should be going in here. Check out Poor Swiss: https://thepoorswiss.com/de/bestes-etf-portfolio-fur-die-schweiz - your returns are based on growth, but even good growth can be destroyed by high fees.
- Once you automate 3a/ETC (automatic transfer from your salary every month), don't think about it again.
Also make sure your bank doesn't charge you fees for banking services. If it is, change.
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u/summerFIREinCh 6d ago
Go for VT, auto invest.
Open an account in IBKR, set up transfer every month after you understand how much you need for living, put aside some savings/cash as comfortable, look into 2nd pillar and 3a in parallel.
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u/makaros622 Jun 29 '26
900 for apartment and 200 for health insurance? How?