Swiss Bogleheads Local Chapter Established

[thatswissguy]

Good morning!

I'm wondering if there is a Swiss group of people that get together who are investment minded, if you know of any group - would be great to hear where they are and how often they meet.

Thank you!

[German Expat]

I am in the Zurich area. Don't know of any group myself but let me know if you find any.

[sport]

You might get better response with a more descriptive subject line.

[LadyGeek]

The OP can change the thread title by editing the Subject: line in Post #1.

I added a description to the subject line.

[thatswissguy]

Thanks! I'm thinking there must be some existing financial groups that get together and that there may be some overlap. Anyone have an idea where I might find such people? E.g rotary meetings? Anything else come to mind?

I've asked many of my friends in the area but either I'm met with "nope, I don't invest", or "I tried once and it didn't work ok", or "I don't speculate" and so on.

Having real life experienced Swiss implementations would be beneficial to building a wider understanding (at least in my mind).

[Dabach]

Due to the number of threads from investors living in Switzerland and discussing the specificities of the Swiss system, would this be the time to consider a Swiss chapter and meet up after the virus is contained?

[German Expat]

Due to the number of threads from investors living in Switzerland and discussing the specificities of the Swiss system, would this be the time to consider a Swiss chapter and meet up after the virus is contained?

I would be interested but there is a larger difference between cases like myself (US citizen in Switzerland) vs Swiss investors. e.g. 3rd pillar makes no sense for us and even 2nd pillar is fully taxable in the US so strategies at retirement are a bit different. On the plus side I have a lot more options for low cost brokerages in the US. For general investment discussions, getting together etc. I would be interested and available. Also for me German is not a problem but for some others might be so we need to settle on a language as well.

[ivk5]

Due to the number of threads from investors living in Switzerland and discussing the specificities of the Swiss system, would this be the time to consider a Swiss chapter and meet up after the virus is contained?

I would be interested but there is a larger difference between cases like myself (US citizen in Switzerland) vs Swiss investors. e.g. 3rd pillar makes no sense for us and even 2nd pillar is fully taxable in the US so strategies at retirement are a bit different. On the plus side I have a lot more options for low cost brokerages in the US. For general investment discussions, getting together etc. I would be interested and available. Also for me German is not a problem but for some others might be so we need to settle on a language as well.

+1

Also the fact that I have US nationality means I have limited insight into CH/CHF financial institutions since many of them will not do business with me due to FATCA etc.

[LeftCoastIV]

As a US expat living in CH, my investing interest is US-focused. I don't really pay much mind to Swiss retirement schemes or local investing opportunities. In that sense, I'm the same as all the U.S. Bogleheads, but with a Swiss address.

[Dabach]

Sure, there would be very different situations in terms of options/restrictions for official pension schemes (such as foreign citizens in Switzerland with flexible pension schemes or Swiss citizens like me who are building a "fourth pillar" to compensate the limits of the other three pillars in the future), but let's see if more interest arises - I would be in!

[Dabach]

We are happy to announce that we will soon have a Local Chapter in Switzerland. We already have more than five folks interested and I volountereed to be the first local coordinator. We could have our first event in a central location in Bern, with others to follow in Zurich and Geneva/Lausanne.
You can already express your interest here or contact us at SwissBogleheads@gmail.com.
Thanks in advance and all the best

[Mel Lindauer]

It's official! I'm pleased to announce that the Swiss Local Chapter became our 10th international chapter and will be added to the Bogleheads Local Chapter Map.

Thanks to Dabach for stepping up and agreeing to be the Local Chapter Coordinator.

The Local Chapter email address is SwissBogleheads@gmail.com

Good luck to all our newest Local Chapter!

[Dabach]

Many thanks for your help Mel.

As a first step, we propose to gather more information on preferences and personal interests in order to design a better program. Initial feedback indicates the following proposals:

- Beginner vs advanced investors: The latter should be in focus, particularly in case of specialized topics
- Social vs content: May be informal at first to get acquainted, then rather specific topics and guests
- Virtual vs physical meetings (ZH, BE, LS, GE): Zurich and Bern are the preferred locations at the moment

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and looking forward to getting to know each other

[ivk5]

Many thanks for your help Mel.

As a first step, we propose to gather more information on preferences and personal interests in order to design a better program. Initial feedback indicates the following proposals:

- Beginner vs advanced investors: The latter should be in focus, particularly in case of specialized topics
- Social vs content: May be informal at first to get acquainted, then rather specific topics and guests
- Virtual vs physical meetings (ZH, BE, LS, GE): Zurich and Bern are the preferred locations at the moment

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and looking forward to getting to know each other

Thanks Dabach for taking the initiative!

Given that several posters in the thread (LeftCoastIV, German Expat, me) are US persons living in CH, it might be worth considering whether to plan some topics/content focused on the unique investing/tax/finance circumstances of that group.

I'm in ZH but would actually prefer to get together virtually (young kids, etc). In that case would suggest EN rather than DE/FR for greatest accessibility (after all this site is in EN anyway).

[German Expat]

I am ok with English or German. Definitely like to exchange some information about US citizens and our issues. I am a bit zoomed out and would prefer a physical meeting but am also ok with virtual. Maybe a virtual meeting first to see how many we even are and get to know each other.

[Dabach]

Many thanks for your suggestion by email and on this thread.

If it suits you, we will have the virtual meetings in English. For 2021, we will have our first Swiss chapter event with the Head of Vanguard Switzerland as guest speaker (presentation of 30 minutes followed by questions from us) in late afternoon/evening on November 25, 2021 (exact time and dial-in will follow).

For the next years, we could have a specific topic and everyone could join the event according to their own interests:

Topic 1: US expats in CH (annuity, tax planning, longevity insurance, pension from 2 countries, Wind Fall provisions, Fixed Income allocation, currency issue) - virtual meeting
Topic 2: Exposure to China/emerging market (Active vs Passive) - virtual meeting
Topic 3: Switzerland as investment market (equity and real estate) - physical meeting
Topic 4: TBD - Leveraged investment (Margin Loan, Box Spread)/ Option trading (covered calls, short puts on portfolio) / Play Money or Casino account / EUR investments

[MH2]

Would love to join and I think that the proposed schedule is an excellent idea.

[Dabach]

Thank you very much for your participation and questions on November 25, it was a very informative and enjoyable first event with the Head of Vanguard Switzerland (key messages are transcribed and archived under https://guidefinances.com/2021/12/05/bo ... itzerland/

There will probably be fewer participants for the more specific topic of the first quarter of 2022, but this should not be a problem for a more open discussion. If it is convenient for you, we can reserve the date of Wednesday, March 16, 2022 for a US-Switzerland focus, with the following proposed agenda (and approximative time slots):
1) Annuity and longevity insurance (10')
2) Fixed Income allocation (10')
3) Tax planning, pension from 2 countries, Windfall provisions (10')
4) Varia (Currency issues, other) (10')

[boglehooligan]

Hello Swiss Bogleheads,

I hope I am posting in the correct thread (I wasn't sure if i required to create a brand new one)

I am asking a question on behalf of a friend that lives in Switzerland with regards to creating a simple "set it and forget it" low cost ETF portfolio.

She is:
- Dual nationality: Swiss and Thai
- State of Residence: Switzerland
- Single no children
- Age: 38
- Desired allocation 70% stocks and 30% bonds
- Time horizon 15-20 years

Are there any portfolios best suited that I can direct her towards for her to make an informed decision? For example would Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF Distributing ISIN IE00B3RBWM25 be an option?

Thanks in advance and regards from Bahrain

[Dabach]

Please find below the log in details for the coming US-Swiss discussion:

Wednesday 16 March 2022, 19:15 - 19:55 Europe/Brussels(GMT+1:00)

Please click this URL to start or join. https://us05web.zoom.us/j/82096099668?p ... JKY0M4QT09
Or, go to https://us05web.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID: 820 9609 9668 and password: e0sR9L

Agenda of US-Switzerland focus:
1) Annuity and longevity insurance (10')
2) Fixed Income allocation (10')
3) Tax planning, pension from 2 countries, Windfall provisions (10')
4) Varia (Currency issues, other) (10')

[PV_Jeltz]

Hello and happy to have found this!

I'm near Luzern, looking forward to exchanging local topics, at the moment I'm looking at how to best arrange Pillar 2 (Freizügigkeit).

[Stef]

Hey there. I'm Swiss and live in Aarau.

To be honest this forum convinced me of the superiority of the US. That's why my portfolio is closer to someone from the US.

[varepsilon]

Hi @Stef

We should meet for a coffee one day. I also live in Aarau and would be happy to debate the US vs rest allocation. I used to be in the same boat as you, but plan to change now.

Hey there. I'm Swiss and live in Aarau.

To be honest this forum convinced me of the superiority of the US. That's why my portfolio is closer to someone from the US.

[xmj]

Hi @Stef

We should meet for a coffee one day. I also live in Aarau and would be happy to debate the US vs rest allocation. I used to be in the same boat as you, but plan to change now.

What made you change, if I may ask?

Cheers from ... also Aarau