Viac, Frankly and Finpension: What the Apps Don’t Tell You

In recent years, platforms like VIAC, Frankly, and Finpension have facilitated access to the Third Pillar, offering banking solutions with high equity exposure and competitive management fees.

On the investment front, everything is fine and nothing is new: it's a simple fund account where you can choose from a range of ETFs.

The difference compared to traditional banking solutions is that, since there is no consultant, the responsibility for the choice is entirely yours.

But there is a gigantic problem that no "finfluencer" or financial blogger talks about. A black hole in your strategy that can swallow up not only your future returns but your entire lifestyle.

The problem is not the App, it's you. Or rather, your ability to generate income.

For the sake of simplicity, all online calculators show you an exponential growth curve:
"If you contribute the maximum (CHF 7,258) every year for 30 years, at a 5% return, you will have CHF 400,000!"

Beautiful. But this equation relies on a constant that you take for granted: that you will remain healthy and able to work for the next 30 years.

What happens if, in 2 years, due to a serious illness or even burnout, you can no longer work?

Your salary plummets. You no longer have the money to pay the annual CHF 7,258. The App stops receiving your contributions. Your "exponential curve" flattens instantly.

The result? You reach retirement empty-handed, right at the moment when—being disabled—you would have needed more money, not less.

Sure, but do you know how much you would actually get? Probably not.

In the event of an illness (which is the cause of 94% of disabilities), the 1st Pillar (IV/AI) and the 2nd Pillar (Pension Fund) together cover only about 60% of your salary.

Let me ask you a simple question: Could you manage to live tomorrow morning with almost half of your current income?

Probably not. And you certainly wouldn't have the spare cash to continue investing in the App.

And if you also have a family to support, the effect is even more devastating.

Pension provision is not a video game where you only chase the highest score (the return). It is the safety net of your life.

If you are investing in ETFs but you don't know exactly how much your wife or husband would receive if you didn't come home tonight, or how much you would get if you couldn't get out of bed tomorrow morning, then you have a problem.

Because pension planning is not just about investment. In fact, wealth accumulation is only one part of it, and it cannot be separated from other risks.

Therefore, the solution is to cover the risk of disability and death. This way, even when life throws an unexpected event at you, your financial stability won't suffer, and you can continue saving for retirement.

I know, right now you're probably wondering: "But if on top of what I invest in the App I have to spend money on a disability and life insurance policy, then I might as well just open a 3a insurance policy directly."

Well, at the end of the day, you're not wrong. But if you still want to continue saving through Viac, Frankly, or Finpension, that's perfectly fine—as long as you take out a pure-risk disability and life insurance policy. Otherwise, it’s not real pension planning.

As explained at the beginning, the problem is not saving money through an App; the real problem is believing that by doing only that, you are safe.

An algorithm can optimize your ETF allocation, but it cannot sit across the table from you to calculate the impact of an illness on your family's financial stability or the sustainability of your mortgage.

The "do-it-yourself" trend works fine as long as everything goes well. Pension provision, however, is designed to work especially when things go wrong.

Before confirming your next deposit into the App, ask yourself: "If I could no longer work tomorrow, who will pay this money for me?"

If you don't have an answer, we invite you to contact us for a comprehensive pension analysis.