Saxo Bank AutoInvest Review: Our Experience with the ETF Savings Plan 2025
- Aljoscha Moser
- 48 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Saxo Bank AutoInvest is currently the most attractive ETF savings plan provider in Switzerland and the test winner of our large ETF savings plan comparison: free savings plans, no custody fees and a large selection of ETFs make Saxo Bank an attractive choice for long-term and cost-conscious investors. In this review, we show you how the Saxo trading platform performs in practice, share our personal experiences and explain who Saxo's ETF savings plan offering is particularly suitable for.
📖 Overview
Welcome offer 🚀CHF 200 Trading Credit With the voucher opening link you will receive a trading credit (credit of trading fees) in the amount of CHF 200. |
☝️Saxo AutoInvest at a glance
Advantages
Disadvantages
|
Saxo Bank Switzerland: Swiss banking licence and global strength
Saxo Bank Switzerland is a FINMA-regulated online broker with a Swiss banking licence and part of the internationally active Danish Saxo Bank Group. Since 2025, the majority of the group has been owned by the renowned Basel-based private bank J. Safra Sarasin. Saxo has attracted attention above all for its highly competitive fees, which is not least due to the size of the globally organised Saxo Group. Founded in 1992, the Saxo Group serves over 1.2 million clients worldwide. Saxo's Swiss office is located in the Circle at Zurich Airport.
Saxo's ETF savings plan offering is aimed at beginners, advanced traders and professionals. Particularly practical: you can choose between three trading platforms - available as an app and web version - to suit your level of experience:
SaxoInvestor - ideal for beginners
SaxoTraderGO - for advanced investors
SaxoTraderPRO - for experienced traders with high standards
Saxo Bank ETF savings plan: AutoInvest explained
Although ETF savings plans are still not very widespread in Switzerland, Saxo Bank's new ‘AutoInvest’ savings plan offers an attractive opportunity to invest in over 100 ETFs without fees. An ETF savings plan allows you to invest regularly and automatically in an ETF portfolio that you have put together. This makes ETF savings plans particularly suitable for anyone who wants to build up assets over the long term without having to actively monitor stock market developments all the time.
💡 What are ETFs?
Read on to find out exactly how the Saxo AutoInvest ETF savings plan works, what advantages and disadvantages it has and what our experiences have been with it.
Advantages of an ETF savings plan at a glance
A major advantage of savings plans is the automated implementation of your chosen investment strategy. You don't have to worry about the ‘right’ time to buy - which is unpredictable anyway - and you don't have to constantly deal with your investment. If you start investing regularly at an early stage, you will also benefit from the compound interest effect. You can use our compound interest calculator to simulate the growth effect with your own figures.
How the Saxo AutoInvest ETF savings plan works
ETF savings plans differ depending on the provider in terms of costs, selection of ETFs, execution interval and other functions. With AutoInvest, Saxo offers a simple solution for investing regularly in ETFs - directly via the app or web platform. In our test, it only took a few minutes to set up.
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Number of ETFs per savings plan | Up to 10 ETFs per account |
Fractional shares | No, only whole ETF units are purchased |
Execution | On the 5th day of the month |
Purchase fees (savings plan execution) | No fees |
Custody fees | No fees |
Sales fees | 0.08% of the trading volume (min. CHF 3) |
ETF selection | Over 100 ETFs (iShares, Amundi) |
Up to 10 ETFs per account
With Saxo AutoInvest you can invest in up to 10 different ETFs in a single account. If you want to build a more diversified portfolio, you can also open up to nine additional sub-accounts. For example, you can create separate savings plans for children or different investment goals - each with its own IBAN. However, the sub-accounts all remain registered in your name.
Savings plan execution at the beginning of the month
As soon as you have selected your desired ETFs and set a monthly savings amount, everything runs automatically. Execution takes place on the 5th day of the month - or on the following bank working day. Existing savings plans can be flexibly adjusted or paused at any time.
No fixed minimum savings amount - but whole ETF shares
Although there is theoretically no minimum amount, in practice the investment depends on the price of the selected ETF, as Saxo does not offer fractional shares. This means that investments are only made if your account balance is at least equal to the price of a whole ETF share.
Example: If an ETF costs CHF 100, investments are only made when there is at least CHF 100 in the account. If the unit price is significantly higher - e.g. USD 1,000 - it may take longer for a purchase to be made.
Optional function: ‘Invest additional money’
By default, Saxo invests exactly the amount you choose - e.g. CHF 500 per month. The rest remains in the account. If you wish, you can activate the ‘ Invest additional money’ option under "Investment settings ’. All available funds in the account will then be invested, provided they are sufficient for entire ETF units. Example: You have CHF 650 in your account and your ETF costs CHF 100 per share. With the function activated, 6 units are purchased and CHF 50 remain. Without the function activated, only the originally planned CHF 500 would be invested and CHF 150 would remain in the account.
ETF selection: iShares & Amundi
ETFs from iShares (BlackRock) and ETFs from Amundi are currently available. All ETFs eligible for savings plans are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The selection covers broad world indices, regions and sectors - ideal for long-term, passive investing.
Step-by-step guide: How to set up your Saxo AutoInvest ETF savings plan
Setting up an ETF savings plan with Saxo is very simple. We'll show you step-by-step how to set up your own ETF savings plan portfolio.
Open a Saxo account: If you do not yet have a Saxo account, you must first open your securities account. Use our voucher link to secure CHF 200 trading credit.
Activate AutoInvest: Log in to your Saxo account, go to ‘Start AutoInvest’ under ‘Profile’ and give your new sub-account a name. Click on ‘Open an AutoInvest account’ to complete the activation process. The AutoInvest account will now be displayed in the overview.
Select ETFs: Click on ‘Get started’ and select from over 100 available ETFs according to markets, popularity or themes. Click on the ‘Add’ button to select your desired ETFs - you can also save in just one ETF.
Define savings amount: Enter your desired monthly investment amount and distribute it as a percentage among the selected ETFs. Saxo will show you how many shares of the ETFs you can expect to buy with the selected amount.
Set up a standing order: Use the separate IBAN of your AutoInvest account to deposit money regularly by standing order. Of course, you can also transfer money manually - but it is much more practical to set up a standing order directly on your salary account. This way, everything runs automatically and you never forget to make a deposit. If you already have money in your main Saxo account, you can also transfer it quickly and easily to the AutoInvest sub-account.
ETF purchases are executed on the 5th day of each month, provided there are sufficient funds in the Saxo AutoInvest sub-account. There is no minimum investment amount - this means that if you do not transfer any money to your AutoInvest account in a month, no investment will take place. The savings plan pauses automatically and continues as normal as soon as there is enough money in the account again. You can also flexibly adjust or cancel your ETF savings plans at any time.
Saxo AutoInvest ETF offer: Over 100 ETFs
Saxo currently offers a selection of just over 100 ETFs that can be conveniently invested in as part of an ETF savings plan. All ETFs come from the established providers iShares and Amundi and are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
When asked, Saxo stated that the ETF range will comprise between 100 and 120 securities in the long term. The focus is on equity ETFs that can be used to track the entire global economy as well as individual regions, sectors or trend themes. ETFs on other asset classes such as gold or bonds are also available.
Many popular ETFs are included - ideal for long-term investors who want to focus on broad diversification, for example:
🌎 iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (ISIN: IE00B4L5Y983 | TER: 0.20%)
🇨🇭 iShares Core SPI (CH) ETF (ISIN: CH0237935652 | TER: 0.10%)
🇺🇸 Amundi S&P 500 II UCITS ETF (ISIN: LU0496786657 | TER: 0.05%)
🇪🇺 Amundi STOXX Europe 600 ESG UCITS ETF (ISIN: LU1681040223 | TER: 0.18%)
With this broad range, Saxo currently offers one of the most comprehensive ETF savings plans in Switzerland. The full list of available ETFs can be found on the Saxo website.
Saxo AutoInvest fees: The savings plan is free of charge
Saxo AutoInvest is currently the most cost-effective ETF savings plan in Switzerland. AutoInvest from Saxo is practically free of charge for investors for the entire term of the plan. There are no purchase fees and no custody account fees. Saxo only charges the usual (low) trading fees when the ETFs are sold:
Selling costs: 0.08% of the trading volume (min. CHF 3 per transaction)
Currency conversion: When buying ETFs in foreign currencies, a conversion fee of 0.25% is charged. This fee is very favourable compared to the competition - Saxo is also setting an example here in terms of fees.
Important: It is not possible to transfer ETFs to another custody account or to another broker. This only applies to ETFs purchased via the savings plan, but not to securities that you buy normally with your Saxo main account - i.e. without a savings plan.
Type of fee | Fees |
|---|---|
Purchase and custody fees | None |
Sales fees | 0.08% of the sales volume (min. CHF 3) |
ETF management costs (TER) | Depending on the ETF (0.05%-0.50%) |
Stamp duty | According to legal requirements |
Currency conversion fee | 0.25% |
ETF costs (TER) and stamp duty only
During the holding period, you only pay the product costs of the ETFs, i.e. the so-called Total Expense Ratio (TER), as well as the statutory stamp duty. These costs are incurred independently of Saxo and are already factored into the ETF's performance.
👉 Tip: When selecting ETFs, make sure the TER is as low as possible, because: The lower the fees, the higher your return.
Saxo AutoInvest is particularly suitable for those with a long investment horizon, as Saxo does not charge any fees until the fund is sold. Only the product and management costs of the ETFs (TER) and stamp duty are incurred, as well as the very favourable currency exchange fee of 0.25% when buying ETFs in foreign currencies. When selecting ETFs, make sure that the product and management costs are as low as possible. You will find information on the costs for the individual ETFs under ‘Important statistics’ / ‘Ongoing fees’. The lower the fees, the more return you will get. Low fees are important, as fees reduce investment performance.
How does Saxo still earn money?
Although Saxo's AutoInvest ETF savings plan is free of charge for you, Saxo earns indirectly through its co-operation with ETF providers. The current partners (e.g. Amundi and Blackrock) pay Saxo to offer their ETFs via AutoInvest. This is worthwhile for the ETF providers: they earn from the ETFs' annual management fee (TER), which is deducted directly from the fund assets. A client who regularly invests in the same ETF over a period of years is particularly attractive for them.
Saxo also benefits in the long term: although there are no fees during the savings phase, Saxo earns the usual trading feeswhen the ETFs are sold later. The model is therefore designed for long-term customer loyalty and mutual benefit.
How does Saxo's ETF savings plan compare to other providers?
In a direct comparison with other ETF savings plans in Switzerland, Saxo AutoInvest impresses above all with its clear fee model without ongoing costs and its simple implementation. Other providers sometimes charge custody account fees, purchase costs or only offer a limited selection of ETFs free of charge. However, there are also platforms with fractional shares or the option of transferring the ETFs to another custody account at a later date.
You can find a detailed overview with all the advantages and disadvantages in our ETF savings plan comparison for Switzerland.
Conclusion: Is Saxo AutoInvest recommendable?
Saxo AutoInvest offers a very convincing ETF savings plan for anyone who wants to invest in ETFs in a simple, automated and unrivalled cost-effective way. The lack of purchase and custody fees makes the savings plan particularly attractive - especially for those with a long-term investment horizon. Saxo Bank's offer impresses with its transparency, user-friendliness and unrivalled favourable cost structure.
Saxo AutoInvest is a convincing solution for anyone who wants to build up assets easily and without ongoing fees - ideal for beginners as well as experienced investors with a focus on long-term goals.
Welcome offer 🚀CHF 200 Trading Credit With the voucher opening link you will receive a trading credit (credit of trading fees) in the amount of CHF 200. |
Frequently asked questions about the Saxo ETF savings plan
Does an ETF savings plan make sense?
What should I look out for when choosing an ETF?
How does Saxo compare to the competition?
How secure are ETF savings plans with Saxo?
