FAQ

relevate is an innovative digital platform for managing vested benefits and pillar 3a assets. At relevate, pension assets can be invested effortlessly and securely in index funds from various asset classes or on the money market. Clients can choose from eight different investment strategies covering different risk profiles. relevate also offers a savings account solution with a fixed interest rate.

relevate is a brand of PensExpert AG. Headquartered in Lucerne, this pension specialist has been offering occupational and private pension solutions for over 20 years.

relevate and PensExpert AG do not issue their own funds, but rather put together high-quality Swisscanto products from Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) in their own strategies for different portfolios. ZKB is also the custodian bank.

relevate offers you a range of tangible benefits compared to other pension solutions:

Good return opportunities

With the ability to invest up to 99% of your pension assets in equities, the asset class with the highest historical returns, you can build up above-average pension assets at relevate.

If you prefer a very low investment risk rather than the highest possible return, you can invest up to 99% of your capital in bonds (safe strategy), invest it on the money market (cash+ strategy) or leave it in the relevate savings account (cash strategy). There are also four further investment strategies with different asset classes.

Maximum security

PensExpert AG, the founder of relevate, has earned the highest level of trust from its clients in over 20 years of business. The funds you invest with relevate are held at ZKB, which has total assets of around CHF 200 billion (2022),making it by far the largest cantonal bank in Switzerland.

Apart from the strong reputation of the Swiss financial institutions involved in relevate, the pension assets invested on the financial market with relevate are classed as separate assets. This means that no matter what happens to PensExpert AG or the custodian bank ZKB, the pension assets invested by our clients do not form part of the bankruptcy estate and are therefore always secure. The funds that remain in the account as cash deposits via the relevate cash strategy are privileged under bankruptcy law up to CHF 100,000 per client.

Easy to use

relevate is a digital solution that allows you to invest your pension assets quickly, securely and easily in different asset classes. Registration takes just a few steps and paperwork is kept to a minimum. The dashboard gives you a transparent overview of the capital allocation and performance of your portfolio at any time. This saves you time without having to miss out on top pension products.

Detailed advice

On our homepage you will find detailed guides to pillar 3a, vested benefits and investing in general. If you require further advice, you can contact PensExpert AG’s pension experts at any time.

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, you will find the necessary contact details in the relevate client portal under the menu item “Help and contact”.

You can change details such as your mobile number or address directly in your profile.

Your mobile phone number is used on first verification and when logging in. If you have a new mobile number as a result of losing your phone, you will have to contact Support.

relevate identifies you by means of your name, date of birth, telephone number and email address. The telephone number and the email address are verified with a code at registration.

There is no notice period if you are liquidating a portfolio. However, it should be noted that securities are only traded once a week. As a result, there will be a certain delay between submission of the order to close the account and payment.

No. Incoming or outgoing payments cannot be made through the client portal. relevate always requires an original signed form for transfers/withdrawals, which must be sent by post.

Your funds are held in the Pens3a, Independent and PensFree foundations and are therefore independent of relevate’s continued existence.

As soon as the tax certificate has been created, you will receive an email notification and a message in the relevate client portal. You can then access your tax certificate under the menu item “Documents”.

Yes, you will receive a report on your portfolio from us every quarter. This is available in the relevate client portal under “Documents”.

If you are withdrawing assets click on “Edit” in the portfolio view and then “Close portfolio”. On the next page you need to give the reason for closing the portfolio and we will send you the withdrawal form you need.

If a new document is available to you, you will usually receive a notification in the relevate client portal. The documents you have not accessed yet are marked in green as an additional way of letting you know.

At relevate, an all-in fee of 0.45% is payable for all strategies that contain funds. This fee covers both the administrative expenses and the product fees. No fees are charged for the relevate cash strategy.

The fees are charged at the end of the quarter. The fees are levied pro rata if an account is closed before the end of the quarter.

The fees set out in the foundation’s current fee regulations are payable on early withdrawal. These can be downloaded when you enter into the contract.

An order of beneficiaries determines who should receive the pension benefits in the event of the pension plan holder’s death. In principle, the order of beneficiaries is prescribed by law. However, it can be adapted within certain limits.

The persons and order are listed in the Pension Fund Regulations. These can be downloaded when you enter into the contract.

You can download the order of beneficiaries via the dashboard or directly on the portfolio page. Please complete and sign the document and send it to us by post.

N.B.: a separate order of beneficiaries needs to be provided for each portfolio.

You can amend your order of beneficiaries at any time. To do so, complete a new order of beneficiaries, sign it and send it to us by post. The latest version is always valid.

N.B.: a separate new order of beneficiaries must be created for each portfolio.

Once you have submitted an order of beneficiaries for a portfolio, you will find the button “Cancel beneficiary designation” on the order of beneficiaries page. You can then stipulate the date on which the designation of beneficiaries should be cancelled and add a message.

With some investments the withholding tax is reclaimed automatically. For other investments, relevate will reclaim and credit the withholding tax.

relevate offers eight different investment strategies with different levels of risk:

1. cash
2. cash+
3. safe
4. modest
5. dynamic
6. ambitious
7. maximum
8. excited (3a only)

Risk is primarily determined on the basis of a strategy’s equity weighting. The riskiest strategy with an equity weighting of 99% is only available to clients with a 3a portfolio.

relevate uses the following investment instruments:

• Cash Deposits
• Long- and mid-term bonds
• Short-term bonds ("money market")
• Stocks
• Real estate
• Precious metals and gold (listed as “alternative investments”)

Not every strategy uses all instruments.

When you are onboarded at relevate or open a new portfolio, you will receive an investment strategy recommendation from us that is tailored to your risk profile. But you are not obliged to choose the recommended strategy and can also opt for a lower risk or higher risk strategy if you prefer.

During the onboarding process, we recommend a strategy based on your risk profile and investment horizon, which we determine on the basis of several questions. However, you are free to choose your ultimate strategy and change it at any time. When choosing your strategy, you should consider aspects such as:

• Your risk tolerance
• Your return expectations
• Your investment horizon

You can change your strategy at any time in the client portal. It is implemented on the second bank working day of the week.

You cannot invest in different investment strategies within the same portfolio. But you can choose a different investment strategy for each portfolio.

Yes, only a portion of your pension capital can be invested in your chosen investment strategy. In this case, the rest remains in the account as a cash deposit (relevate cash strategy).

relevate’s custodian is Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).

A change in strategy must be submitted no later than the end of the first bank working day of the week.

Pension assets at relevate can be invested in the selected strategy from an amount of CHF 20.

Orders must be submitted by the end of the first bank working day of the week. Investments are traded at the closing prices of their underlyings on the second and third bank working days of the week – depending on whether the fund consists solely of underlyings domiciled in Switzerland or not.

What is possible is to initially leave your pension assets in the account as a cash deposit using the relevate cash strategy and only invest with a different strategy at a later date.

Conversely, you can also switch from fund-based strategies back to cash, initiating a prompt sale of your investments on the next trading date.

Purchases and sales of securities are always carried out on the second bank working day of the week. The posting will be displayed in relevate three to four bank working days later.

relevate buys or sells securities on the basis of the investment strategy you have chosen. The pension assets are always invested either in full or in the chosen strategy on the trading date on the second banking day of the week (depending on the investment procedure chosen). A change in investment strategy is always executed on the next trading date. This means that you can cancel purchases and sales up to the end of the first banking day of the week by selecting the original strategy again.

No. Swisscanto Fondsleitung AG or its representatives are responsible for proxy voting.

All investment strategies have neutral weightings for the constituent investments. Market movements can lead to a shift in these weightings. Rebalancing means returning the current weighting to the neutral position.

Example: In the relevate maximum strategy, the neutral equity weighting is 85%. As a result of the positive market situation, the equity indices tracked by the funds included rise more strongly than the indices for bonds, real estate and precious metals also replicated by funds included. As a result, the current equity weighting rises to over 85%. Rebalancing must be carried out in order to restore the desired distribution of asset classes and thus the original risk profile of the strategy. This is done by selling equity fund units and/or buying units in the other funds.

Rebalancing takes place quarterly.