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Selma Finance is the Swiss robo-advisor I recommend when someone would rather be guided than left alone with a dashboard. This review covers what it costs at every tier, how its pillar 3a and retirement offer work, how it compares with True Wealth, and where the premium is worth paying.
The robo-advisor for people who want a plan, not just a portfolio. Budget, pension and investing sit in one app, you can start with CHF 2’000, and there’s a proper offer for the years after you retire. The catch is cost: you pay a premium for the guidance.
Who Selma is and is not for
It suits you if you want the decisions made for you, you’d rather be guided than handed a menu, you’re starting with a few thousand francs, and you want your pillar 3a in the same place as your other investing.
It doesn’t suit you if cost is the only thing you care about, or you want to pick the funds yourself. There are cheaper Swiss robo-advisors, and a broker is cheaper still if you’re happy buying one global ETF and leaving it alone.
Selma Finance: pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Fees and charges
Selma charges one fee that falls in four steps as your total grows, plus the cost of the funds it buys for you. Two things make the tiers more generous than they look: the total counts your deposits and your earnings, and it includes your pillar 3a.
| Total invested | Selma fee | Plus fund costs | All in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under CHF 50’000 | 0.68% | ~0.22% | ~0.90% |
| CHF 50’000 to 150’000 | 0.55% | ~0.22% | ~0.77% |
| CHF 150’000 to 500’000 | 0.47% | ~0.22% | ~0.69% |
| Over CHF 500’000 | 0.42% | ~0.22% | ~0.64% |
The fee covers trading and bank costs, custody, adding or taking out money, closing the account and the Swiss tax statement. Selma puts the fund costs at 0.22% a year on average, which on CHF 150’000 is about CHF 27.50 a month.
Two costs sit outside both: Swiss stamp duty of 0.075 to 0.15% per transaction, which every Swiss provider pays, and currency exchange of about 0.25% per transaction when Selma buys something not priced in francs. Selma publishes both, which is more than many do.
What it actually costs on CHF 50’000
At exactly CHF 50’000 you’re in the second tier, so 0.55% plus about 0.22% fund costs. That’s roughly CHF 385 a year.
The same money at True Wealth costs about CHF 310. So Selma is around CHF 75 a year dearer, not the multiple it’s sometimes made out to be.
Whether CHF 75 is worth it depends on whether the guidance gets you invested and keeps you there. For a lot of people it does.
How Selma works
You start with a chat rather than a form. Selma asks about your income, debts, savings, timeframe and how you’d react to a market fall, and builds a plan from the answers. The portfolio comes last.
- Answer the questions. No PDFs to print or scan. Email verification comes later, so nothing blocks you halfway.
- Get a plan, not just a portfolio. Selma tells you how much to keep as a cash buffer and how much to invest, a step most robo-advisors skip.
- See the downside before you commit. It shows what your mix would have done in a bad year, 2008 included.
- Fund it and leave it. CHF 2’000 by bank transfer, then a monthly savings plan if you want one. Rebalancing, dividend reinvestment and the tax statement are handled for you.
Getting money out is just as simple. You sell from the app and the cash goes back to your bank account. Neither withdrawals nor closing the account cost anything extra.
Is Selma safe, and is it a bank?
Selma isn’t a bank. Selma Finance AG is an independent portfolio manager authorised by FINMA, supervised by OSFIN, with FINOS as its ombudsman. It never holds your money itself.Your investment account is opened in your own name at Saxo Bank (Switzerland) AG, and your pillar 3a sits with VZ Vorsorgestiftung, the pension foundation of VZ VermögensZentrum. If Selma stopped trading, the assets are yours and can be moved elsewhere. Two-factor login is available and worth switching on.
Selma vs True Wealth
These are the two I recommend most often, and they suit different people. The full True Wealth review goes deeper, and both sit side by side in the robo-advisor comparison.
You can also check any pairing yourself. Pick a provider and the table builds from the same source-checked data as the rest of this page.
Selma comparison
| Selma | True Wealth | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee + product costs | 0.68% + 0.22% | 0.50% + 0.12% |
| Minimum investment | CHF 2'000 | CHF 8'500 |
| Number of strategies | 3 base portfolios, plus preferences | 2 universes (global, sustainable), risk adjustable |
| ESG | Yes | Yes |
| Fee notes | All-in (incl. trading and bank costs), tiers 0.68/0.55/0.47/0.42 by balance; product costs ~0.22% on top | Management-only, degressive 0.50→0.25 by total assets; product costs ~0.12% on top |
| Reader deal | CHF 34 welcome bonus via this link | CHF 100 fee credit with code INVEHERO |
| My rating | ★ 4.5 | ★ 4.8 |
| Full review | – | Read the full True Wealth review → |
Checked at source: Selma 22 September 2026 · True Wealth 22 September 2026
True Wealth if cost and control matter most, Selma if being guided is what gets you started. The gap on CHF 50’000 is about CHF 75 a year.
Selma vs Inyova, findependent and Alpian
Inyova is the pick if impact investing is the point and you want to see what each holding does. findependent is cheaper and deliberately simple, with less hand-holding. Alpian is a digital private bank with human advisers on call, which appeals if you want a bank account and a mandate in one place. None of them plans your budget and pension the way Selma does.Selma pillar 3a
Selma also runs a pillar 3a, and it’s easy to miss because most of this review is about the investment account. The minimum is CHF 500, so it’s often the cheapest way to try the platform.
The 3a sits with VZ Vorsorgestiftung, offers six investment plans with up to 97% in shares, and applies Selma’s sustainability standards to every product. It pays the same fee scale as everything else, so roughly 0.90% all in at smaller balances. That isn’t cheap against the leaders in this category.
Your 3a counts towards the fee tier
Your 3a balance counts towards the total that sets your fee tier. A 3a and an investment account together can put you in a cheaper band than either would reach alone, and Selma Family pools the assets of the people you invite to get there faster. If you’re going to use Selma at all, holding both is the cheaper way to do it.
One account only. Selma lets you open a single 3a account. Most Swiss advisers suggest spreading your 3a over several accounts so you can withdraw them in different tax years, and VIAC, finpension and True Wealth all allow up to five.
Whether Selma is the right home for your 3a is a different question from whether it’s the right home for your investing. There are markedly cheaper 3a providers, and I put every Swiss one side by side on total cost in the pillar 3a comparison.
Portfolios, preferences and yes, crypto
Selma builds your portfolio from one of three base directions, then sets the risk from your investor profile. You can add preferences on top.
- Classic. Broadly diversified ETFs across every major market, weighted by global market value. Built for long-term growth.
- Sustainable. The same idea with ESG screening. Out go weapons, tobacco, gambling, adult content and thermal coal, along with companies caught in environmental, human rights or fraud scandals.
- Income. ETFs that pay high dividends and interest, with the income paid out rather than reinvested. Built for people living off their money instead of building it. Remember that Swiss dividends are taxed as income.
These choices apply to the investment account only. The pillar 3a has its own six plans. Choosing the sustainable direction costs nothing extra, but switching an existing portfolio over means selling and rebuying, which Selma’s help centre puts at about 0.70% once.
Selma in retirement
Selma now has an offer for people approaching or already in retirement, which is to say the moment your pension capital is paid out and suddenly sits in your account.
What makes it different is the direction of travel. Most robo-advisors are built for saving up and quietly assume it carries on forever. Here your savings become your income, and the question is how much you can take out each month without running out too early. The app switches into a pension mode, the portfolio leans on stability, broad diversification and the income direction, and you decide whether to draw money regularly or stay invested.
It comes with a free call with one of Selma’s finance experts, who go through your situation and a few scenarios with you. No obligation. This is where human work still happens rather than software, and on a six-figure sum that’s a strength.
If your pension money is about to land
Take the free call, but don’t transfer anything the same week. Lump sum versus pension, the tax bill and the withdrawal plan are three decisions, not one. Selma is a good place to solve the third once the first two are settled. Ask for the fee in writing too: Selma doesn’t publish a separate price or minimum for the retirement offer.
Advice: Selma AI and actual humans
Selma has built AI into the app that gives tips, analysis and answers about your situation, including whether a given preference suits you. Selma has told me it’s working on more, including AI help with pension planning. I’ll rate those when I can use them.
The part that matters more day to day is what happens without you. Beyond normal rebalancing, Selma says it adjusts your plan as your life and risk situation change. On a portfolio meant to run for twenty-five years, that’s the difference between a product and a managed account.
The Selma app
The app runs on iOS and Android and covers everything you need day to day: your plan, the portfolio, deposits, withdrawals and the AI tips. Selma quotes a 4.8 rating on the App Store. The web version shows more detail if you like digging into the numbers.
The catch, and what users say
Cost is the honest criticism. Under CHF 50’000 you pay about 0.90% a year all in, against about 0.62% at True Wealth, and stamp duty and currency exchange come on top of both. On a large balance that gap adds up, and nothing in Selma’s guidance makes it go away.
The rest is smaller. There’s one 3a account rather than five, the retirement offer has no published price, and Selma sometimes describes its portfolios as fully individual when they’re three base directions tuned to your risk.
Users mostly praise the same things I do. Selma reports a 4.6 Google rating from more than 400 reviews, and most mention how easy it was to start and how quickly support replied. It also lists itself as the K-Geld comparison winner 2026 for best net return. Both are Selma’s own figures. The critical reviews are nearly all about price.
Background and the people behind it
Selma Finance is run from Zurich and Helsinki by a team of more than twenty, led by CEO Patrik Schär with co-founders Mikael Roos and Kevin Linser. Patrik is a former banker, and I interviewed him about why he left banking to build Selma: the full interview is here.
If cost matters more to you than guidance, this is the one I rate highest. Less hand-holding, more control, and about CHF 75 a year cheaper on CHF 50’000.
Visit True Wealth →Reader code INVEHERO: CHF 100 fee credit. Read the True Wealth review.Selma’s 3a is convenient if you already invest there, but it isn’t cheap and allows one account. Several providers charge far less and let you open five.
Compare pillar 3a →Selma is in the table too, so you can see the gap in francs.Selma builds you a full plan and shows the portfolio, the fees and the downside scenarios before you transfer a franc. No card details, no commitment. If you’re unsure whether the guidance is worth the premium, the free plan is the honest way to find out.
Selma Finance FAQs
What does Selma Finance cost?
A fee of 0.68% under CHF 50’000, 0.55% to CHF 150’000, 0.47% to CHF 500’000 and 0.42% above that, plus fund costs averaging 0.22% a year. Stamp duty of 0.075 to 0.15% and currency exchange of about 0.25% apply per transaction on top. On CHF 50’000 that works out at roughly CHF 385 a year.
What is the minimum to open a Selma account?
CHF 2’000 to invest, or CHF 500 if you only want a pillar 3a. Both are low by Swiss standards, and well below True Wealth’s CHF 8’500.
Is Selma a bank?
No. Selma Finance AG is a FINMA-authorised independent portfolio manager. Your investment account is held in your own name at Saxo Bank (Switzerland) AG, and your pillar 3a at VZ Vorsorgestiftung.
Is Selma Finance safe?
Selma is authorised by FINMA, supervised by OSFIN and affiliated with the FINOS ombudsman. Because your assets sit in your own name at the custodian, they remain yours and can be transferred if Selma stopped trading.
Does the fee include my pillar 3a?
Yes. Your 3a balance counts towards the total that sets your fee tier, so a 3a and an investment account together can move you into a cheaper band than either would on its own. Selma Family goes further and pools the assets of the people you invite.
Can I have more than one Selma pillar 3a account?
No. Selma allows one 3a account, with a choice of six investment plans. If you want to stagger withdrawals across several accounts, VIAC, finpension and True Wealth each allow up to five.
Is Selma or True Wealth better?
True Wealth is cheaper and gives you more control, and I rate it 4.8 against Selma’s 4.5. Selma is better if you want to be guided, if you’re starting with less than CHF 8’500, or if you want budgeting and pension planning in the same place. The cost gap on CHF 50’000 is about CHF 75 a year.
How do I withdraw money from Selma?
Sell from the app and the money goes back to your bank account. Withdrawals and closing the account are included in the fee.
Is there a Selma app?
Yes, on iOS and Android. Selma quotes a 4.8 rating on the App Store.
Can I hold crypto through Selma?
Yes, as a preference. About 5% of the portfolio goes into bitcoin and ethereum, split two-thirds to one-third, through US-regulated ETFs rather than a wallet of your own. It needs at least CHF 7’500 invested and a high risk capacity and tolerance.
Is Selma suitable for retirement?
There’s a dedicated offer for it. The app switches to a pension mode, the focus moves to stability and a planned monthly drawdown from your pension capital, and a free call with one of Selma’s finance experts is included. Selma doesn’t publish a separate fee for it.
What do Selma reviews say?
Selma reports a 4.6 Google rating from more than 400 reviews and 4.8 on the App Store. Most praise how easy it is to start and how fast support replies. The criticism is almost always price.
Do I need to be a Swiss resident?
Yes. Selma is for people living in Switzerland.
Compare & choose
The other comparisons on Investing Hero, each built the same way: every fee read from the provider’s own pricing page.
How this review is kept current. Every Selma fee, minimum and regulatory detail on this page was read from Selma’s own pricing, pillar 3a, retirement, portfolio and about pages on 24 September 2026, not from a comparison site. The 3a plan count and the sustainable switch cost come from Selma’s help centre. Client numbers, ratings and awards are Selma’s own figures. Competitor figures come from my provider data, each checked at source and dated. Ratings are mine and match the comparison hubs. Educational content, not financial advice.
Thanks for the great review!
Thanks Niklas! Glad you liked it 👊
Hey very nice blog!
Any cost if withdrawing balances from the investment account in Selma?
No – no costs there.