Fees for Transferring Stocks and Other Securities Compared

Many banks charge securities transfer fees when you move your stocks, bonds, and other securities to a different bank. A moneyland.ch analysis reveals that these fees have gone down somewhat over the past years. But they are still substantial. There are also big differences between the securities transfer fees charged by different banks.

Banks also charge fees when you withdraw your securities at the counter in the form of physical certificates. However, physical withdrawals are no longer common in Switzerland, and some Swiss banks no longer give you the option of withdrawing physical certificates.

Physical and electronic withdrawals

Swiss banks differentiate between electronic or book transfers, and withdrawals in the form of securities certificates. Withdrawing certificates (at the counter, for example) is typically more expensive than electronic transfers to a different stockbroker.

Fees also vary depending on which securities you are transferring. In many cases, transferring foreign securities (with a foreign ISIN) is more expensive than transferring Swiss securities (with a Swiss ISIN). By contrast, whether you are transferring your securities to a Swiss or a foreign bank is relatively insignificant.

Transfer fees compared

Transfer fees are surprisingly high, as a moneyland.ch survey of 36 Swiss banks and online stock brokers reveals. You can request a full comparison in PDF format using the form at the foot of this guide.

Transferring Swiss securities (Roche shares, for example) from one Swiss bank to another costs 84 francs, on average. Transferring foreign securities (Apple shares, for example) costs 95 francs, on average.

The average cost of withdrawing securities certificates at the counter is higher, at 126 francs for Swiss securities and 168 francs for foreign securities.

Other costs like value-added tax (VAT) and possible third-party fees may come on top of that.

You pay the securities transfer fee once for each different position (all shares in a specific stock, for example) – not just once for all your securities combined. So the cost of transferring your portfolio depends on how many different securities you hold, and not on the monetary value of your assets.

Fees for the electronic transfer of Swiss securities

Date: August 2024.
You can get a full overview of transfer fees, including fees for transferring foreign securities and fees for withdrawing physical certificates, using the form at the foot of this guide.

High transfer fees

This example shows how high securities transfer fees can be: Suppose you hold shares in one Swiss ETF, five Swiss stocks, five US stocks, and five European stocks. Transferring your whole portfolio to a different bank would cost you 1454 francs based on the average fees. The most expensive bank would charge you 2400 francs for the transfer.  

Banks with the lowest securities transfer fees

The VZ Depotbank says it does not charge any securities transfer fees at all. Cornèrtrader has the second-lowest fees, at 30 francs per position. Next in line are the Aargauische Kantonalbank, Online-Trading 1816 (Banque Cantonale du Genève), Saxo Bank, and Swissquote – all of which charge 50 francs per position.

The ranking is similar for foreign securities, as shown in the full overview that you can get using the form below. Interestingly, four of the six most affordable service providers specialize in online trading platforms.

Securities transfer fees are likely here to stay

The Swiss price watchdog and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) raised the issue of securities transfer fees in 2016. 

A number of banks have lowered their transfer fees since then. The average per-position transfer fee for Swiss securities has fallen 16 percent since 2017, from 100 francs to the current 84 francs. The average transfer fee for foreign securities has fallen by 21 percent over the same period, from 120 francs per position in 2017 to 95 francs per position in 2024.

It is important to understand that these are average fees. While a number of service providers have lowered their transfer fees or even eliminated them completely, others have not made any changes at all, and still others have raised their fees.

Tips for changing stockbrokers

You can avoid paying securities transfer fees by having your existing stockbroker sell your securities, and simultaneously buying the same securities with your new stockbroker. This requires time and effort, and you pay brokerage fees and stamp duties when you sell your securities, and when you rebuy them. But in many cases, the total cost of selling and rebuying securities is lower than that of transferring your securities.

There is an even cheaper solution that may apply in some cases. Many Swiss banks cover all or part of the fees charged by your old bank when you move your portfolio to them, as the moneyland.ch survey revealed. Typically, your new bank will only cover your transfer fees if your customer profile indicates that you are likely to make a lot of trades. But it is always worth it to ask your prospective new stockbroker if they cover securities transfer fees for new customers.

Additionally, there are also some banks that occasionally offer to cover your transfer fees if you move your portfolio to them. Swissquote, for example, regularly runs special promotional offers for new customers in which it offers to cover 500 francs of your old bank’s securities transfer fees when you move your portfolio to them.  

Transfer fees are not the only cost to compare

When choosing a stockbroker, it is definitely advantageous if your prospective bank has low transfer fees because that will it easier to move to a different stockbroker in the future. But the most important costs to look at are the brokerage fees and the custody fees. You can easily compare these costs to find the cheapest stockbroker using the leading Swiss stockbroker comparison on moneyland.ch.

More on this topic:
Compare Swiss stock brokerage accounts now
Custody fees in Switzerland explained
Tips for investing in the stock market