Zak Invest Review 2026 – Pros & Cons

Zak Invest

Zak is a digital Swiss bank account, started by Bank Cler in 2018. It was among the first digital bank accounts. One unique feature of this bank is that you still have access to Bank Cler offices as a digital customer.

Until now, Zak only offered banking services. If you want to learn more about the bank account, you can read our Zak Review.

But in 2026, Zak introduced a new major feature: Zak Invest. Like many other digital banks, it is now possible to invest directly from the Zak application. It means you can now save, pay, and invest from your smartphone, on a single application.

The goal of this new feature is obviously to become a single application that can do it all.

But is this feature any good? We find out in this review.

Investing features

We start by reviewing the investing features of Zak Invest.

From the start, Zak offers access to three different asset classes:

• 6000 different stocks
• 5000 different Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
• 1300 mutual funds

The number of securities that are tradable with Zak Invest is quite impressive, much higher than other digital banks. These securities are available across many stock exchanges like SIX, NASDAQ, NYSE, LSE, and more.

I think it is great that they chose to offer access to the stock market directly. Many digital banks only offer a subset of the stock market and sometimes only on a single stock exchange. The offer from Zak Invest feels more like a real broker.

Zak Invest already allows market orders and limit orders. Orders can be placed on the exchange even if it is closed. In this case, the order will be executed once the market reopens.

Interestingly, Zak Invest provides us with access to US-domiciled ETFs. These ETFs are the most efficient ETFs available for Swiss investors. Digital banks usually do not provide access to them, so it is great that some digital banks are starting to offer them (even if they use the backbone of a large bank).

Unfortunately, they do not offer access to all US ETFs. I have looked into their app, and my favorite ETF (Vanguard Total World – VT) is unfortunately not present. On the other hand, Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO) is available. I am unsure of the criteria they use for this selection.

Overall, the features of Zak Invest are good. They have all the features you would expect from a good broker with access to a diversified set of investments. The only thing we are missing is access to some US ETFs.

Investing fees

Investing fees are critical. When you invest in the stock market, you must minimize fees because they are the dividing factor between high and low returns for the same portfolio.

The transaction fees are rather simple:

• 0.25% for stocks and ETFs on the SIX stock exchange with a minimum of 5 CHF and a maximum of 50 CHF
• 0.50% for stocks and ETFs on all other stock exchanges with a minimum of 15 CHF and a maximum of 300 CHF
• 0.50% for funds with a minimum of 15 CHF

The percentages are great, but the minimums are not great. Operations below 2000 CHF for SIX will be more expensive than 0.25%. The 15 CHF minimum for exchanges other than SIX is not great for a digital bank. Any operations on foreign exchanges below 3000 CHF will cost more than 0.50%.

If you have Zak Plus (8 CHF per month, 96 CHF per year), you will pay lower fees:

• 0.125% for stocks and ETFs on the SIX stock exchange with a minimum of 2.50 CHF and a maximum of 25 CHF
• 0.25% for stocks and ETFs on all other stock exchanges with a minimum of 7.50 CHF and a maximum of 250 CHF
• 0.25% for funds with a minimum of 7.50 CHF

These fees are better, but it means you will need to pay 96 CHF a year to have them. So, to make it worth it, you would need to save 96 CHF in fees per year. If you only trade on the SIX stock exchange, you would have to trade more than 76,800 CHF to make it worth it. If you also trade on foreign exchanges, you would have to trade 38,400 CHF for Zak Plus to be interesting.

Surprisingly, Zak Invest does not have any currency conversion fees. This can be seen in the app when buying an ETF in USD; the currency rate appears to be the same as the interbank exchange rate.

But we must also look at custody fees. And here, the situation is worse. Unfortunately, Zak Invest has a 0.25% custody fee. Zak Invest is the only digital bank with a custody fee. Additionally, 0.25% is actually worse than most brokers. This fee alone entirely defeats the purpose of this feature. There are many brokers and digital banks with no custody fees; it makes no sense to pay a custody fee on stocks and ETFs in 2026.

Additionally, VAT is not even included in this custody fee. So, in real terms, this is actually a 0.27% custody fee when we factor in the 8.1% VAT. This feels like a low blow to not even include VAT.

If you want an e-tax statement, you will need to pay an additional 75 CHF. And since Zak is in Switzerland, you will also need to pay Swiss stamp duty on all your stocks and ETF transactions.

In my opinion, the custody fee of this account makes it a no-go. The transaction fees are decent, but there are options with no custody fees and cheaper transaction fees. This is a digital bank account priced like a traditional bank account. On the other hand, the fact that there is no currency conversion fee is a nice touch.

Is investing with Zak Invest safe?

The safety of your assets is important when you are investing.

Zak itself relies on its parent bank, Bank Cler, for custody. This means that all assets are deposited with Bank Cler. Your assets are deposited in the custody bank, in an account in your name. Since Zak Invest does not use fractional shares, assets are quite safe.

If Zak Invest were to go bankrupt, your assets would be safely stored away with Bank Cler and would not be on the balance sheet. If Bank Cler were to go bankrupt itself, then assets would still not be part of the bankruptcy proceedings and would be returned to you as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. This could take time, but in theory these assets are 100% safe, thanks to segregation.

Investing with Zak Invest should be as safe as investing with any good Swiss broker.

Alternatives

When choosing a financial service, it is essential to compare it against other services. So, we will compare Zak Invest against three other services.

Zak Invest vs Saxo

Best Swiss Broker

Saxo Bank

4.5

Extremely affordable

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Pros:

• Low currency conversion fee
• Swiss broker

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The offer is only valid for Swiss residents and the credits only valid for 90 days.

We can start by comparing Zak Invest and Saxo, a Swiss broker. Since Zak Invest has features rather similar to a broker, it makes sense to compare it with a broker as well.

Saxo has access to more or less the same stock exchanges as Zak Invest. However, they offer access to more stock market order types. Additionally, they also offer access to all US ETFs, while Zak Invest only has a limited set.

If we compare fees, these two offers are in a different world:

• Saxo has no custody fees, while Zak Invest has 0.27% per year
• Buying a Swiss stock or ETF will cost 0.08% with a 3 CHF minimum with Saxo against 0.25% with a 5 CHF minimum with Zak Invest
• Buying an American stock or ETF will cost 0.08% with a 1 USD minimum with Saxo against 0.50% with a 15 CHF minimum with Zak Invest

Saxo will be significantly cheaper than Zak Invest on almost all counts. The only advantage of Zak Invest is to have no currency conversion fee (Saxo has a 0.25% fee).

Overall, Saxo is better for investing than Zak Invest.

Zak Invest vs Neon Invest

Best broker to start investing

Neon Invest

4.5

No custody fees

All the features you need to start investing in the stock market, including a savings plan to make it easy!

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Pros:

• Savings plan
• Low fees

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We can now compare Zak Invest with another digital bank account offering some investing features, Neon Invest.

Neon Invest provides access to a more limited set of stocks and ETFs since it is limited to BX Swiss. Zak Invest has access to a wide set of stock exchanges. Both support market and limit orders.

As for fees, Neon Invest has a massive advantage since it does not have custody fees. The transaction fees have a higher percentage at Neon Invest but a lower minimum. This makes small operations cheaper at Neon Invest but large options more expensive. In both cases, there is no currency conversion fee.

Zak Invest has an advantage in that it offers some US ETFs. If your portfolio fits within this limited offer, you may save some taxes.

One slight advantage of Zak Invest is to be backed by a large bank, Bank Cler. Neon Invest, on the other hand, is a smaller company. This does not make a difference to the safety of the service but increases the probability that it lasts longer.

Overall, Neon Invest is a better service to invest with than Zak Invest.

Zak Invest vs Yuh

Great to start investing

Yuh

4.0

No account management fees

Yuh is an easy and affordable way to invest in the stock market and spend money abroad.

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Pros:

• Low fees for small operations
• Fractional trading in stocks

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Code only for Swiss residents.

Finally, we compare against another digital bank account, Yuh, the property of Swissquote, another large Swiss bank and broker. Both banks are backed by a large financial institution.

Yuh offers a limited set of stocks and ETFs, significantly more limited than Zak Invest. Both apps offer market and limit orders.

While it has fewer features, Yuh has an advantage: it does not have custody fees. The percentage transaction fees at Yuh are the same for foreign ETFs and more expensive for Swiss ETFs. On the other hand, Yuh does not have any US ETFs, which is similar to a custody fee.

Finally, currency conversion is expensive at Yuh but free with Zak Invest.

Overall, in most cases, Yuh will be cheaper than Zak Invest. However, Yuh will be more expensive when investing a significant amount of money in foreign ETFs.

Zak Invest FAQ

Zak Invest Summary

Zak Invest is a new service by Bank Cler. Is this broker worth it? I analyze its features and fees and compare it with alternatives like Saxo and Neon.

Editor's Rating:
3

Zak Invest Pros

Let's summarize the main advantages of Zak Invest:

• Access to many stocks and ETFs
• Backed by a large bank
• Market and limit orders
• Access to some US ETFs
• No currency conversion fee

Zak Invest Cons

Let's summarize the main disadvantages of Zak Invest:

• Expensive custody fees
• Access to only some US ETFs, not all

Conclusion

It is good that Bank Cler is adding investing features to their Zak lineup with Zak Invest. However, the fact that this digital bank account is priced like a traditional bank account is a major blow to this product. I do not understand how a new investing service in 2026 can be released with a custody fee.

There are too many better alternatives for this service to make sense. They have basically taken more or less the same fees as they use for Bank Cler, reduced the minimums, and simplified a few things. The only thing that really stands out is the free currency conversion.

I hope current users of Zak will not use this service blindly without looking at the fees. Investing fees are essential. For passive investing strategies, investing fees will shape your returns.

What about you? What do you think about this new service?