What to compare first
A digital Pillar 3a app should not be judged by one headline number. The useful comparison starts with five checks: maximum equity allocation, total cost, investment universe, language support, and withdrawal or transfer friction.
For long-term money, equity exposure matters because many expats are decades away from retirement. But a 99% equity option is not automatically better. It is only useful if you can tolerate market drawdowns and will not need the money soon.
Costs also need plain reading. A provider may advertise no management fee, a low all-in fee, or product costs inside funds. The important question is what your actual portfolio pays over a normal year.
How the four options look for expats
VIAC is often attractive to expats because it supports English, German, French, and Italian and presents a clear digital account setup. Its FAQ states that a fully invested strategy has total costs below 0.44%.
finpension is especially interesting for fee-sensitive users. Its cited 3a product page lists annual costs in the 0.39% to 0.42% range. That makes it a strong candidate when cost and high equity exposure are central.
True Wealth positions its 3a product inside a broader automated wealth platform and states that up to 99% equity exposure is possible. frankly uses Swisscanto investment products and includes an Extreme 95 Index option, which is slightly below the 99% equity ceiling of some competitors.
A practical selection method
If you are new to Switzerland, do not open an account only because a forum says it is the best. Build a shortlist and check whether the app supports your language, your preferred risk level, and your likely exit scenario.
Then read the provider's own fee page. Screenshots and blog posts become stale quickly. If the source page does not explain costs clearly enough for you, that is a useful signal.
Finally, remember that a 3a account is not a trading account. The job is to hold retirement money efficiently, document your tax certificate, and keep your strategy simple enough that you can maintain it through relocation, job changes, and market stress.