how we work

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need a women-focused investing platform?

Women have different realities than men — women live longer on average but retire with less; women have more career breaks and get paid less — which means women's financial needs are different. Marmot take those realities into account to build a personalized investment portfolio to help to meet female financial goals looking confident in your financial future, together with their husbands and families.

Can men become clients of Marmot?

Yes! We built Marmot to address a gender gap in the financial services industry, but as inclusive platform everyone that likes to grow its wealth is welcome here.

Our team works with clients of all genders, including many couples, moms and children, female-led or diverse institutions and family offices.

Are men as well invited to the Marmot corporate education programs or webinars?

Marmot's corporate financial education programs primarily focus on financial education for women, non-binary, and transgender individuals. Learning to invest is important for everyone, but since the financial world often caters to men, we aimed to create a protected space within Marmot to allow especially women the opportunity to learn, ask questions and invest without barriers. Men and children are incorporated though in our one-on-one advisory sessions and personal coaching.

Why do you think your performance should be better than with other banks, robo-advisors or or other competitors)?

How do you think an asset manager can know if the company Samsung or Apple are the better stocks? Like you, he has only access to public information. Larger banks like UBS or Goldman Sachs can access earnings calls from companies to get some information directly from CFO, but also that is very limited. To give an advice if Samsung or Apple are the better stock is just an overestimation of their own knowledge in our eyes.

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What Warren Buffet is capable of is that if he wants to know if Samsung or Apple are the better stock? He makes a call to the company and next week he is invited for lunch with both CEOs. He is invited to talk to management and can visit all factories. With his excellent network he can also talk to competitors and major clients. Therefore he has a clear information advantage.

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Our strategy is to invest in line with those excellent investment talents. The money you allow us to manage we will distribute to the best female and male investment talents we will find. This strategy is combined with very cost efficient ETFs for tactical allocation of assets. Long-term we stay with our preferred investment talents.

Do you give a fee break for larger accounts?

We do offer fee reductions for larger accounts but we democratize asset management for everyone at affordable prices and make investing approachable for all kinds of female customers. For our larger clients starting with an investment amount of 1 mn CHF, we charge a Management fee between 0.8% to 0.4% p.a. For very large investment amounts we as an exception can lower this fee. All our fees and pricing you find here.

Do you charge any trading commission and custodian fees?

No, Marmot does not charge any trading fees. Our custodian banks like Swissquote in Zürich, V-Bank in Munich, Luzerner Kantonalbank in Lucerne, UBS in Zurich or DAB BNP Paribas in Munich or other leading banks charge trading commissions and custodian fees. Our clients profit from institutional, hence, very affordable fees that only privileged large investors would benefit from.

Why is there a need for specific financial advice for women?

When it comes to careers, women today often have the same opportunities as men. Nevertheless, there is still a financial inequality between the genders. Women have a lot of catching up to do, especially when it comes to money and investments. On average, women invest less than men. This is confirmed, among other things, by a study conducted by the Statista Research Department, according to which more than 8 million male savers invested in stocks in 2022, compared with just under 5 million female stock investors.Women are more demanding than men when it comes to their financial planning. At the same time, many lack confidence in their own success in the financial market. For this reason, Marmot, as a wealth manager especially for women, has made it its mission to encourage women to deal with the topic of investing and to make more out of their money.

I want to open a relationship with Marmot and start to invest. What are the next steps?

We will open for you an account with one of our preferred custodian banks, like Swissquote bank. If you do already have an account we can send you a restricted power of attorney. You send this back to us and we coordinate with the bank the opening process.
Sign a asset management contract with Marmot Investment Office
Based on regulatory requirements we have to check the source of your assets you want that we manage for you. This process is called KYC (Know Your Client). We will send you a document with questions we ask you to answer.
Define the risk profile and investment strategy. Also for that we send you a form and are happy to fill that in with you in a discussion.

As soon as all this is done your investment journey with Marmot can start.

Do you accept US-clients, meaning persons with a US-passport?

We can accept US-Person, meaning persons with US-Passport, but they must have a B- or C-Permit to live and work in Switzerland.

When does Marmot charge me for its advisory fee?

Some deals are too good to be true. Marmot has one clear and transparent annual fee for its wealth management clients. The fee amounts to 0.65% per year for its Marmot-Easy offering and between 1.0 - 0.4% p.a. for its Marmot Premium and Marmot Select clients. Marmot management fees are charged at the end of every quarter. As an example, for an investment amount of CHF 50’000 our price for Marmot Easy clients is quarterly CHF 81.25. We do not charge any additional fees or costs for our service and ourselves. In addition the custody bank will charge their fees for custody and trading. These costs have been negotiated with synergies of scale for all our clients.

Additionally, there is a fee embedded in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or investment funds charged by the manager of the fund or the ETF. This fee is usually within the range of 0.00% to 0.30% for ETFs as product fees and between 0.25% to 1.30% for the institutional share classes that we buy from active managers / funds that hold equities or bonds.

What is an ETF?

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is an investment fund that mimics the performance of a specific index, such as the Swiss Market Index or the S&P 500. An ETF can hold different assets: e.g. stocks, derivatives and commodities. Marmot analyses various ETFs in order to find the most attractive investments based on criteria such as cost, liquidity, and tax efficiency for Swiss residents. Compared to mutual funds that are traded only once per day an ETF can be sold and bought anytime during the official market hours.

What is the purpose of our portfolio check?

The purpose of our portfolio check is to determine your former performance, your costs and your currency risk in comparison to the market, that you have achieved by yourself or that a bank managed for you. Understanding your willingness and capacity to take risk is important for us to act as your investment advisor. We want to provide you with the most appropriate investment strategy, and so we designed the questionnaire in line with regulatory requirements and industry best practice.

How long does it take to withdraw my funds?

From the moment you confirm to us your selling order, it normally takes 2-3 days until the money is available in the investment currency. If you prefer having it in another currency, then the currency switch of cash could also take 2 days before you can transfer the money.

As we only have limited access to your account, this means that we can trade but we can’t transfer money to a different account. As soon as the trades are done, and the money is available to transfer, we will inform you. You can then login into your account and do the transfer.

In case of a total liquidation of your account, the process might take a bit longer. The reason is that each bank has different internal rules that apply to account’s liquidation. For example, your bank might perform some compliance checks and ask you additional questions.

Why does my portfolio allocation remain similar no matter how much I invest?

The key factor in asset management is diversification. A well-diversified portfolio has the best return and risk characteristics. We invest your money in 10 to 15 well diversified funds or ETFs, where each fund owns between 50 to 70 of stocks or bonds. This system can be applied independently from the amount you invest (minimum CHF 10’000).

The reason behind the importance of diversification is that if you invest all your money in just one stock, the risk is very high, meaning that if something goes wrong with the company you invested in, you might lose a lot of money.

May I add money into my Marmot account from a bank account under a different name?

Due to regulatory and security reasons, you can only transfer funds from a bank account that is registered under your name.

Where is my money actually being kept?

Your account (comprising your money, your individual holdings, your funds and your ETFs) are held in a segregated custody account in your name at our custodian bank. As custodian banks we work together with the leading bank in Switzerland and Germany, like Swissquote Bank, UBS, Luzerner Kantonalbank or V-Bank and DAB BNP Paribas.

Can I invest in monthly or quarterly payments?

Yes, you can invest as often as you wish to. In fact, we recommend to invest regularly in order to reach your investment goals faster.

How do I add money to my Marmot account?

You will receive the bank account details like IBAN and SWIFT for the chosen bank, once we have finalized the KYC (Know-your-customer) and bank opening procedures with our custodian bank and will let you know immediately when to fund your account after you have signed your Asset Management Agreement.

You can make an initial investment and regular deposits - such as weekly, monthly or quarterly.

What is the minimum amount I can invest with Marmot?

The minimum investment amount is currently CHF 100’000 for Marmot Premium Clients or CHF 10'000 for Marmot Easy clients. See details here.

How secure is my data?

We do not share your data. We operate under the following laws of Switzerland:

Article 43 of Law on Exchanges and trading
Federal Act on Data Protection
Swiss Penal code (especially articles 143, 273, 320 and 321)

Can I hold an account at another bank and ask Marmot to manage it with a power of attorney?

Yes, we work with a handful of banks and would always consider to establish new bank relationships with solid bank partners that strengthens our visibility and coverage.

Can I open more than one account?

Yes, you can open as many Marmot accounts that you need. Each account will be charged the applicable fee based on the value of that account.

Do you charge any exit fees?

No, Marmot does not charge any exit fees. However, if you decide to close your account before the end of the month, you will still be billed for the whole duration of the month.

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is a fund created by a company that pools money collected from many investors in order to invest in a collection of securities such as stocks, bonds, commodities, etc. Mutual funds are managed by professional fund managers or money managers. These investment talents have often a unique inside of the market. If selected the right way a huge added value of performance can be created. Mutual funds can be traded only once per day. A fund often has several share classes, all with different fees. With Marmot you have access to the cheapest share class that you normally cannot buy by yourself.

How do you select the ETFs in my portfolio?

Marmot looks for ETFs with:

Sufficient liquidity
The lowest annual expense ratios
The lowest bid and ask spreads
The best replication method
Minimal tracking error

How do you select the institutional portfolio managers in my portfolio?

Marmot looks for funds with:

Best performance and skills of investment talent who is responsible for the fund
Entrepreneurial thinking of the fund manager
Fund Manager is invested with his own money in the strategy too
We select only investment talents we personally met
Deep analysis if strategy of fund manager is consistent over time and fits to current market situation
Combination of investment talents that brings best diversification

Can I close my account and portfolio at anytime?

While we would be very sorry about it, you can choose to close your Marmot account at any time. Upon confirmation, your portfolio will be liquidated and your money will be returned to you via bank transfer. Your single securities and holdings in the bank can also be transferred to any other bank upon your request.

How does Marmot protect the assets in my account?

Your account that includes your money, your individual holdings, your funds and your ETFs, is held in a segregated custody account in your name at the chosen custodian bank. This bank will be a member of the Einlagensicherungsfonds (deposit insurance) in Germany or Switzerland. Furthermore, Marmot is the only party that is authorised to issue trading instructions on your behalf. You are the only person that is allowed to both deposit money to your account and withdraw it. Last but not least, we will never borrow or loan out any of your assets held in your Marmot account. This means that you are the only beneficial owner of your assets.

How often does Marmot rebalance my portfolio?

We rebalance your portfolio when movements in the market shift your current portfolio risk too far from the target.

On investment markets you have the saying “the trend is your friend”. Trends go normally longer than you think. Rebalancing means actually, selling the winners and buying the losers. So, by rebalancing a portfolio too often, the performance will decrease significantly.

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