0% Specials
Apr 8, 2025
Discover the 0% Specials from Zürcher Kantonalbank’s (ZKB) asset management division Swisscanto and neon: we offer you four selected ETFs that you can buy and sell between April and September 2025 without trading fees. With our 0% Specials, we want to continue breaking down the barriers to investing by continually offering you flexible and cost-effective investment opportunities outside the investment plan. In this blog post, you can find out more about the reasons for our collaboration with ZKB’s asset management and the selection of the four «0% Special» ETFs.
Please note: ETFs may be subject to ongoing fees and other costs. A complete overview of the products can be found in the fact sheet. Links to the factsheets for the four ETFs are below and are available in the neon app.
What is Swisscanto?
Swisscanto is ZKB's product brand and one of the leading providers of sustainable investment solutions. With a clear focus on responsible investing and the integration of ESG criteria (Environmental, Social, Governance), ZKB's asset management offers future-oriented ETFs that meet high environmental and social standards. The company's goal is to combine sustainable investments with stable returns, thereby achieving a positive impact on society and the environment.
Just like us at neon, who make investing and financial management easier for you, ZKB's asset management team is also committed to providing its clients with innovative solutions. That's why we're pleased to offer you the Swisscanto ESGeneration SDG ETFs with 0% trading fees – a perfect partnership for anyone who wants to combine responsibility and returns.
About the offer
With this offer, you won’t pay any trading fees when buying and selling within four selected ETFs from 08 April 2025 30 September 2025. Please note: you will pay the usual trading fee in advance when buying/selling and, together with ZKB, we will refund it to you within two working days. All that remains are the state stamp duty and the ETF’s product costs (TER).
You can find the four 0% Specials in the Invest tab in the neon app. Click on «Discover» and scroll down to «Topics», where you will see the «0% Specials» tile:
In addition, you can also add the two Swisscanto ETFs Swiss Stocks (ESG) and Global Stocks (ESG) to your savings plan. This allows you to build a long-term investment in the two ETFs without paying trading fees when you buy them.
Read on to find out more about why we have selected these ETFs.
0% Specials vs. 0% investment plan
To avoid misunderstandings from the outset: the 0% investment plan is not the same as the 0% Specials. With the 0% investment plan we offer you various investments that you can buy with 0% trading fees as part of the investment plan. These include the two Swisscanto ETFs Swiss Stocks (ESG) and Global Stocks (ESG). In other words, we offer you a long-term and affordable way to build up your assets, because the selected 0% investment plan investments will remain in place over the long term. And, as always at neon, we make it as easy as possible for you: we automatically invest for you once a month.
But we also want to offer you affordable access to a broad and diversified portfolio outside of the 0% investment plan. We offer you that again and again with our 0% Specials: for a limited time, you can buy and sell selected investments in the neon app without any trading fees.
0% investment plan | 0% Specials | |
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Offer | 0% trading fees when buying | 0% trading fees when buying and selling |
Duration | Long-term | Limited time (current offer 8 months) |
Investments |
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Swisscanto’s new ETFs: systematic sustainability
With the four new Swisscanto ESGeneration SDG ETFs, we offer you a sustainable and cost-efficient way to invest in the economy of the future. The four ETFs focus on Switzerland, the world, the US, and the eurozone – and they invest in companies that actively contribute to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). At the same time, you benefit from the usual transparency and cost efficiency of an ETF.
Each of the four ETFs is based on an ESGeneration SDG Index developed by Swisscanto, which in turn is derived from a benchmark index (e.g. the MSCI ACWI or the SPI). A brief digression: an index is basically an ‘artificial construct’ created by index providers and is not a financial product in itself. Indices represent the general performance of a particular market or sector and cannot be purchased directly. Instead, to invest in an index, you have to buy financial products that track a particular index. For example, ETFs. The reference index forms the basis of the derived ESGeneration SDG indices, which then apply additional filter criteria to make a more specific selection of securities:
The Swisscanto ESGeneration SDG ETFs are composed according to strict criteria. In a first step, companies that endanger society and general health (e.g. by violating human rights, labour rights, or environmental standards, or by manufacturing weapons, ammunition, tobacco, or alcohol), contribute to climate change (e.g. by extracting fossil fuels, or operating airlines, cruise lines, or carmakers), and accelerate the loss of biodiversity (e.g. through unsustainable fishing or forestry practices, or by using uncertified palm oil) are excluded.
The next step is ESG screening: companies are evaluated based on the Swisscanto ESG score, with the lowest-scoring companies per sector being excluded. ESG stands for environmental, social and governance and rates companies based on environmental aspects (e.g. CO₂ emissions), social factors (e.g. working conditions) and corporate governance (e.g. transparency and ethics). However, ESG ratings also have their shortcomings, as there are companies that pursue questionable business practices or engage in greenwashing while maintaining a decent ESG rating. That is why Swisscanto applies stricter filtering criteria to the ESGeneration SDG ETFs right from the first step.
The third step then follows: identifying so-called ‘SDG Leaders’. These are companies that actively contribute to achieving the SDGs – for example, through innovations in renewable energies, sustainable mobility, resource-efficient production or social initiatives such as promoting education and healthcare.
Finally, companies with high CO₂ emissions are deliberately given a lower weighting or even excluded altogether. This is done to ensure that the average emissions of the companies included in each ETF are at least 20% lower than those of the benchmark index.
As with previous 0% specials, you can buy and sell the four Swisscanto ETFs during the promotion period from 8 April 2025 to 30 September 2025 without trading fees (excluding stamp duty). Thanks to their relatively low TER and the rule-based ESG approach, Swisscanto's ESGeneration SDG ETFs offer an attractive opportunity to invest sustainably in different regions. For more details on the individual ETFs, just keep reading.
Why the Swisscanto Swiss Stocks (ESG) ETF?
Switzerland is known for its stability and innovative strength – and the Swisscanto Swiss Stocks (ESG) ETF offers the opportunity to invest in leading Swiss companies with sustainable business models. It includes around 49 stocks from various sectors, including healthcare, industrials, and financial services. Companies such as Novartis, Roche, and Zurich Insurance not only stand for economic success, but also for responsible business practices. Thanks to the strong positioning of many Swiss companies in global markets, this ETF allows you to benefit not only from the domestic economic environment, but also from their international presence. With a TER of 0.35%, this ETF offers an efficient way to invest in the Swiss market with a strategy that focuses on ESG.
Full information on the ETF and the risks can be found here.
Why the Swisscanto Global Stocks (ESG) ETF?
Sustainability is not just a trend, but a fundamental change in the economy that offers long-term growth opportunities. And with the Swisscanto Global Stocks (ESG) ETF, you can invest globally in companies that actively contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ETF tracks a broad spectrum of over 400 companies from developed and emerging markets that are characterised by responsible business practices and future-oriented innovations. With a TER of 0.35%, the ETF offers an efficient way to invest sustainably. However, please note that the focus on sustainable companies may differ from standard indices and involves a specific weighting.
Full information on the ETF and the risks can be found here.
Why the Swisscanto US Stocks (ESG) ETF?
Technology, financial services, and healthcare are some of the main drivers of the US economy – and these are precisely the areas in which the Swisscanto US Stocks ETF invests with a focus on sustainability. If you want to participate in the world's most innovative companies, this ETF offers an ESG-oriented alternative to traditional US indices. It contains around 128 stocks, including well-known names such as Nvidia, Alphabet and Tesla. And it combines economic potential with the principles of sustainable development. With a TER of just 0.29%, it is also a cost-effective option in the area of sustainable equity ETFs with a focus on the US market. However, as with any focused ETF, there is a certain sector risk.
Full information on the ETF and the risks can be found here.
Why the Swisscanto Eurozone Stocks (ESG) ETF?
The Swisscanto Eurozone Stocks (ESG) ETF invests in companies in the Eurozone that operate sustainably. Europe is increasingly focusing on ESG-compliant business models, and this ETF offers the opportunity to benefit from this change. It includes around 41 stocks from various sectors, including well-known companies such as ASML, SAP and Allianz, which are economically strong and pioneers in sustainable initiatives. With a TER of 0.29%, this ETF is one of the more cost-effective ESG products for the European market. Since the ETF only invests in companies in the eurozone, economic and political developments in this region can have a greater influence on its performance than in the case of a global ETF.
Full information on the ETF and the risks can be found here.
Please read this before using neon invest! This blog post is an offer according to FIDLEG, Art. 3 lit. g, and is aimed to inform about our our promotion with Swisscanto. ETFs may be subject to ongoing fees and other costs. A complete overview of the products can be found in the fact sheet. Links to the factsheets for the four ETFs are above and are available in the neon app. However, please note that we do not advise you to buy or sell any specific financial instruments. In other words: It is up to you whether or not you want to buy or sell any of the investment products mentioned above. That's why, before you engage in neon invest, you should always seek guidance from independent experts and remember that investing involves inherent risks. It's crucial to only invest money that you can afford to lose – in the worst case all of it. And finally, past performance of financial instruments never predicts the future. If you want to read the complete version of this disclaimer in proper legalese, please head this way.
You can find more information about how we make money on our partner philosophy blog.
If you want to know more about our investment plan, click here. And if you want to know more about other securities that you can add to your portfolio with our investment plan for 0% purchase fees, take a look at this page.
