A comprehensive study of the Swiss population's financial and investment literacy
Ten questions that show how Switzerland ticks.
From compound interest to ETFs: what the Swiss really know about money – and what they don't.
The «True Wealth Financial Literacy Index», now in its third edition, measures the financial and investment knowledge of the Swiss population. In a time of demographic and economic challenges, financial education keeps gaining relevance – not only for individual retirement provision, but also for the long-term stability of our social and pension system. Basic financial competence is more than ever a key resource for society.
The index is based on the evaluation of core knowledge areas such as inflation, interest mechanisms, diversification and the relationship between risk and return. It allows a differentiated analysis of financial knowledge by age, gender, education, income level and language region. This year adds a new dimension: whether someone holds financial investments themselves – and how strongly the knowledge of investors differs from that of non-investors.
The national average of the third edition – averaged across all ten knowledge questions.
- Respondents
- 2'019
- Age
- 16–74 years
- Knowledge questions
- 10
- Language regions
- DE/FR
The divide does not only run along income and education, but also between those who invest and those who don't.
Those who hold their own financial investments answer significantly more knowledge questions correctly. This suggests that hands-on experience with one's own portfolio is an independent driver of financial literacy.
Key findings 2026
The investment divide: the new dividing line in financial literacy
On average, people with their own financial investments answered about 66 percent (or 6.6 out of 10) of the questions correctly, while those without investments answered only about 41 percent correctly. The difference is evident across all ten questions and is most pronounced when it comes to more complex investment topics such as ETFs, the value of cash during a stock market crash, and herd behavior.
Correctly answered questions by investment ownership
Those who don't invest say «don't know» more often
Those who do not own any investments answered «don't know» on average 36 percent of the time, while investors answered «don't know» only 9 percent of the time. As with the gender-specific differences seen in previous years, this shows that gaps in knowledge also affect one’s confidence in providing an answer at all.
Share of «don't know» answers by investment ownership
The gender gap persists
Men answered about 63 percent of the questions correctly, and women about 47 percent. Part of this difference is likely due to the fact that significantly more men (about 67 percent) than women (about 47 percent) own financial investments at all.
Share of correct answers by gender
A clear link between income and financial literacy
Financial literacy increases as income rises: about 72 percent of people with an income above 15'000 francs were financially literate, while about 40 percent of those with an income below 4'500 francs were financially literate.
Share of correct answers by income (CHF/month)
Financial literacy is stable across generations
Across all age groups, the percentage of questions answered correctly ranges from about 54 to 56 percent. Even in 2026, there is no clear age effect.
Share of correct answers by age group
Investing is the best financial education.
This year's results show something we observe in practice every day: whoever starts investing learns quickly. Knowledge grows with experience. That is exactly why the biggest hurdle is often not missing knowledge, but the first step.
With educational content, True Wealth enables everyone in Switzerland to engage with investment topics in an accessible way. The knowledge conveyed helps people make better financial decisions. Children and teenagers benefit from suitable investment offerings too.
Anyone interested in the topic can gather first experience with a free test account – without obligation and without risk.
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