Pillar 3a in market turbulence: staying calm pays off

1. What does market turbulence mean for Pillar 3a?

Market corrections and stock market crashes are part of investing and occur again and again. For Pillar 3a, this means: it is not the pension itself that loses value, but the securities in the portfolio that fall in price. How strongly is determined by the equity share. Offensive solutions with 80 to 99 percent equities lost up to 30 percent within weeks during the 2020 coronavirus crisis, while defensive ones with 0 to 25 percent equities fluctuated only to a limited extent.

This loss is at first only a paper loss: as long as you do not sell or switch into the 3a account, it stays on paper and disappears as soon as prices recover.

2. Does Pillar 3a recover after a crash?

Stock market crashes seem dramatic in the moment, but in hindsight longer recovery phases have so far followed sharp declines. After every major crisis, the Swiss Performance Index (SPI) reached new highs again:

Over the whole period, the SPI rose from around 1,000 points (1987) to over 14,000 (2023) and closed in the plus in around 72 percent of all years.

Data source: SIX Swiss Exchange and Finanz und Wirtschaft. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Time in Market beats Market-Timing: how much your strategy can reach in the end is calculated by the Pillar 3a calculator.

3. Should I sell my Pillar 3a in a stock market crash?

In most cases, no. Those who sell realise the loss and miss the recovery, because the strongest market days often follow directly after heavy price losses. With a long investment horizon and ongoing contributions, holding was almost always the better choice in past crises; a crash of 20 to 30 percent alone rarely justified a switch. Those who stay invested in Pillar 3a long-term benefit instead from the higher return and the compound interest effect.

Compando tip: Pay in the annual contribution in stages via a standing order instead of all at once. This smooths the entry price (cost-average effect) and takes emotion out of the timing.

As a rule: the longer the investment horizon, the higher the equity share may be. An adjustment is worthwhile above all when your profile no longer fits, for example shortly before retirement, with a planned withdrawal for home ownership or with an equity share that was too high from the start.

More on the right strategy

Pillar 3a investment strategy

With Pillar 3a, the equity share has a stronger effect than any contribution increase. Compando breaks down the five strategies from defensive to offensive and their impact over 30 years.

4. What mistakes do investors make in market turbulence?

The greatest harm to your pension often comes not from the crash itself, but from the reaction to it. These mistakes are the most common:

• Selling at the low or switching to the account: turns the paper loss into a real one and trades return potential for low interest.
• Waiting for the «perfect re-entry»: hardly anyone hits the optimal moment.
• Too little diversification: individual losses hit the portfolio harder.
• Checking the portfolio daily: only increases emotional pressure.

Losses trigger stronger emotions than gains. Investors therefore often sell precisely when uncertainty is greatest, that is, at the worst possible time.

5. Conclusion: stay invested or reduce risk?

A stock market crash is rarely a reason to sell, but a good occasion to review your own strategy. Your starting situation decides:

Those who set their strategy cleanly once do not have to reinvent it in the next crash. Whether the current solution still fits your situation often shows precisely in turbulent phases.

This article was first published on 06/05/2026