About this website

Why this website
My first attempts at figuring out how these things work weren't probably much different from your own: YouTube. Clickbait-y titles, shocked thumbnails with "$1'000'000" plastered over it. You know the kind. Even the more moderate ones, although I couldn't really understand what they were talking about and many of the terms they were using, that smell of fishiness was just as omnipresent. Often, they were simply trying to sell courses or books they authored; other times, it was just a hunt for views. I don't doubt those same videos made them rich; I just had the feeling I wouldn't be if I listened to them. Not all of them, though. There are certainly some that try; they don't draw crowds, but what makes them stand apart is that they justify the claims they make with scientific research, which drove me into an increasingly deeper rabbit hole.

The funny thing is, I've had a financial advisor since I started working. Had barely gotten my first paycheck, and after mentioning I was interested in starting to invest, after a 15-minute chat I was signed into their "exclusive" investment package. I certainly don't claim to be an expert, but it doesn't take much to realize that the process should be a little more involved than that. Through him, I also setup my 3rd pillar and a small life insurance policy. For years, I just paid and "invested" without much of a plan or understanding.

Eventually, you reach a point where you do end up knowing something, forming opinions of your own from the gathered information. When similar topics emerged with friends and colleagues, I finally had something to say and contribute, and to my surprise, everybody else was just as clueless as I had been; it's like I was talking a different language to them. In a way, it was a good realization; it meant I wasn't an outlier in my ignorance, but that's only a meager consolation.

I began looking more deeply into the investment, how the 3rd pillar was structured, and the details of the life insurance. I can't say I was lied to, much of the information was provided in the documentation. However if you don't understand it, if you don't know where and what to look for, if you don't know what else exists out there, if you don't even know which questions to ask and especially if the one that is supposed to guide you through it doesn't bring it up himself, for better or worse, you're at the mercy of your own ignorance.

The hope for this website is to lay a foundation. Whether you dismiss it, ignore it, or use it to your advantage, it's entirely up to you.

Why SwissMisfortune
We all know the stereotypes. We're Swiss, so of course we all have loads of gold bars in our cellars. Alas, most of us haven't been so lucky. The only gold coins most of us have down there are the chocolate kind. Despite this starting misfortune, I do believe that slowly and steadily, one can get rid of the "mis" and build a moderate fortune. Half the job is not to lose what you already have, so if this website only achieves that, that's already a win.