PRODUCT REVIEW — BRANCH 23
Up to 5.50% entry friction, ~2.20% to 2.50%/year in fees, and no capital guarantee. for a tax treatment identical to a direct ETF.
IN BRIEF
Baloise Invest 23 combines up to 5.50% entry friction (2% premium tax + up to 3.50% entry fees) and ~2.20% to 2.50%/year in total costs. The product offers no capital guarantee — but charges 1% to 3% if you exit within the first 3 years. Branch 23 has never offered a real tax advantage over an accumulator ETF like IMIE. Over 30 years at €300/month, the gap versus a World ETF exceeds €184,000 — using deliberately conservative assumptions.
Source: KID Baloise Invest 23 (BLSBLG000005 / BLSBLG000004), FSMA, 25 March 2026.
The sales pitch for Branch 23 rests on a promise: exemption from withholding tax and capital gains tax.
That promise is misleading for investors in accumulator ETFs like IMIE. Since these ETFs pay no dividends, there is no withholding tax to avoid — not before 2026, not after. The 10% capital gains tax applies identically to both solutions.
Branch 23 has never offered a real tax advantage over IMIE. The advantage only existed versus distributing ETFs (30% withholding tax on dividends), bond funds subject to the Reynders tax, or savings accounts — distinct product categories. Baloise was selling protection against a tax problem that accumulator ETF investors never had — at ~2.20%/year in fees.
Branch 23 has never offered a real tax advantage over an accumulator ETF like IMIE — not before 2026, not after. What Baloise Invest 23 sells you is the illusion of tax protection, at the cost of ~2.20%/year in extra fees.
Premium tax: 2% — Unavoidable and Immediate
Identical for all Branch 23 products in Belgium — statutory, no insurer can avoid it. At €300/month, €6 disappears before being invested. Over 30 years, this amounts to €2,160 lost in premium tax alone.
Entry fees: up to 3.50% — The Broker's Commission
Official maximum rate: 3.50%. Some brokers offer a discount — minimum observed: ~2.50%. Our simulation uses 3.00% (midpoint of the range, favourable to Baloise). Total entry friction: up to 5.50%. On €10,000: up to €550 disappears before investment — roughly 11 months of returns at 5.80% net just to recover the initial amount.
Double layer of annual fees: ~2.20% to 2.50%
Baloise wrapper fees: ~1.10% to 1.70%/year. TER of underlying funds (BlackRock, Pictet, internal Baloise funds): ~0.40% to 1.20%/year. Total: ~2.20% to 2.50%/year for an equity profile. On a capital of €100,000: up to €2,500/year in fees, versus €170/year for a World ETF at 0.17% TER. Baloise Invest 23 costs up to 14 times more than a direct ETF.
Exit fees: 3-2-1-0 — The Liquidity Penalty
First period of 1,000 days (~3 years): Year 1: −3% / Year 2: −2% / Year 3: −1% / Year 4+: 0%. On a capital of €10,000: an exit in year 1 costs an extra €300 — on top of entry and management fees already charged. The product offers no capital guarantee, but penalises you for wanting to exit.
Baloise Invest 23 offers no capital guarantee — but penalises you for exiting within the first 3 years. You bear market risk without the liquidity of an ETF, and pay up to 14 times more in annual fees for that privilege.
Baloise distributes primarily through independent brokers. In theory, an independent broker should recommend the most suitable product. In practice, entry fees (up to 3.50%) and management fee retrocessions create a structural bias: the products most rewarding for the broker are rarely the cheapest for the investor. Baloise's underlying funds include BlackRock and Pictet products that you could buy directly for a tenth of the total annual cost.
Comparison based on €300/month (€3,600/year) over 30 years. Total invested: €108,000. Same basis as the NN Strategy and AG Fund+ analyses for direct comparability. Assumptions: 3.00% entry fees (midpoint of confirmed range) and 2.00%/year total fees (conservative vs. the real range of 2.20%–2.50%) — deliberately favourable to Baloise.
| Baloise Invest 23 | World ETF IMIE | |
|---|---|---|
| Total entry friction | −5.00% (tax + entry fees) | −0.12% securities tax (purchase) |
| Estimated net return | ~6.00%/year (conservative) | ~8.00%/year |
| Final gross capital | ~€204,000 | ~€408,000 |
| Capital gains tax (10%) | −€10,140 | −€29,000 |
| TOTAL NET VALUE | ~€193,860 | ~€378,611 |
| ACTUAL NET GAIN | +€85,860 | +€270,611 |
The World ETF generates ~3.2x more net gain (+€270,611 vs +€85,860) — a gap of ~€184,750.
Within the universe of Branch 23 products reviewed on ClearInvest (same basis: €300/month, 30 years):
| Product | Annual fees | Net gain over 30 years |
|---|---|---|
| NN Strategy | ~1.50%/year | +€115,140 |
| AG Fund+ | ~1.70%/year | +€102,590 |
| Baloise Invest 23 | ~2.00%/year | +€85,860 |
All three Branch 23 products lose massively to the ETF (+€270,611). Baloise is the most expensive and least favourable to the investor of the three.
Note: the ETF simulation applies capital gains tax as if the entire capital were sold at once at the end. In practice, an ETF investor can reduce the actual tax to near zero by selling progressively (in annual tranches of €10,000 in gains). The real gap is therefore even more favourable to the ETF.
Methodological note: the 8% return used for IMIE is based on the 20-year historical average of the MSCI ACWI IMI (2005–2025). The 2.00%/year fees used for Baloise Invest 23 are conservative: the real range is 2.20% to 2.50% for an equity profile. The 3.00% entry fee represents the midpoint of the official range (up to 3.50%). The comparison is therefore deliberately favourable to Baloise.
Run the numbers with your own figures in our calculator.
Open the calculator →A Branch 23 contract allows you to designate specific beneficiaries who receive the capital directly upon death, bypassing the standard Belgian succession procedure. Baloise Insurance Belgium is a solid, regulated insurer — the beneficiary designation is legally robust. For investors over 60 who have already built up wealth and wish to plan its transfer, this legal advantage has real value.
This estate planning need does not justify paying ~2.20% in fees per year for 30 years during the wealth-building phase. It is a transfer instrument, not an investment vehicle.
Branch 23 remains a legitimate estate planning tool for built-up wealth. For the building phase, the fees of Baloise Invest 23 represent a cost with no counterpart. Consult a notary before subscribing.
Baloise Invest 23 is the most expensive Branch 23 product reviewed on ClearInvest. Up to 5.50% entry friction and ~2.20% to 2.50%/year in annual fees.
The product offers no capital guarantee — but locks you in for 3 years with declining exit fees. You bear market risk without the liquidity of an ETF, at up to 14 times the annual cost of a World ETF.
Branch 23 has never offered a tax advantage over an accumulator ETF like IMIE — neither before nor after 2026. The tax argument was an illusion sold to investors who were not comparing against the right reference product.
Distribution through 'independent' brokers: retrocessions on entry and management fees create a structural bias towards Baloise — not the investor.
Estate planning: the only legitimate use case, exclusively for investors with built-up wealth in a transfer phase. For any investor in the wealth-building phase: avoid.
Legitimate use case:
Estate planning, investors 60+, built-up wealth, targeted transfer outside standard succession. In that case: consult a notary before subscribing.
Avoid for:
Any investor seeking to build wealth.
If you subscribed recently (less than 3 years ago), exit fees of 1% to 3% apply. Calculate the exit cost versus the cost of staying before deciding. After 3 years, switching to ETFs is mathematically justified in the vast majority of cases.
Last updated: April 2026
For illustrative purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future returns.