Monday, 18 December 2023 Reading time : 2 minutes

A rather mediocre year is drawing to a close on the Swiss stock exchange. Since the beginning of the year, the SMI index, which includes the twenty largest Swiss companies, has gained around 4% (as of December 18). Looking back at the past decade, the SMI's annual performance was five times better than in 2023, while it was worse in the remaining five years. Last year stands out: at -16.7%, 2022 was the worst year for the SMI since 2008, when the financial crisis erupted.

Two stocks are weighing on the performance in the current year, namely the index heavyweights Nestlé and Roche. By market capitalisation, they account for around a third of the SMI as data from the stock exchange operator SIX shows. Accordingly, the losses of 8.5% (Nestlé) and 15.6% (Roche Genussscheine) are painful. Over the same period, only the shares of pharmaceutical supplier Lonza performed worse, losing 24.4%.

UBS, up 47.3% since the beginning of the year, are among the top performers in the blue-chip barometer. Thus, the takeover of rival Credit Suisse, which was announced last March, has so far paid off for shareholders of UBS. Credit Suisse shares were delisted from the stock exchange on June 13. The logistics company Kühne + Nagel has replaced the equities in the SMI. Partners Group (+48.1%) are trading slightly better than UBS.

The Swiss Leader Index (SLI), which includes the ten largest mid-cap stocks in addition to the twenty largest Swiss shares, has outperformed the SMI. The SLI has gained around 8.7% since the beginning of the year. With a price jump of 64.4%, the vacuum valve manufacturer VAT is at the top of the index.

In an international comparison, the performance of Swiss blue-chips appears rather modest. The EuroStoxx 50 has gained just under 20% since the beginning of the year and the US index S&P 500 is up 23.5%.

The following structured products offer a certain degree of protection against price setbacks and at the same time guarantee a coupon:

Barrier Reverse Convertible on Kuehne + Nagel, Partners Group, Logitech

Barrier Reverse Convertible on UBS

Callable Barrier Reverse Convertible on Nestle, Roche, Lonza

Callable Barrier Reverse Convertible on Nestle, Roche