Form 8-K - Current report

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

October 11, 2024

THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

Delaware		No. 005-53317		No. 13 341 0232 _______________________________
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

 

 

615 EAST MICHIGAN STREET, MILWAUKEE WI		53202
Address of Principal Executive offices)		(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  [phone]

Former name or former address, if changed since last report: N/A

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instructions A.2.):

 

□	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
□	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
□	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
□	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company □

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  □

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Registrant		Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.		Common Stock, $.001 par value per share		SWZ		New York Stock Exchange

 

Item 7.01.

Regulation FD Disclosure.

 

The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) will hold its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on October 11, 2024. Attached are the presentation slides that the Fund’s investment adviser, Schroder Investment Management North America Inc., intends to present at the Annual Meeting, a copy of which also will be available on the Fund’s website (www.swzfund.com).  The Fund is furnishing the information in this Current Report on Form 8-K and in Exhibit 99.1 to comply with Regulation FD.

 

In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the information set forth in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, is furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that section, nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.The information set forth in this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information in this report on Form 8-K that is required to be disclosed solely to satisfy the requirements of Regulation FD.

 

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

 

Statements included in this Current Report on Form 8-K (including information incorporated by reference herein) and other statements that the Fund may make may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which reflect the Fund’s current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative versions of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ significantly from the results expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by the Fund in these communications. These and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions are detailed in documents filed by the Fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. The Fund undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

 

Item 9.01.

Exhibits.

 

(d)    Exhibit.

 

99.1—  Investor Presentation

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 SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

	THE SWISS HELVETIA FUND, INC.
	(Registrant)
	By:	/s/ Thomas F. Antonucci
	Name:	Thomas F. Antonucci
	Title:	Chief  Financial Officer (duly authorized officer and principal financial and accounting officer)

 

 

Date: October 11, 2024

 

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 Portfolio Manager  October 2024  Presentation to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders  Portfolio and Performance ReviewThe Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.  Stefan Frischknecht, CFA  Marketing material for professional clients and qualified investors only.  

 

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 Contents  2  01  Performance  02  Positioning  03  Outlook  04  Case for Swiss equities  05  Disclaimer 

 

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 Performance 

 

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 Performance Q3 2024 and YTD September 2024  4  Net asset value (NAV) and price performance in USD  Source: Bloomberg, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, Data as of 30 September 2024.Performance shown represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown. The value of an investment can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. The return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.  Performance in USD %  YTD 2024 (Jan-Sep)  Q3 2024  2023  1 year  3 years  p.a.  5 years  p.a.  NAV The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (SWZ)  +10.09%  +9.09%  +16.92%  +20.61%  +5.42%  +8.36%  Swiss Performance Index, SPI  +10.77%  +8.55%  +16.54%  +22.41%  +6.09%  +9.41  Difference NAV  -0.68%  +0.54%  +0.38%  -1.80%  -0.67%  -1.05%  Performance in USD %  YTD 2024 (Jan-Sep)  Q3 2024  2023  1 year  3 years  p.a.  5 years  p.a.  Share price SWZ  +14.35%  +12.51%  +15.48%  +24.72%  +6.22%  +9.37%  Swiss Performance Index, SPI  +10.77%  +8.55%  +16.54%  +22.41%  +6.09%  +9.41  Difference  +3.58%  +3.96%  -1.06%  +2.31%  +0.13%  -0.04  Net asset value  Share price 

 

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 Performance comment  5  12 month period ended Sep 30, 2024  Driving factors for relative performance of NAV  Source: Bloomberg, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, Data as of 30 September 2024.Performance shown represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown.  Recent 3 year and 5 year period:  Equity markets have been strong over the past 12 months  The strength of the Swiss franc also boosted performance, helping Swiss equity investments   Stock picking was a significant positive factor (+1.1%), with main contributions coming from financials, industrials and technology. However, negative sector allocation was a drag (-1.1%).   Applying moderate leverage in Q4 2023 was beneficial. No leverage was applied in 2024.  For the first time in a few years, illiquid private equity investments (a legacy from the former investment advisor) had a meaningful positive impact  As investment advisor, Schroders’ investment philosophy in Swiss equities builds on three style biases: Quality, Valuation and smaller capitalization.  Small & medium sized companies, which have been an overweight compared to the benchmark, underperformed since 2018 as shown in the chart on the right hand side. This had a negative impact leading to a moderate underperformance.  We clearly stick to our investment approach of focusing on high quality, valuation and smaller capitalization.   We believe we are more likely to find mispriced stocks in small and medium sized stocks that have less observers than within closely followed large caps. Furthermore, we think a small or medium sized company, often acting in a niche, has more room to outgrow the market, which also helps it to outperform the benchmark index.  

 

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 Performance breakdown – 1 year  6  Driving factors behind relative performance  Source: Schroders, BlackRock Solutions Aladdin Explore, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, Data as of 30 September 2024.Performance shown represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown. The value of an investment can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. The return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.   Impact on relative performance  Comment  Listed equities   +0.0%  Strong stock picking in financials and industrial, but not in materials; more or less outweighed by negative allocation effects from underweights in industrials and materials  Private equity   +0.2%  Positive contribution from Aravis, and Spineart  Cash   -0.2%  Minimal impact due to low cash position  Leverage   +0.3%  Positive impact from leverage in Q4 2023, no leverage in 2024  Expenses   -1.6%  Total estimated expenses  Other   -0.5%  Currency, timing and other (rounding)  NAV return difference   -1.8%  NAV total return -1.80% behind benchmark SPI. Gross performance from listed equities is neutral with positive impact from stock picking and negative sector allocation. 

 

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 Top 10 contributors and detractors – stock  7  12 Months to 30 September 2024   The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.  Past performance is no guarantee of future results and and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown. The value of an investment can go down as well as up and is not guaranteed. The return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.   Source: Schroders, FactSet. 1vs. Switzerland: SPI   The accounting data used by FactSet is un-audited, therefore any subsequent cleaning of data will not be reflected in FactSet. The sectors, securities, regions and countries shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell.  Contributors  Portfolio average weight  Active average weight  Absolute portfolio total return  Relative1 return  Total effect  R&S Group Holding  0.9  +0.9   99.1  59.9  +0.8  Swissquote Gp Hldg  1.3  +1.1   84.6  71.5  +0.6  Accelleron Industr  0.8  +0.6   88.4  75.3  +0.4  Sandoz Group Ag  1.9  +1.1   46.9  33.9  +0.3  VZ  1.0  +0.9   44.7  31.7  +0.2  Comet Holdings  0.6  +0.5   63.7  50.7  +0.2  Galderma Group Ag  0.8  +0.7   22.8  9.8  +0.2  Logitech International  1.3  +0.5   21.3  8.3  +0.2  Sfs Group Ag  1.2  +1.1   34.7  21.7  +0.2  Partners Group  2.8  +1.1   26.6  13.6  +0.2  Detractors  Portfolio average weight  Active average weight  Absolute portfolio total return  Relative1 return  Total effect  ABB  1.6  -2.8  52.5  39.4  -0.9  Holcim Ltd  0.0  -2.6  0.0  32.5  -0.7  Ams-Osram Ag  0.8  +0.7  -40.8  -62.1  -0.5  Swiss Re  0.0  -2.0  0.0  18.6  -0.3  Sig Group Ag  1.6  +1.2  -14.6  -27.6  -0.3  Swatch   1.4  +0.9  -16.4  -32.4  -0.3  Tecan Group  1.7  +1.4  -9.1  -22.1  -0.2  BKW  1.7  +1.5  -2.7  -15.7  -0.2  Schindler  0.0  -0.9  0.0  25.6  -0.2  Aryzta  2.0  +1.9  3.4  -9.6  -0.1 

 

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 Positioning  Confidential - For SWZ Board Distribution Only 

 

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 Stock  Sector   Portfolio weight (%)  Benchmark1 weight (%)  Active weight (%)  1   Nestle  Consumer Staples   12.6  13.9  -1.2  2   Novartis  Health Care   12.3  12.4  0.0  3   Roche  Health Care   10.3  12.4  -2.1  4   Comp.Fin.Richemont  Consumer Discretionary   5.3  4.5  +0.8  5   Zurich Insurance  Financials   4.2  4.6  -0.5  6   Ubs Group Ag  Financials   2.7  5.2  -2.5  7   Partners Group  Financials   2.7  1.8  +0.9  8   ABB  Industrials   2.6  4.9  -2.3  9   Sika  Materials   2.1  2.8  -0.7  10   Sandoz Group Ag  Health Care   2.1  0.9  +1.1  Total  56.9  63.4  Top 10 holdings by absolute weight  9  The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.   As at 30 September 2024   Source: Schroders, FactSet. 1Switzerland: SPI. The accounting data used by FactSet is un-audited, therefore any subsequent cleaning of data will not be reflected in FactSet. The sectors, securities, regions and countries shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered a recommendation to buy or sell 

 

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 Stock positions – Top 10 and Bottom 10  10  As at 30 September 2024  The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.  Source: Schroders, FactSet. 1Switzerland: SPI.  The accounting data used by FactSet is un-audited, therefore any subsequent cleaning of data will not be reflected in FactSet. The sectors, securities, regions and countries shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered a recommendation to buy or sell.  Portfolio (%)  Benchmark1 (%)  Underweight  Overweight  3M change   Aryzta  1.7  0.1  -0.2  R&S Group Holding  1.5  0.0  0.3  Galderma Group Ag  1.7  0.4  -0.1  Sig Group Ag  1.7  0.4  0.2  Sfs Group Ag  1.4  0.2  0.1  Tecan Group  1.4  0.2  -0.1  BKW  1.4  0.2  -0.3  Sandoz Group Ag  2.1  0.9  -0.3  Swissquote Gp Hldg  1.3  0.2  -0.2  Partners Group  2.7  1.8  0.1  Sgs Sa  --  0.9  -0.1  Schindler  --  0.9  -0.1  Geberit Ag  --  1.1  0.0  Nestle  12.6  13.9  -0.8  Lindt & Spruengli  --  1.4  0.0  Roche  10.3  12.4  -0.3  Swiss Re  --  2.1  -0.1  ABB  2.6  4.9  1.2  Ubs Group Ag  2.7  5.2  0.1  Holcim Ltd  --  2.8  -0.1 

 

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 Sector positions   11  As at 30 September 2024   The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.  Source: Schroders, FactSet. 1Switzerland: SPI  The accounting data used by FactSet is un-audited, therefore any subsequent cleaning of data will not be reflected in FactSet. The sectors, securities, regions and countries shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be considered a recommendation to buy or sell.  Portfolio (%)  Benchmark1 (%)  Underweight  Overweight  3M change  Health Care   36.2   34.5   -2.2   Consumer Discretionary   6.6   5.3   0.0   Utilities   1.4   0.2   -0.3   Information Technology   2.7   1.8   0.2   Consumer Staples   15.5   15.9   -0.9   Communication Services   0.0   0.9   -0.1   Real Estate   0.0   1.3   -0.1   Financials   16.7   18.4   -0.9   Industrials   10.3   12.8   0.9   Materials   5.4   8.8   0.1   [Cash]   5.2   0.0   3.2   Total   100.0   100.0     

 

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 Largest purchases and sales  12  Year to date to 30 September 2024   The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.   Source: Schroders, FactSet. 1vs. Switzerland: SPIThe accounting data used by FactSet is un-audited, therefore any subsequent cleaning of data will not be reflected in FactSet. The sectors, securities, regions and countries shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell.  Purchases  Sector   Issuer   Active weight1  31/12/2023   Active weight1  30/09/2024   Active weight1   change  Comments  Galderma Group Ag   Health Care   Galderma Group Ag  0.0  +1.3  +1.3  New position; Participation in IPO of high quality dermatology company  Straumann   Health Care   Straumann Hldg  -1.0  0.0  +1.0  After stock weakness and negative reaction to Q1 result, we upped to neutral  Novartis   Health Care   Novartis Ag  -0.6  0.0  +0.6  Not active; Solely market movements  ABB   Industrials   Abb Ltd  -2.8  -2.3  +0.5  After stock weakness, we decreased our underweight  R&S Group Holding   Industrials   R&S Group Holding  +1.0  +1.5  +0.5  New position; Leading provider of power products (transformers, switches, ...)  Sales  Sector   Issuer   Active weight1  31/12/2023   Active weight1  30/09/2024   Active weight1   change  Comments  Nestle   Consumer Staples  Nestle Sa   +0.5  -1.2  -1.7   Decrease in order to fund the quarterly distribution and expenses  Forbo Hldgs   Industrials  Forbo Hldgs Ag   +0.8  -0.1  -0.8   Decrease in order to fund the quarterly distribution and expenses  Baloise Holding   Financials  Baloise Holding Ag   +1.1  +0.3  -0.8   Partial profit taking after the positive reaction to the lifting of voting right restrictions  Alcon Ag   Health Care  Alcon Ag   -0.1  -0.8  -0.7   Partial profit taking as well as funding of the quarterly distribution and expenses  DKSH   Industrials  Dksh Holding Ag   +1.0  +0.3  -0.7   Partial profit taking as well as funding of the quarterly distribution and expenses 

 

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 Portfolio positioning  13  The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc.   Source: BlockRock Solutions Aladdin, Sparcs, data as of 30 September 2024.  Swiss Helvetia Fund  Swiss Performance Index  Valuation  P/E FY1  19.4x  19.0x  P/E FY2  16.8x  16.7x  Price/book FY1  3.5x  3.3x  Quality  Net Debt to Equity  28.2%  44.0%  Net Debt to EBITDA  1.1x  1.7x  Portfolio characteristics  Swiss Helvetia Fund  September 30, 2024  September 30, 2024  Tracking error  1.8%  1.5%  Active share  31.2%  27.7%  Risk measures (ex private equity) 

 

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 Outlook 

 

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 Outlook  15  Source: Schroders, 30 September 2024. Views expressed are the portfolio management team’s view and not necessarily a «house view». These views are subject to change.   Schroders expects global growth to come in at 2.7% for both 2024 and 2025.  In the US, the Federal Reserve has started cutting rates. From our perspective, concerns about an imminent US recession might seem exaggerated as the economy is currently remaining rather robust.   Labour market conditions have moved into better balance. Taken alongside further disinflation and improving credit availability, this should serve to sustain solid household consumption.   In Switzerland, the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) expects the Swiss economy to grow at a below-average rate of 1.2% in 2024, followed by a normalization in 2025 of 1.6%.  In September, the Swiss National Bank took the decision to lower interest rates to 1.0%. Further cuts can be expected as domestic inflation is within the target zone and a further strengthening of the CHF is to be avoided as global economies are continuing cutting rates.  Swiss equities, which generate on average between 80-90% of their revenue abroad, benefit from the more positive growth environment.   Many Swiss companies expressed optimism regarding the demand outlook for the second half of 2024.  However, as visibility on the timing of the recovery is still limited for many companies, this could lead to short-term volatility.   We intend to stick to our long-term investment approach and focus on high-quality companies with sound balance sheets and reasonable valuation.  Soft landing as the base scenario 

 

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 Outlook & market situation  16  Earnings estimates tend to be too high at the beginning of the year  Source: Bloomberg, 30 September 2024. In USD, rebased as of 02 January 2012.  Consensus EPS development – MSCI World  

 

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 Outlook & Market Situation  17  Swiss equities offer strong earnings growth on a global comparison  Source: Schroders, Bloomberg, 30 September 2024; all earnings converted into CHF.  Swiss Small & mid caps  Swiss all caps  US all caps  Eurozone all caps 

 

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 Dividend yield versus government bond yield  18  Swiss equities offer attractive dividend yields versus government bond yields   Source: Schroders, Bloomberg, 30 September 2024. 

 

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 Volatility  19  Volatility is below historical averages  Source: Schroders, Bloomberg, 30 September 2024.  Asian crises  Tech bubble burst  3y bear market  Irrational exuberance  Surprise rate hike by Fed  Various hedge fund collapses  Financial crisis  Greek crisis  Euro crisis  6m bear market after China bubble burst  Start of trade war  Q4 2018 meltdown  9/11  Coronavirus  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 

 

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 Trade weighted currency index  20  Swiss franc in real terms more stable than one would expect  Source: Swiss Nationalbank, December 2000 = 100, 30 September 2024.  Trade weighted currency index – real, CPI-based 

 

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 Case for Swiss Equities 

 

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 Long term outperformance of Swiss equities  22  Source: Schroders, September 30, 2024. All data in USD. Views expressed are the portfolio management team’s view and not necessarily a «house view». These views are subject to change.Performance shown represents past performance. and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown  2.0% p.a. in USD  10.1% p.a. in USD  8.0% p.a. in USD   Long-term reasons to invest  Long-term historic outperformance due to:  Many global leaders  Balanced geographical diversification  High innovation rate  Highly skilled and productive labour force  High profit margins  Political system (stability, taxes, labour law)  Quality infrastructure  Low debt (at companies and government)  Strong CHF seen as asset, not disadvantage 

 

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 Switzerland offers an attractive business environment  23  World competitiveness ranking  Switzerland ranks in the top three of 64 economies regarding global competitiveness   Source: International Institute for Management Development (IMD), World Competitiveness Ranking 2023, rank out of 64 economies  The International Institute for Management Development has been looking into drivers of competitiveness and prosperity in 64 economies. Amongst others, the following help explain the strong position of Switzerland:   Domestic economy   Infrastructure   Governance efficiency   Productivity & business efficiency   Labor market   Tax policy  Switzerland has been ranked within the top 4 economies over the last 6 years. 

 

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 Switzerland is an innovation leader   24  Switzerland as the innovation leader  Switzerland is the most innovative country in Europe  Source: European Innovation Scoreboard 2023.   All performance scores are relative to that of the EU in 2016. Coloured columns show countries performance in 2023, using the most recent data for 32 indicators. The horizontal hyphens show performance in 2022, using the next most recent data. Grey columns show countries performance in 2016. The dashed lines show the threshold values between the performance groups, where the threshold values of 70%, 100%, and 125%, when using the latest 2023 data, have been adjusted upward by multiplying with 1.085 to reflect the performance increase of the EU between 2016 and 2023 as the graph shows performance scores relative to the EU in 2015.  Strong education- & environment-related indicators  Switzerland has the highest performance in six indicators:   New doctorate graduates  International scientific co-publications  Foreign doctorate students  Public-private co-publications  Resource productivity  Air emissions by fine particulates 

 

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 Global leadership results in high profitability  Market leadership positions for many Swiss companies transform into high margins  Source: Schroders, Bloomberg, 31 December 2022.  25 

 

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 CHF appreciation is nothing new  26  Swiss franc strength in nominal terms / more stable in real terms (due to low inflation)  Source: Schroders, Bloomberg, September 30, 2024. Views expressed are the portfolio management team’s view and not necessarily a «house view». These views are subject to change.  Swiss companies are used to an appreciating Swiss Franc.   High efficiency and strong focus on productivity gains  High innovation rate  Market leaders in their respective niches  Global production footprint provides a substantial natural hedge  Solid balance sheets  Sharp moves in exchange rate (as happened in 2011 and 2015) had short term impacts that were successfully absorbed after 1-2 years in terms of margin recovery 

 

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 Performance of The Swiss Helvetia Fund  27  Compared to ETF and European Index since introduction of the EURO  Source: Bloomberg, September 30, 2024, all data in USD.Performance shown represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown  Swiss ETF  6.8% p.a.  The Swiss Helvetia Fund  7.0% p.a.  MSCI Europe   (ex Switzerland)  5.5% p.a. 

 

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 Disclaimer 

 

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 Important information  29  The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) is a closed-end investment company registered in the United States with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Common stock of the Fund is only available for purchase/sale on the NYSE (SWZ) at the then current market price. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.  This presentation is intended to be for information purposes only and it is not intended as promotional material in any respect. The material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale  of the Fund’s shares or any other financial instrument. The material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, accounting, legal or tax advice, or investment recommendations. Information  herein is believed to be reliable but Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. does not warrant its completeness or accuracy.  The returns presented represent past performance and are not necessarily representative of future returns, which may vary, and current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown. The value of investments can fall as well as rise as a result of market or currency movements.     All investments, domestic and foreign, involve risks, including the risk of possible loss of principal. The market value of a fund’s portfolio may decline as a result of a number of factors, including adverse  economic and market conditions, prospects of stocks in the portfolio, changing interest rates, and real or perceived adverse competitive industry conditions. Investing overseas involves special risks including  among others risks related to political or economic instability, foreign currency (such as exchange, valuation, and fluctuation) risk, market entry or exit restrictions, illiquidity, and taxation. The Swiss  securities markets have substantially less trading volume than the U.S. securities markets. Additionally, the capitalization of the Swiss securities markets is highly concentrated. Securities of some companies  located in Switzerland will be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. This combination of lower volume and greater concentration in the Swiss securities markets may  create a risk of greater price volatility than in the U.S. securities markets.  The views and forecasts contained herein are those of the Schroders Swiss Equities team and are subject to change. The information and opinions contained in this document have been obtained from  sources Schroders considers to be reliable. No responsibility can be accepted for errors of facts obtained from third parties. Reliance should not be placed on the views and information in the document when taking  individual investment and/or strategic decisions.  Definitions: Active share represents the proportion of stock holdings in the Fund that is different from the properties found in the benchmark. Beta measures the sensitivity of the Fund to the movements of  its benchmark. Volatility is measured by Standard deviation, which is the risk or volatility of an investment’s return over a particular time period; the greater the number, the greater the risk or volatility.  Tracking error is the difference between the price behavior of a position or a portfolio and the price behavior of a benchmark. VaRis Value at Risk, a widely used risk measure of the risk of loss on a specific  portfolio of financial exposures.  Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. is registered as an investment adviser with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schroders plc  For more information, visit www.swzfund.com    

 

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 Schroder Investment Management (Switzerland) AG  Central 2  CH-8001 Zurich  [e-mail]  schroders.ch  Thank you 

 

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