Weekly Report 52/2025

The global equity index is up 4.9% (in CHF)

There are only a few trading hours left until the end of the year. Overall, it has been a good year. However, Swiss investors are significantly affected by the fact that the Swiss franc has appreciated by 14.1% against the dollar so far this year.

This means that returns denominated in dollars look significantly lower when converted into francs. The Dow Jones, with stocks such as Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, etc., is up +13.1% (in USD) at the end of the year. However, this translates into a return of -0.8% (in CHF). The US S&P 500, the broadest and most influential index in the world, is also “shining” with +16.2% (in USD), which translates into a meager +1.9% (in CHF).

Far higher returns than in the US could be achieved in Europe. But before we jump to conclusions about why we didn’t invest more in European stocks, we would like to remind you how often and how readily analysts and investors disparage Europe and talk down the euro. In addition, Europe accounts for only 17.6% of the global stock index. In contrast, North America accounts for 73.9%. The global stock index is a benchmark against which companies are measured, whether they like it or not.

In this respect, we are pleased that the global stock index stood at +4.9% (in CHF) last Friday evening. The low value is also due to the fact that of the “Glorious 7”, only Alphabet (+42% in CHF) and Nvidia (+18% in CHF) have really impressed so far this year. We would like to point out that this year, even “boring” stocks such as Swisscom (+18%) have managed to achieve comparable returns among the low-valued European stocks.

Our DekarbRevo solutions have achieved double-digit returns so far this year. Investors have focused on the security of supply for economic areas and data centers, and these solutions are benefiting from this. Lucrative, long-term contracts made it interesting to get involved in this area. For example, Zug-based company Capital Dynamics, French energy group Engie, and McDonald’s (UK) have signed an innovative 15-year corporate power purchase agreement for the Douglas West Extension wind farm in Scotland. From 2026, McDonald’s will purchase 100% of the electricity generated by the 66 MW wind farm, which supplies around 190 GWh of clean energy (without subsidies!) annually. This will cover around 8% of McDonald’s UK energy needs and support its strategy to decarbonize its supply chain.

Our Dividend solutions have also delivered double-digit returns so far this year. The focus here is on Switzerland and on disciplined and carefully selected dividend gems from the European environment, which, however, hold a global leading position in their respective markets wherever possible. The distributed returns alone generated a return of 4% from March to May.