Invest in Switzerland With These Swiss ETFs

Zurich Cityscape, Switzerland
Photo:

AleksandarGeorgiev/Getty Images

Whether you’re looking for exposure to the Switzerland market, to hedge any Swiss risk or even diversify your portfolio, you may want to consider a Switzerland ETF as your choice investment.

Not only do exchange-traded funds give you instant exposure to a particular region, sector or market, but ETFs come with many advantages as well. Tax breaks and cost-efficient benefits to name a few. No investment is without risk and ETFs have their share of disadvantages, but on the whole, you may find that gaining access to Switzerland via an ETF can be beneficial to your portfolio.

Below are four current ETFs to help you with your strategy. There are not only Switzerland equity ETFs, but a currency ETF and a gold fund as well. So hopefully that helps with your diversification and selection.

Key Takeaways

  • If you're looking to add overseas investments to your portfolio, you can get exposure to the Switzerland market by investing in an ETF focused on the country.
  • Positive aspects for investing in Switzerland include a good economy and geopolitical stability in the country.
  • Companies included in Switzerland ETFs include Novartis, Nestle, UBS, and Credit Suisse Group.
  • As with any investment, it's important to speak with an investment professional and do your own analysis before investing in a Switzerland ETF.

EWL - iShares MSCI Switzerland Index ETF

This exchange-traded fund from iShares was launched in March of 1996 and targets public companies that are either located in Switzerland or conduct the majority of their business in the country by using the MSCI Switzerland Index (NDDUSZ) as its underlying benchmark.

Some of the top companies in the holdings of the ETF and the correlating index are Nestle, Novartis, Roche Holding, UBS, Zurich Insurance Group, Abb LTD, Cie Financiere Richemon, Swiss RE, and Credit Suisse Group. As of March 5, 2021, there were 40 holdings in the fund.

The two heaviest sectors represented in the fund are health care and consumer staples. However, the financials, industrials, materials, consumer discretionary, information technology, communication, and real estate sectors also have some weighting in the ETF.

FXF - Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust ETF

According to Invesco, FXF is designed to track the price of the Swiss Franc net of Trust expenses, which are expected to be paid from interest earned on the deposited Swiss Francs. The currency exchange-traded fund was launched in June of 2006 and 100% of its holdings are the Swiss Franc.

As for the Swiss Franc itself, it was the 7th most traded currency in the world and accounted for about 5% of all global foreign exchange transactions in 2019. The US Dollar-Swiss Franc pair was the 7th most traded currency pair out of all foreign exchange transactions as well.

SGOL - Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF

This gold fund tracks the price of the gold bullion and each share of the exchange-traded fund represents one-tenth of the bullion's ounce price. The actual gold for the ETF is held in trust in Zurich and London.

Since gold assets in other gold ETFs can be stored in locations like New York, London, and now Singapore (AGOL), this gold ETF gives investors the opportunity to diversify their “gold-holding” locations by having their gold held in a different location.

The fund was launched in September of 2009 and the price of the fund correlates with the spot price of gold less the Trusts expenses.

FSZ - First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX Fund

This Switzerland ETF tracks an index known as the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Index.
Some of its top holdings in Jan. 2021 included Bachem Holding, Bucher Industries, Logitech International, The Swatch Group, LafargeHolcim, Flughafen Zurich, DKSH Holding, ALSO Holding, Credit Suisse Group, and BKW.

The fund was launched in February of 2012, and there are about 40 companies in the holdings in all. Each company must either be located in Switzerland or conduct the majority of their business in the country. Also, they must be publicly traded on the local stock exchange.

The top sectors represented in the ETF are industrials, financials, health care, materials, information technology, real estate, consumer discretionary, utilities, communication services, and consumer staples.

As with any investment (not just ETFs), it is very important to conduct thorough research before making any trades. So if you are considering any of the above funds for your portfolio, make sure you understand how they work, what is in the fund, how they react to different market conditions and the risks involved. If you have any questions about the ETFs consult your broker or speak to a financial professional. Then, once you’ve completed your due diligence, you can add (or short) and or all of these Swiss ETFs to your investment strategy.

Was this page helpful?
Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. iShares. "iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF."

  2. Invesco. "Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust."

  3. Bank for International Settlements. "Triennial Central Bank Survey: Foreign Exchange Turnover in April 2019," Pages 10-11.

  4. Aberdeen. "Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust Prospectus," Page 21.

  5. Aberdeen. "Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold Shares ETF (SGOL)," Page 1.

  6. First Trust. "First Trust Switzerland AlphaDEX Fund (FSZ)."

Related Articles