Can Switzerland ease investor fears? |
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15 Sep 2011 |
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Swiss stocks have seen profits decline, due in part to the strength of the Swiss Franc against the Dollar and Euro. Lonza Group and Clariant are two recent examples; shareholders are rightly concerned about their investments. Using FactSet Ownership, we can see who these investors are. First, let’s examine Lonza Group. Domestic investors account for just over 5% of the shareholder base, with U.S. investors accounting for the majority, with 21% ownership. Clariant has a slightly higher domestic investor base at 10%, but once again foreign investors make up the majority. Last week, the Swiss National Bank, in an attempt to halt this decline and help boost exports, intervened in the currency markets to help make the Swiss Franc more competitive, which may turn the tides for Swiss stocks. Investors ideally should be looking at stocks such EFG International, Swatch Group and Georg Fischer, who have large overseas sales and also high costs in Swiss Francs. EFG has a large insider ownership of some 49% held by the Latsis Family, while the largest significant institutional investors are from Switzerland, Norway, the UK, and the U.S. Taking a closer look at the historical ownership of engineering company Georg Fischer, we can see that foreign investors have increased their holding over the past year, now accounting for over 20% of the ownership, with the majority of that increase coming from UK-based investors, who went from just over 1% to almost 8%. We can also examine the top investors in Swiss stocks by creating a screen of who invests in the Swiss market and importing this list into FactSet Ownership, which shows us the largest players in Swiss equities (by value of securities held): Using the Holder Peer Analysis aggregation, we can see the sector allocation of the Top 20 investors within their Swiss holdings, with the Health Tech sector and Pharmaceuticals in particular being the favored industries. Click any image to enlarge. Launch these reports in FactSet Ownership.
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