Belvoir Wealth Management AG | Welcome to our Little Swiss Dish – a Swiss Market Update, November 2023

Welcome to our little Swiss Dish. Where we give you insights of Switzerland’s economy in a cheesy way. Wear your safety vest and sunscreen, as in this publication we travel on water.

Travelling by boat: Switzerland’s infrastructure offers many varieties to travel to work or for leisure. Did you know that many Swiss citizens take the fairy to cross from one end of the lake to the other to commute to work? Many use the opportunity to avoid the rush hour in the morning by cruising on the lake while enjoying their coffee.

One nautical mile per hour: With little of more than 8.5 million population Switzerland is known to have one of the world’s strongest economies and with a very high per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thanks to its modern market economy, Switzerland competes with nations that easily have hundreds of millions of residents. Looking at the market economy, the three main sectors are: agriculture, services and industry. Out of the three, the service sector is the most developed of all. Accounting for 72% of the Switzerland’s total GDP, followed by the industry sector by 27% and the small agriculture sector with the remaining 1%. The leading factors that contribute to the strong economy are political stability, a skilled workforce, economic diversity and strong local currency.

Here is an overview of the main macroeconomic indicators: Switzerland’s GDP is USD 801 Bn. and annual GDP per capita is $87,340. The annual GDP growth rate is 0.7% and unemployment rate 2% even with its inflation rate with 2.6%. Switzerland’s government debt to GDP is 41.4% (of GDP) and if you ever wonder what is the average wage of a Swiss person, that would be CHF 6,712 CHF/month working full-time. CPI is at 106 points and the interest rate at 1.5%

Current: As mentioned in our little Swiss Dish from September 20^th, 2023, we highlighted that Switzerland will hold the elections to the Federal Assembly in October. Little refresher in case your newly gained knowledge is a bit blurry. Swiss voters have elected a new parliament for the 2023-2027 legislative period. Up for grabs were 200 seats in the House of Representatives and 44 out of 46 seats in the Senate. Comparable to shuffling cards, the seats have newly distributed. A record 5,909 candidates stood for election to the 200-seat House of Representatives this year; 41% of them were women. In the end, the number of women elected dropped from 84 in 2019 to 77.

Liquid, solid and gas: Twinkling lights, smell of mulled wine, enticing aromas, festive music and traditional holiday street food – nothing could be more magical than enjoying the Christmas markets. Every Swiss city has its own Christmas spirit and tradition. From over a 100 decorated Christmas trees, kilometers of fairy lights, homemade crafts and backed festive treats, entertainment chalets, carousel and ice rink, this season is a feast for the eye and stomach.

Winter is approaching and people are waxing their skis to be the first on the slopes. The “Muotathaler” weather frogs (the Swiss groundhogs) have not yet released their statement for the ski season 2023/2024. Looking back to prior season, the alps were lacking snow. Hence, this led to ski resorts with smaller budget to shut down before the final closing day. While the bigger resorts produced snow with large snow cannons trying to keep their guests satisfied. The amount of energy consumed by artificial snowmaking varies widely, depending on the equipment. Pumping water up the mountain from the valley consumes a lot of energy as well. Many ski resorts collect and store water in reservoirs during the summer. Although the amount of energy consumed by some snowmaking equipment has been reduced in recent years, water consumption remains very high. For example, one-fifth of the water consumed in the Davos region is sprayed into the air to produce artificial snow. Since natural watercourses generally carry less water in the winter, compliance with the minimum water levels prescribed by law is imperative from an ecological perspective.

Compliments of BELVOIR WEALTH MANGEMENT – a member of the EACCNY.

NOTES:
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