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

Welcome to our little Swiss Dish. Where we give you insights of Switzerland’s economy in a cheesy way. Grab your binoculars and a fashionable outfit because in this publication we are outdoors.

Training, planning and, nutrition preparation: Today we will talk about one of the most common leisure activities of Swiss people – hiking. Everyone has done it at least once in their lifetime. May it be during a school excursion, military service or, with family and friends. Switzerland offers a variety of trails that you can access by stroller/wheelchair, scrambling on all fours, to using head-to-toe full mountaineering gear. Should you be more on the easygoing side and don’t want to sweat blood and tears, the State of Valais offers a combination where you can taste wine and hike. Now, did we get your attention? I bet we did. Enjoy Switzerland’s colorful late summer / early autumn season hiking from wine cellar to wine cellar savoring a glass of wine or two. Foodwise, eye candy for the insatiable culinary Swiss cuisine lovers, served on wooden board plates with sumptuous decorated with cheese from the alpine hut, flavorful grapes, homemade marmalade and local meat. Good thing, most gained carbs burn when descending back to your end destination. Most importantly, drink and eat responsibly.

As mentioned in our little Swiss Dish from July 11^th, 2023, we highlighted about the traffic jams. Continuing on the traffic topic, the Gotthard tunnel is the world’s longest and deepest rail tunnel (57km/35 mile in length and depth of 2.3km/7.5 feet), making it easy to travel through the Swiss Alps driving from the northern and southern Europe. In regards to the Blechlawinen on our national roads, each year the local and global transport capacity increase significantly. Patience is needed when stuck during the start and end of a local or public holiday. There are other fun things to do than rather sitting in your car in Europe’s most famous congested freeway for hours, trying to get into, through and out of the tunnel. To ease the traffic, the Gotthard tunnel is getting a second tunnel. This construction project should be completed by 2029 costing as little as CHF 2.18bn. 😊

Training and gear: Staying in the State of Valais, home to the Swiss, 4’000 meters above sea level summits and to the iconic landmark the Matterhorn. Are you dreaming climbing the Matterhorn but are afraid of heights, can’t acclimatize easily, or don’t have the time to train? There is an alternative for you the edge in the Verkehrshaus museum in Luzern. Thanks to innovative VR technology and 360-degree film production. Equipped with VR glasses and sensors, mountain fans can climb virtually from the Solvayhütte 4’003-meter to the summit of the 4’478-meter-high Matterhorn. The cost per adult is CHF 24 with the ticket of the Verkehrshaus CHF 19. Children of the age of 12 can climb as well. Comparing to summiting the real Matterhorn, you need to hire a local mountain guide who knows the route like Roger Federer’s backhand. Each mountain guide can only take one guest, i.e., you are solely tied to your mountain guide ascending 4 hours to the Swiss summit and 4 hours descending back to the Hörnlihütte. The price starts at CHF 1’700 excluding gear.

Safety first: Autumn season is also the haunting season. The “high hunt” in September lasts 21 days, hunting deer and chamois. The “low hunt” lasts from October 1^st to November 30^th, hunting for small animals like marmots, hares, birds, and black grouse. These dates are fixed annually. The hunt for ibex takes place throughout October. You need a license in Switzerland to hunt. Advantageous, if you have a Swiss acquaintance who happens to be a huntsman and has a designated space for you to accompany him. As only several of animals are released for firing, it is important to have someone competent with you. A hunter’s favorite snack is Landjäger. The name means land hunters. A semi-dried sausage prepared with a combination of pork, beef, lard, red wine, sugar and selected spices. In case you haven’t heard of the Swiss ibex before, king of the Swiss alps, here is a little background summary. The alpine ibex is a wild mountain goat. Their horns are the most striking feature. The headdress is large and impressive on the male versus smaller and more delicate on the female. The ibex was re-introduced to national parks in the 1920s after it was hunted to extinction in the 19th century. Back then, they were illegally smuggled from the northern part of Italy to be reintroduced and resettled. Highly doubt that they travelled through the Gotthard tunnel to reach the northern part of Switzerland.

The summit high: Did you know regardless of whether it is sewn or printed, the Swiss flag is the only national flag in the world that is square? Thanks to its symmetry, it is impossible to hang it the wrong way round.

Playing and shuffling cards in a mountain hut: The elections to the Federal Assembly are held every four years. On October 22^nd, 2023 the Federal elections will be held to elect all members of the National Council and Council of States. The 200 members of the National Council are elected from the 26 States, depending on number of inhabitants while the council of States has 46 members each State has two. Voters aim to elect the members of parliament that best represent their views. Each state has its own parliament, government, courts and constitution. The States Constitution may not contradict the Federal Constitution. The states implement the requirements of the Confederation but structured their activities following their particular needs. They have broad scope in deciding how to meet their responsibilities, for example in the areas of education and healthcare, cultural affairs, and police matters. Each state levies its own state taxes. The Federal Constitution defines the Confederation’s tasks and responsibilities. These include Switzerland’s relations with the outside world, defense, the national road network, and nuclear energy. Switzerland’s Parliament, called the Federal Assembly, is made up of the 246 members of the National Council and the Council of States. The government comprises seven federal councilors of which one is the president for 1 year and rotates to the next. The Confederation is financed among other means through direct federal tax. Are you still following? Good, because we are ending on a sweet note.

Muscle ache relief: According to old wife’s tales, drinking 5dl chocolate milk right after your workout can improve your recovery phase. Don’t believe us? Try it out the next time you return from an outdoor activity.

We hope you enjoyed our little outdoor exploration and look forward to our next sitting with a lake view.

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

NOTES:
Registration as an investment advisor does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators, nor does it indicate that the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability. Belvoir Wealth Management AG (BWM) offers a range of investment advisory and wealth management products and services. A description of our services and fees is provided in our Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2 Brochure available through the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. The information presented is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute an advertisement, investment advice, research, or recommendation to pursue a particular strategy or offer to purchase, or sell any securities, funds, commodities or other products, nor does it include all the relevant information an investor may wish to consider in making investment decisions.

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