Bellevue Entrepreneur Switzerland (CH)

Swiss SMid Caps as measured by the SPIEX Index rose 0.7% in November, underperforming the broader Swiss market (SMI +4.9%), underpinned by the signing of a memorandum of understanding, under which tariffs on Swiss imports are expected to be reduced from 39% to 15%. Globally, markets were volatile throughout the month. Initial optimism around progress toward ending the U.S. government shutdown was tempered by concerns about the monetization of large AI-infrastructure investments and cryptocurrency declines. Sentiment shifted following dovish remarks from NY Fed President John Williams, noting further labour-market softening. Geopolitical developments also remained in focus, with renewed discussion of a potential Ukraine–Russia “peace deal”. Eurozone’s Composite PMI rose to 52.8 in November, led by a strong services sector, while manufacturing eased slightly. In Switzerland, the procure.ch PMI index rose to 49.7 in November from 48.2 in October, above forecasts of 48.5. It marks the highest reading since December 2022, signalling that the industrial economy is approaching stabilization after nearly three years of contraction.

From a sector perspective Financials (+3.5%), Real Estate (+3.1%) and Materials (+3.0%) performed best while Communication Services (-9.4%), Utilities (-5.8%) and Information Technology (-5.3%) lagged the most. Against this backdrop, the Fund decreased 1.1%, underperforming the benchmark by 180bps. Ytd, the Fund has returned 15.6%, an 166bps outperformance.

Main detractors in the month were Montana Aerospace (-22.3%), Kardex (-7.8%) and ALSO Holding (-7.6%). After strong Q3 results, Montana’s management reframed 2026 after adjusting for the sale of the energy business. 2026 guidance was adjusted from EUR 2 bn to EUR >1 bn, also reflecting an adverse USD and a conservative stance on OEM pull rates. At 7.5x EV/EBITDA we deem the valuation very attractive and believe the management has built ample leeway to beat expectations. Kardex’s CMD provided a deep dive into the untapped niche of hospital and healthcare-intralogistics solutions. Overall, while management was very positive for the order momentum in H2 and 2026, margins will remain subdued and incremental profitability improvements will not materialize before 2027. ALSO suffered from the general weak performance of the IT sector, although signs of a cyclical bottoming out are emerging. Longer term, we like ALSO’s consolidator positioning within a sector whose increasing complexity should benefit the largest players with digital capabilities.

Top 3 contributors were Medmix (+14.1%), SoftwareOne (+7.6%) and EFG (+10.0%). Medmix was supported by a large contract win in its beauty segment, the de-risking of its highly profitable dental business following the announcement of lower tariffs, and new broker coverage. While 2025 remains a transition year, revenue growth is expected to accelerate thereafter, with operating leverage supporting margin expansion. SoftwareOne delivered a solid set of results with a return to growth on a LFL basis, driven notably by clear signs of operational improvement in the US and good performance in the Nordics. In parallel, the company continues to deliver on synergies, implying a return to positive EBITDA growth. Despite strong share price performance, the stock is still trading on EBIT26 of 7x, suggesting attractive risk/reward. EFG delivered in line 10M results with NNM up 6.7% and AUM +11%. The management updated its 2028 targets with a focus on profitability. Cost/income ratio is to improve to 68% from 69%, with the aim of achieving 15% avg. net profit growth, above consensus expectations of 10%. The ROTE target was raised to 20% and above consensus. The company left NNM growth targets unchanged at 4-6% p.a.

The lower US tariff agreement for Swiss exports was expected but still a relief. This certainly supports the large Swiss industrial exporting base and will provide companies with more planning certainty. What does this imply for Switzerland into 2026?As of October the SECO had a weakish GDP growth expectation of 0.9% for 2026, while more recent post-tariff agreement estimates are around 1.3%. Europe will also play an important role and despite unforeseen external headwinds stemming from Trump’s tariffs we believe the continent has offsetting ingredients at hand. We expect the German government to ramp up fiscal stimulus and spending to increase markedly in 2026 and 2027. Households could follow through with higher confidence and private spending as this unfolds. We go into 2026 with a high-quality portfolio, welldiversified between regional champions and global niche winners.