Bellevue Entrepreneur Switzerland (CH)

Swiss SMID caps as measured by the SPIEX Index rose 2.6% in December (SMI +3.4%), closing the year up +16.9%. As expected, the US Fed delivered a further 25 bps rate cut at its December meeting, its third consecutive reduction this year, reflecting a softening labour market despite inflation remaining somewhat above target. In Europe, the ECB kept policy rates unchanged, supported by gradually easing inflation and indications that subdued growth is stabilizing. Political risk eased in two of the region’s largest economies: in France, the government narrowly passed its budget, sustaining a fragile minority administration, while in Germany the Bundestag approved a pension reform package, allowing Chancellor Merz to avoid an early coalition crisis. Eurozone’s Composite PMI declined to 51.9 in December but continued to signal expansion, supported by a robust services sector, while manufacturing remained in contraction for a second consecutive month. In Switzerland, the manufacturing PMI fell to 45.8 in December from 49.7 in November, below forecasts of 49.9. It marks the lowest level since the announcement of US tariffs, signalling renewed pressure on the manufacturing sector, despite some easing in protectionism-related headwinds. From a sector perspective Communication Services (+6.3%), Materials (+5.8%) and Consumer Discretionary (+5.3%) performed best while Consumer Staples (-1.3%), Utilities (+0.1%) and Real estate (+2.4%) lagged the most.

Against this backdrop, the Fund rose 1.9% (B-share), underperforming the benchmark by 66 bps. In 2025 the Fund returned 17.9%, 94 bps above its benchmark.

Main detractors in the month were Compagnie Financière Tradition (-3.4%), Lindt (-1.9%) and Acceleron (-3%). With markets well behaved and the VIX falling to a 13.5 low from a 2025 average of 19.3 the interdealer broker Tradition saw some profit taking after a good run and 65% total return over the year. The position acts as a good hedge against market volatility. Lindt continued to de-rate amid concerns over potential strong volume declines following double-digit price increases to offset higher cocoa costs and tariffs. However, its premium positioning, strong brand loyalty and gifting exposure should provide some resilience. Accelleron experienced some consolidation since the highs of July. We think the growth profile of the company is intact as both segments marine and energy continue to thrive and added to our position.

Top 3 contributors were Montana Aerospace (+14.3%), SIG Group (+16.5%) and VAT Group (+9.2%). Following the deception around its conservative short-term guidance Montana recovered in December as investors looked though the 2026 destocking effect into a stronger 2027. SIG continued to recover ground after Cevian announced a 3% stake in the food packaging specialist. After some challenging years SIG is in a leadership transition, Mikko Keto has been appointed new CEO, starting H1 2026. Mikko Keto is currently CEO of the Danish machinery company FLSmidth, where he doubled the value of the company since 2022. VAT benefited as the market awaked to the evidence of memory shortage, which has lead to skyrocketing DRAM prices as DC/AI demand swallows a large part of the available capacities. This could ultimately push capex higher and benefit equipment manufacturers.

After a sub-par return period 2022 to 2024, 2025 was finally a rebound year for SMID caps, also in Switzerland. The SPIEX finished up 16.9% nearly at par with the SMI TR. It was also a good year for the Bellevue Entrepreneur Switzerland Fund, ranked in the first quartile among all peer funds. It was a challenging trading year, but our value oriented stock picking discipline was rewarded. 2026 is no different. There is still much concern around Germany, fiscal spending and Europe. A majority of companies are in excellent shape after three years of economic stagnation and geopolitical displacements, especially in Switzerland. Costs have been addressed, productivity lifted and pricing power protected. We look forward to another year of Entrepreneur stock picking. On behalf of the Bellevue and the Entrepreneur Team, we thank you for your trust and wish you good investing in 2026.