In short: The SMI tracks the 20 largest Swiss companies on the SIX Exchange, weighted by free-float market capitalisation with an 18% per-stock cap. It is a price index excluding dividends. Nestlé, Novartis, and Roche together can represent up to 54% of the index. Low-cost SMI ETFs from UBS and iShares provide efficient exposure.
If you want to invest in Switzerland, the Swiss Market Index (SMI) is your starting point. It is the country's primary benchmark index, the single most tracked measure of Swiss equity performance, and the basis for the most widely held Swiss index funds and ETFs worldwide.
Yet the SMI is often misunderstood — particularly regarding how its weighting works, why it behaves differently from some other major indices, and what it actually includes (and excludes). This guide explains everything.
What Is the SMI?
The Swiss Market Index is a blue-chip index tracking the 20 largest and most liquid Swiss companies listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It was launched on June 30, 1988 with a base value of 1,500 points.
The SMI is a price index — meaning it does not account for dividends. This contrasts with Germany's DAX, which in its original form was a total return index, reinvesting dividends. For investors comparing SMI performance to DAX or S&P 500 total return figures, this distinction matters: the SMI will appear to underperform indices that include dividend returns.
The companion SMI Total Return Index (SMIC) does include dividend reinvestment and is used for performance comparisons that account for income.
How the SMI Is Constructed
Float-Adjusted Market Capitalisation
The SMI is weighted by free-float market capitalisation — meaning only the shares actually available for public trading are counted, not shares held by major long-term shareholders, governments, or company insiders. This produces a more realistic picture of investable market size.
The 18% Cap Rule
Switzerland has a uniquely concentrated corporate sector. Nestlé, Novartis, and Roche are three of the largest companies in the world. Without a cap, these three alone could represent over 60% of the SMI, making the index essentially a three-company tracker.
To prevent this, the SMI imposes an 18% cap per component at each quarterly rebalancing. If any single stock's weighting exceeds 18%, it is reduced back to 18%, with the excess redistributed proportionally to other components.
In practice, Nestlé, Novartis, and Roche have historically each been capped at or near 18%, meaning the "big three" alone can represent up to 54% of the entire SMI.
Annual Review and Quarterly Rebalancing
- Annual review: Every September, SIX evaluates the full universe of eligible Swiss stocks to determine the 20 SMI components for the following year. Companies can enter or exit based on changes in market cap and liquidity.
- Quarterly rebalancing: Every March, June, September, and December, the index weights are recalculated based on updated free-float market caps, and the 18% cap is reapplied.
The 20 SMI Components (2026)
The SMI's composition shifts modestly over time, but its core has been stable for years. The following companies are the primary constituents:
Nestlé (NESN) — The world's largest food and beverage company by revenue. Products span Nespresso, KitKat, Perrier, Purina, and an expanding health science division. Nestlé consistently represents the largest single SMI weighting (typically at or near the 18% cap).
Novartis (NOVN) — One of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, focused on patented prescription medicines in oncology, neuroscience, immunology, and cardiovascular. The 2023 spin-off of Sandoz (generics) streamlined Novartis into a pure innovative pharma company.
Roche (ROG) — A global leader in both pharmaceuticals (particularly oncology) and diagnostics. Roche's dual-class share structure (bearer shares ROG and registered shares RO) is a quirk of Swiss corporate governance.
UBS Group (UBSG) — Switzerland's largest bank and one of the world's leading wealth management firms. UBS absorbed Credit Suisse in the government-brokered emergency rescue of 2023, significantly expanding its balance sheet.
ABB (ABBN) — A Swedish-Swiss technology group specialising in electrification, automation, motion control, and robotics. ABB is a major beneficiary of global industrial automation and energy transition investment.
Zurich Insurance Group (ZURN) — One of Europe's largest insurance groups. Its diversified book spans property/casualty insurance, life insurance, and farmers insurance in the US.
Swiss Re (SREN) — The world's second-largest reinsurer. Swiss Re provides risk transfer services to insurance companies globally. It is one of Switzerland's highest-yielding large-cap dividend payers.
Richemont (CFR) — A luxury goods conglomerate and the parent company of Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC, Piaget, and other prestigious jewellery and watch brands. Richemont is heavily exposed to Chinese luxury demand.
Lonza Group (LONN) — A contract manufacturer for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Lonza is one of the world's leading producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and biologics manufacturing.
Partners Group (PGHN) — A major global private equity and alternative assets manager headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Partners Group manages over USD 140 billion in assets and has delivered exceptional long-term returns.
Kühne + Nagel (KNIN) — One of the world's largest freight forwarding and logistics companies. The company benefited enormously from supply chain disruptions during 2020–2022.
Givaudan (GIVN) — The world's largest fragrance and flavour company. Givaudan creates and manufactures the ingredients that give products their taste and scent, serving food, beverage, and personal care companies globally.
Holcim (HOLN) — The world's largest building materials company, with operations spanning cement, aggregates, and construction solutions across 70 countries.
Straumann (STMN) — A global leader in dental implants, aligners, and digital dentistry solutions.
Sika (SIKA) — A specialty chemicals company focused on construction and automotive. Sika's bonding, sealing, and waterproofing products are used in buildings, infrastructure, and vehicles worldwide.
Geberit (GEBN) — Europe's leading supplier of sanitary and piping systems. A Swiss industrial champion with extraordinary pricing power and high margins.
Swiss Life (SLHN) — Switzerland's largest life insurance company. Swiss Life provides individual and group life, pension, and annuity products.
Alcon (ALC) — A global eye care company spun off from Novartis in 2019. Alcon makes surgical equipment for eye procedures and vision care contact lenses (Air Optix, Dailies).
TE Connectivity (TEL) — A global connectivity and sensor company. TE Connectivity moved its legal domicile to Switzerland in 2007, making it eligible for SMI inclusion.
VAT Group (VACN) — A leading manufacturer of high-precision vacuum valves. VAT is critical to the global semiconductor and solar panel manufacturing supply chain.
SMI vs SPI: What's the Difference?
| Feature | SMI | SPI | |---|---|---| | Components | 20 largest blue chips | 200+ Swiss companies | | Type | Price index | Total return (dividends reinvested) | | Market cap coverage | ~85% of Swiss equity cap | ~99% of Swiss equity cap | | Includes mid/small caps | No | Yes | | Cap per component | 18% | No hard cap |
The SPI (Swiss Performance Index) is the more comprehensive benchmark. It includes SMI stocks plus mid-cap SMIM stocks and smaller companies. Because it is a total return index, the SPI is the more appropriate benchmark for measuring long-term Swiss equity performance including income.
How to Invest in the SMI
ETFs Tracking the SMI
The most efficient way to gain SMI exposure is via low-cost ETFs:
iShares Core SPI ETF (CH) (Ticker: CSPI) — Tracks the full SPI rather than just the SMI, giving broader exposure. TER: 0.10%. Listed on SIX.
UBS ETF (CH) SMI (CHF) A-dis (Ticker: SMICHA) — A direct SMI tracker. Physically replicates the 20 SMI components. TER: 0.20%. Listed on SIX.
iShares SMI UCITS ETF (DE) — A UCITS-compliant SMI tracker listed on the Xetra (Frankfurt). Accessible to European investors via most brokers. TER: 0.35%.
Lyxor SMI UCITS ETF — Another UCITS SMI tracker available to European investors. TER: 0.15%.
Direct Stock Purchasing
Investors wanting direct SMI exposure can buy individual components through any broker offering SIX access. The three largest components — Nestlé, Novartis, and Roche — are the logical starting point, and together represent roughly half the index.
SMI 10-Year Performance
Over the decade from 2014 to 2024, the SMI (price index) delivered a total return of approximately 80–90%, translating to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 6–7%. When dividends are included (using the SMIC total return index), performance improves meaningfully, given the 3–5% average yield of SMI heavyweights.
The SMI demonstrated its defensive characteristics during the 2020 COVID crash (recovering more rapidly than many peers), the 2022 rate-driven correction, and various European political stress events — partly because its heavy healthcare and consumer staples weighting provides natural defensiveness.
Understanding the SMI is the foundation of Swiss equity investing. Once you know who its 20 companies are and why the index is weighted the way it is, the rest of the Swiss market makes much more sense.
Official sources and further reading
- SIX SMI index overview: official SMI construction, component selection and capping reference.
- SIX index inclusion handbook: official inclusion, exclusion and buffer-zone process.
- SIX Swiss equity indices: official overview of SMI, SPI, SLI and Swiss equity index families.
- SIX index download center: official methodology documents and index reports.