THE USP
IS IN OUR DNA

Swissquote was founded in 1996 by two engineers with the aim of democratising traditional banking and finance. Their idea: to enable private investors to invest directly in the stock market and manage their assets themselves via the internet.

Today over 570,000 clients use Swissquote's modern and intuitive online trading platform, on which over three million financial products are traded. Private and institutional clients can access not only a comprehensive range of investment solutions but also global stock exchanges and foreign exchange trading opportunities as well as a wide range of crypto assets, professional research and an ESG analysis tool that can be used to create personalised impact portfolios.

In addition to actively managed certificates, clients can invest directly in structured Swissquote products with a variety of yield profiles. Further proof of Swissquote’s innovative strength is the SQX crypto exchange, set up in 2022, through which a growing number of cryptocurrencies can be traded securely and with the best possible liquidity terms.

Along with easy and inexpensive access to investment solutions plus efficient safekeeping of financial instruments, Swissquote's clients also benefit from a rapidly growing universal bank offering, from online mortgages and securities lending to low-cost digital and crypto-friendly service packages for daily banking. The unique MasterCard debit card comes with an attractive cashback programme, while the Invest Easy investment and savings solution features professionally predefined strategies for all risk profiles, much like the 3a Easy pension solution with its attractive return potential and tax savings.

With the targeted expansion of its traditional banking and payment services over the past few years, Swissquote has evolved into a universal bank that a rapidly increasing number of private and corporate customers use – and have come to appreciate – as their principal bank.

Institutional clients such as asset managers, other banks, brokers and investment funds are also increasingly taking advantage of Swissquote's fast-growing offering.

In keeping with the bank’s quest to democratise the financial world and drive innovation, the Yuh financial app – jointly launched with PostFinance in 2020 – is becoming ever more popular, now boasting over 200,000 “Yuhsers”. These are younger investors whose investments are smaller than those held with Swissquote.

Swissquote is dedicated to delivering sustainable value for its customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. As part of its commitment to transparency, the Group discloses comprehensive non-financial information in accordance with GRI Standards, the Global Reporting Initiative, in its annual  Sustainability Report since 2020. This report identifies and assesses 15 key topics that are relevant both for the long-term success of the business and for the impact of Swissquote's activities on the economy, society and the environment.

Swissquote also introduced ESG-related targets for the members of the Executive Board. In2023, in recognition of these efforts, the MSCI rating agency confirmed the “AA” MSCI ESG rating (on a scale of AAA-CCC) that the Group had already been awarded the previous year. In addition, Swissquote improved its Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating from “medium risk” to “low risk” in 2023.

Swissquote places a high priority on protecting against cyber risks and ensuring the smooth operation of its systems. It thus invests in IT security to the tune of double-digit millions every year. Other areas assessed include innovation, customer experience and reduction of the environmental footprint.

Strengthening our foothold in the Swiss domestic market, broadening our service offerings, penetrating new customer demographics, and extending our reach into key markets across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East has substantially diversified our revenue streams. These strategic moves have also effectively curtailed the proportion of earnings reliant on the more volatile transaction-based sources. The recent acquisition of Optimatrade Investment Partners (Pty) Ltd in South Africa will further amplify this impact.

With net revenues of CHF 531.4 million and pre-tax profit (EBIT) of CHF 255.4 million, Swissquote was able to confirm its targets for 2023 despite a challenging environment. During this period, Swissquote diversified its revenue streams not only by expanding beyond transaction-based earnings, but also by growing its revenues from international clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. For the first time, non-transaction-based revenues (58%) exceeded transaction-based revenues (42%) and internationally located customers represented a bigger share of net revenues than Swiss residents (51% and 49%, respectively). The strong inflow of net new money of 5 billion francs was a resounding vote of confidence in the bank: it pushed total client assets up to CHF 58 billion.

The total balance sheet assets amounted to CHF 10.0 billion (CHF 10.2 billion). Bolstered by a combination of solid profitability and cautious balance sheet management, total equity grew by 21.2% to CHF 898.6 million (CHF 741.1 million). The capital ratio increased further to 25.1% (24.8%), well above the regulatory limit of 11.2%. In that context, the Board of Directors will propose a dividend of CHF 4.30 per share at the Annual General Meeting of 8 May 2024.

Since listing on SIX Swiss Exchange in 2000, the Swissquote Group has succeeded in creating continuous added value – and, especially, in steadily increasing its operating efficiency.

The management team, which has been successfully working together for many years, is supported by more than 1’100 highly qualified and motivated employees in the implementation of the company’s strategic planning and continuing development.

With its extremely solid balance-sheet structure and a strong core capital ratio (CET1), Swissquote is well-equipped to deal with any difficult market or economic situations – and to seize the opportunities that will arise for itself and its clients in the future.

For 2024, Swissquote is targeting net revenues of CHF 595 million and a pre-tax profit of CHF 300 million. Going forward, interest income will likely be affected by potential policy rate cuts, but Swissquote expects to be protected to a certain extent thanks to its multi-currency balance sheet. Net interest income should grow compared to 2023. At the same time, an upswing in trading optimism was noted in the last quarter of 2023, mostly inspired by signs of slowing inflation and hopes that interest rates had peaked.

Getting closer to its medium-term targets set for 2025, Swissquote confirms that the pre-tax profit of CHF 350 million remains the primary objective, which should be achieved with a pre-tax profit margin above 50%.