stock exchange
SWISS HELVETIA FUND $17 (New York symbol SWZ; CWA Rating: Conservative) invests mainly in large-capitalization Swiss stocks. The manager of the fund is Hottinger Group, which, as Banque Hottinger, dates back to 1786. Swiss Helvetia Fund will gain along with a pick-up in the U.S., one of Switzerland’s largest markets. Continued growth in the U.S. will help the export oriented Swiss economy, particularly if it stimulates growth in Europe, its largest market. Switzerland is showing positive growth again in 2006, and it stands to further benefit from a continued global economic rebound. The fund’s top holdings are Roche Holdings (pharmaceuticals) at 13.5%; Nestle SA (food & beverages), 12.4%; Novartis AG (health care and pharmaceuticals), 12.2%; UBS AG (banking), 9.9%; Swiss Life Holding (pension and life insurance), 5%; Credit Suisse Group (financial services), 5%; Basilea Pharaceutica (biopharmaceuticals ), 4%; BKW FMB Energie (Swiss electricity generator), 3.9%; Adecco (human resources), 3.7%; and Zurich Financial (insurance- based financial services), 3.1%....
JAPAN EQUITY FUND $8.10 (New York symbol JEQ; CWA Rating: Aggressive) invests mostly in large capitalization stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The manager of the fund, Daiwa Securities, picks stocks using a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt). The Japan Equity Fund’s top holdings are: Toyota Motor (automobiles), 5.1%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (banking), 4.9%; Mizuho Financial Group (banking & finance), 2.8%; Matsushita Electric Industrial (manufacturing congolmerate), 2.7%; Sumitomo Trust & Banking (banking and finance), 2.6%; East Japan Railway (transportation), 2.4%; Shin-Etsu Chemical, 2.4%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 2.2%; NTT (telecommunications), 2.2%; and Honda Motor (automobiles), 2.1%. The Japan Equity Fund is available for 5% less than the current value of its assets. It’s a buy....
SWISS HELVETIA FUND $15.79 (New York symbol SWZ; CWA Rating: Conservative) invests mainly in large-capitalization Swiss stocks. The manager of the fund is Hottinger Group, which, as Banque Hottinger, dates back to 1786. Swiss Helvetia Fund will gain along with a pick-up in the U.S., one of Switzerland’s largest markets. Continued growth in the U.S. will help the exportoriented Swiss economy, particularly if it stimulates growth in Europe, its largest market. Switzerland is likely to show positive growth again in 2006, and it stands to benefit from a continued global economic rebound. The fund’s top holdings are Roche Holdings (pharmaceuticals), 14.2%; Novartis AG (health care and pharmaceuticals) at 13.5%; Nestle SA (food & beverages manufacturing), 13.5%; UBS AG (banking), 9.0%; Zurich Financial Services AG (insurancebased financial services), 4.9%; Credit Suisse Group (global financial services), 4.7%; Swiss Reinsurance (global reinsurer), 4.4%; ABB Ltd. (power and automation technologies), 4.0%; Syngenta (agricultural science), 3.3%; and Logitech (computer accessories), 3.2%....