SIX Swiss Exchange

SIX Swiss Exchange brokers give traders access to one of Europe’s largest stock exchanges, hosting some of the biggest European companies, including Nestle and Roche. In this 2025 guide, we cover how to trade on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the different instruments available. Our team also rank the top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers.

Choosing SIX Swiss Exchange Brokers

Below, we cover the key factors to consider when comparing SIX Swiss Exchange brokers:

Instruments

The assets and product types that each brokerage offers are different. For example, if you are looking to trade through an HSBC investment account then you can gain direct access to buying equities on the Swiss Exchange.

On the other hand, if you are looking for CFD trading then you could look towards a broker like Pepperstone, which offers SMI 20 CFD instruments. Contracts for difference are popular with short-term traders looking to go long or short on a market with leverage.

Fees

Fees can quickly add up and diminish any profits when investing on the SIX Swiss, or indeed any, exchange and brokers charge fees differently. Some firms charge through commissions on trades, others through wider spreads and swap fees.

However, finding a broker with the cheapest fees may come at the price of limited safety features or fewer additional services. Therefore, you should try to find a broker that offers all your required features with the lowest fees.

For example, on the SMI index, AvaTrade levies a 2.0 spread over the market. 1:10 leverage is available and the instrument can be traded on MT4 and MT5.

Platforms

The platform is where you will spend time executing trades and managing your portfolio. Some SIX Swiss Exchange brokers, such as IG, offer advanced investing features through bespoke platforms, as well as third-party platforms like MetaTrader 4. These give users plenty of technical tools to implement more complex trading strategies and analyse a range of markets.

Finding the platform that suits your style will be key to enhancing your investing experience. Most top SIX Swiss Exchange brokers offer free demo accounts to allow you to practise using their platforms within a virtual environment. This is a great way to test platforms and firms without risking capital.

Regulation

SIX Swiss Exchange brokers that are overseen by strict regulatory bodies are recommended. This is especially true for those regulated by top agencies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the UK.

Regulated brokers must follow strict rules that protect their clients from scams, fraud and financial foul play.

Negative balance protection, compensation schemes and segregated funds are key features that you should look for to maximise your safety when choosing SIX Swiss Exchange brokers.

What Is The SIX Swiss Exchange?

The SIX Swiss Exchange is Switzerland’s main stock exchange and is based in Zurich. The exchange is completely owned by the SIX Group, an unlisted public limited company owned by 122 financial institutions and banks. It was formerly known as the SWX Swiss Exchange.

The exchange came about after the Geneva Stock Exchange, Basel Stock Exchange and Zurich Stock Exchange merged in 1993. The SIX Swiss took over trading in 1995 and was the first to use automated trading, clearing and settlement.

SIX Swiss Exchange brokers facilitate the trading of stocks and other securities like derivatives and Swiss government bonds within and beyond Switzerland. The exchange uses the Swiss franc (CHF) as its base currency and has a market capitalisation of roughly £993 billion in 2023.

The SIX Swiss Exchange is the 12th largest exchange in the world by market cap.

History

The current SIX Swiss Exchange came about due to the culmination and merging of multiple exchanges.

The first Swiss exchanges were created in the 1850s with the founding of the United Brokers Association. The trading floor opened in 1855 and the Basler Borse followed in the next couple of decades in Basel and Zurich. The Berne Exchange was then founded in 1884. Other smaller exchanges also opened up in these decades.

Exchanges were mostly closed in Switzerland during the First World War, apart from bond trading in Geneva. Later, after the Great Depression, new federal banking laws were introduced that ensured greater due diligence and permission to do banking activities by the FINMA. As a result, Swiss exchanges had to unite under a securities exchange association to set up a registration office.

After the Second World War, exchange trading banking fees were unified and revenues hit highs during the 1950s. In 1993, the Geneva Stock Exchange, Basel Stock Exchange and Zurich stock exchange merged into the SWX Swiss Exchange.

In the late 1990s, the Swiss exchange was dominated by food, pharmaceutical and financial companies. The dot-com bubble bursting had a heavy impact on Swiss stocks, causing indices to tumble more than 20% compared to the country’s previous peaks.

In 2007, the SWX Group, SIS Group and Telekurs Group announced their merger into the Swiss Financial Market Services AG. The merger happened in 2008, with the company being renamed SIX Group AG. This was also when the SWX Swiss Exchange changed its name to the SIX Swiss Exchange.

SMI Chart

Market Segments

Over 60,000 securities are available on the SIX Swiss Exchange across a range of products, including equities, bonds, ETFs, ETPs, structured products, mutual funds and sponsored funds. The exchange also has a host of indices, which track different collections of financial instruments.

The SIX Swiss Exchange hosts two of the three largest blue chips in Europe, alongside 20 cryptocurrencies and over 250 crypto products.

• Equities – There are over 250 major equities available, including Nestle, Roche and Novartis.
• Bonds – There are more than 2,100 international bonds admitted to trading on the Swiss Stock Exchange, including straight bonds, floating-rate notes, convertibles, asset-backed securities and loan participation notes.
• ETFs – Its first ETF was listed in 2000, with around 1,600 now available from 27 issuers.
• ETPs – Available on the exchange since 2010. Stock and commodity ETPs are available, as well as the newly introduced cryptocurrency ETPs.
• Mutual Funds – The investment funds segment gives you access to over 500 mutual funds, with a wide selection of focuses, including biotechnology, dividends and volatility.
• Structured Products – Over 50,000 structured products are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The exchange ensures products that have passed through the SER (SIX Exchange Regulation) can be traded on the exchange.

Note, online brokers do not typically offer access to all of these products.

Indices

SIX Swiss Exchange brokers may offer a selection of indices covering various categories. These include equity, bond, strategy, real estate and customised indices. The most impactful of these are the SMI, the Swiss Market Index, and the SPI, the Swiss Performance Index.

• SPI – The Swiss Performance Index is a total-return index that follows the equities on the SIX Swiss Exchange that have a free float of at least 20%. This covers large, mid and small-cap companies and weights them by market capitalisation. It is the most followed performance index of the SIX Swiss Exchange.
• SMI – The Swiss Market Index is Switzerland’s blue-chip stock market index. It tracks the 20 largest and most liquid Swiss Performance Index stocks. These stocks make up 85-90% of the total SIX Swiss Exchange trading turnover.

Largest Stocks

The SIX Swiss Exchange hosts some of the largest European companies by market cap:

1. Nestle – Approx £168 billion
2. Novartis – Approx £150 billion
3. Roche – Approx £156 billion
4. Richemont – Approx £64 billion
5. Zurich Insurance – Approx £59.4 billion
6. UBS Group – Approx £56 billion
7. ABB Ltd – Approx £44 billion
8. Lonza – Approx £36 billion
9. Sika – Approx £35 billion
10. Holcim – Approx £28 billion

Trading Hours

The SIX Swiss Exchange trades on Central European Time (CET), GMT +1. This changes to CEST (GMT +2) during the Summer months.

Each trading day lasts from 06:00 to 22:00 CET, Monday through Friday. However, active trading opens at 09:00 am and closes at 17:40 pm (CET). There is also a post-trading period between 18:15 pm to 22:00 pm (CET).

Note that not all SIX Swiss Exchange brokers facilitate the post-trading period, thus opening hours may vary.

SIX Swiss Exchange Market Holidays

The SIX Swiss Exchange generally has nine market holidays, including New Year’s Day, Easter, Labour Day, Christmas and St. Stephen’s Day. In 2023, these are:

• New Year’s Day – January 2
• Good Friday – April 7
• Easter – April 10
• Labour Day – May 1
• Ascension Day – May 18
• Pentecost – May 29
• National Day – August 1
• Christmas – December 25
• St. Stephen’s Day – December 26

Note, the exact dates may change from year-to-year.

Bottom Line On The SIX Swiss Exchange

The SIX Swiss Exchange is an important European exchange and is home to some influential stocks. Its prominence in the extended European and Western markets makes it a prime exchange for UK investors. Furthermore, there is a wide range of available assets, extending from indices, ETFs and shares to newly-conceived crypto-based ETPs.

Refer to our list of the best SIX Swiss Exchange brokers to start trading.

FAQ

Article Sources

SIX Swiss Exchange website

AvaTrade SMI Index trading conditions