The 2023 Switzerland Spencer Stuart Board Index is a survey of the 47 largest public companies with a premium listing on the Swiss Market Index, as of May 31 2023.
As with previous editions, our sample includes companies in the SMI Expanded index, i.e., the SMI and the SMI Mid, as at their annual September index basket adjustment. The 47 companies under review represent more than 95% of publicly traded shares in the Swiss equity market.
Where appropriate, we distinguish between the SMI and the SMI Mid in our findings as the SMI alone represents around 80% of market capitalisation and governance practices can differ significantly between companies of such different sizes.
Our research takes into account a combination of publicly available sources such as company annual reports, websites, announcements, and articles of association, in addition to proxy statements where publicly available.
Our analysis of board size, committee structure, board and committee meetings, and director remuneration is derived from the most recently available annual reports covering the 2022 and 2023 financial years.
Board composition, female and foreign representation, independence, tenure, age, and the number of newly appointed and first-time directors are measured as of 31 May 2023.
Reflecting the changed composition of the SMI Expanded as it stood on 31 May 2023, the number of companies surveyed is 47, down from 48 in our 2022 Board Index.
There are five changes of constituents and one renamed company since the 2022 edition:
- Sonova (healthcare sector) moved up from the SMI Mid to the SMI.
- SGS (industrial) moved down from the SMI to the SMI Mid.
- BB Biotech and Cembra Money Bank (both financial services) are no longer part of the SMI Mid.
- Belimo (industrial) joined the SMI Mid.
- Zur Rose (healthcare) was renamed DocMorris.
Interestingly, the composition of the SMI Expanded has evolved over the years to include fewer constituents from TMT and financial services, and more from the healthcare and industrial sectors.
|
2023 Composition |
vs. 2018 |
| Industrial |
34% |
+4% |
| Healthcare |
19% |
+4% |
| Financial Services |
23% |
-5% |
| TMT&S |
9% |
-4% |
| Consumer |
15% |
0 |