SNB becomes a major Apple investor
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) holds Apple shares worth over one billion francs and is facing criticism for doing so.
As Schweiz am Sonntag writes in its current issue, the SNB owns an equity portfolio worth CHF 100 billion and invests in a total of 2548 companies. By far the largest portion - 1.11 billion dollars - is accounted for by shares in the US computer group Apple. In comparison, shares in the energy company Exxon Mobil (627 million dollars) are in second place, followed by Johnson & Johnson (513 million dollars) and Microsoft (508 million dollars). As the newspaper writes, the National Bank has invested heavily in Apple, particularly in recent months: While the value of the shares was "only" 614 million dollars at the end of 2014, three months later it is almost twice as high. Converted, the SNB bought 3.4 million Apple shares during this period, i.e. over 50,000 shares per trading day.
The SNB's actions have been criticized by bloggers in particular. After the SNB had already weakened the export economy by lifting the minimum euro limit, it is now also stabbing Swiss competitors such as Swatch in the back by strengthening the manufacturer of the Apple Watch, according to the credo. (hae/SaS)
