Swiss Leader Index (SLI)

The SLI (Swiss Leader Index) comprises the SMI shares plus the ten largest stocks in the SMIM. In other words, it includes the 30 largest and most liquid securities in the Swiss equity market.

Unlike other SIX equity indices, the SLI has an upper weight limit. The four largest stocks are capped at 9%. Where necessary, the index weighting of the other securities is limited to 4.5%.

The SLI was launched as an alternative to the blue-chip index SMI. In the SMI, the five largest stocks have a combined index weighting of about 60%, so price fluctuations in those shares have a disproportionate impact on the index. The capping factor in the SLI increases the weighting of the smaller stocks, so that the price risk is more widely diversified. Moreover, as a result of the capping factor, the SLI fulfils the regulatory requirements of Switzerland, the EU and the US, thereby allowing new markets and investor groups to be accessed.

Because the weights change continuously, SIX calculates and adjusts the capping factor every three months. The composition of the index is reviewed once a year in September.

Since July 2, 2007, the SLI has been calculated and published in real time. To facilitate comparability with other indices, the SLI was calculated back to the end of 1999. The SLI was standardized at 1,000 index points as of December 30, 1999.