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In the US on the SEC website (https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch) it is possible to access the filings of publicly traded companies (e.g., 10Q or 10K filings together with other disclosures).

I have been desperately searching for an equivalent site for public Swiss companies, but failed to find one. I checked the site of the Swiss stock exchange (https://www.six-group.com/en/products-services/the-swiss-stock-exchange.html) as well as the Swiss regulatory authority for markets (FINMA, comparable to the SEC, available at https://www.finma.ch/en). I even wrote FINMA but received no answer unfortunately.

It is important to me that the reports be audited and in an official, standardized format. The only yearly reports I can find are the ones companies post voluntarily on their website and they resemble more marketing material than detailed financial statements.

I assume in most developed markets companies have to publish this information due to regulation (like in the US) so it should be obtainable in Switzerland too. Any idea (e.g,. link, contact address, anything) where I could find it? It is okay if I would have to pay for it, but I do not have the means for expensive data sources (e.g., Bloomberg).

Thank you so much for any help you can offer.

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  • The EDGAR database is relatively unusual in its centralization and the relatively regular format of its data. There is no equivalent in most countries.
    – Flux
    Nov 7, 2022 at 18:26
  • "The only yearly reports I can find are the ones companies post voluntarily on their website and they resemble more marketing material than detailed financial statements." — Could you provide links to some examples?
    – Flux
    Nov 7, 2022 at 18:27
  • Yes unfortunately it seems so :( Really wish I was able to access the same data in Switzerland, as some of the companies here fit quite well with my investment criteria. One example would be Lindt with the report here (reports.lindt-spruengli.com/annual-report-2021/services/…), as you can see most of it is marketing and I don't think it was audited.
    – user119972
    Nov 7, 2022 at 18:46
  • Okay, correction, I think it may have been audited by Pwc. Nonetheless, I would prefer viewing more standardized reports submitted to a financial authority.
    – user119972
    Nov 7, 2022 at 18:50
  • That "Lindt & Sprüngli Annual Report 2021" PDF is the report that was submitted to a financial authority. See my answer below.
    – Flux
    Nov 7, 2022 at 19:48

1 Answer 1

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In Switzerland, the SIX Swiss Exchange is self-regulated by SIX Exchange Regulation (SER). From my basic understanding of Swiss securities regulations, there is no US SEC EDGAR equivalent in Switzerland.

  • Companies listed on the Swiss stock exchange are required to publish audited annual and semi-annual reports [1] using accepted accounting standards (e.g. IFRS, US GAAP, Swiss GAAP FER, etc.) [2].

  • Companies must publish their annual and semi-annual reports on their website, and make each report available for at least 5 years [3]. The webpage containing the list of annual and semi-annual reports must be reported to the SER, and the company must notify SER if the link is changed [4].

  • Annual reports and semi-annual reports are submitted to SER in PDF format [5]. Those are the same reports that the public can download from the company's website.

Note that this situation is completely normal by world standards (perhaps except the self-regulation part). The USA is still relatively unusual, even among developed countries, in having a freely-available centralized database of standardized financial filings that are relatively easy parse (e.g. data in XBRL format).

References:

[1] Listing Rules - Art. 49 Annual Reporting, Art 50. Interim Reporting

[2] Directive on Financial Reporting - Annex 1: Overview of recognized accounting standards

[3] Directive on Financial Reporting - Art. 13 Electronic Publication

[4] Directive Regular Reporting Obligations - Annex 1: Equity Securities, point 1.08

[5] Directive Regular Reporting Obligations - Annex 1: Equity Securities, point 2.01

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  • Amazing, thank you so much. Apparently all this time I have been looking at the problem wrong by looking for a portal application, I did not know the reports on their websites were regulated.
    – user119972
    Nov 7, 2022 at 19:51
  • @davidsawyer That's the way it is in most of the world.
    – Flux
    Nov 7, 2022 at 19:53

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