Switzerland’s central bank just had the kind of quarter most hedge fund managers dream about. The Swiss National Bank’s US equity portfolio climbed more than 10% in the second quarter of 2026, reaching its highest recorded value and helping drive a massive profit swing that turned last year’s painful loss into a headline-grabbing gain.
The SNB reported a Q2 profit of CHF 25.7 billion, roughly $31.84 billion. A year earlier, the same quarter produced a CHF 22 billion loss, making this a nearly CHF 48 billion reversal in fortune.
What drove the turnaround
Profit on foreign currency positions alone hit CHF 39.9 billion for the quarter, fueled by a combination of dividends, interest income, and capital gains from equity holdings.
The MSCI World Index gained 13% during the April-through-June period, providing a powerful tailwind.
