Swiss Franc: returns since 1971

The Swiss franc is the classic safe-haven currency, the one money flows toward when markets break, and our series tracks the value of one franc in U.S. dollars since 1971. It has trended higher over the long run, from below $0.25 in the early 1970s to above $1.00 in recent years, with sharp jumps during crises.

One honesty note: this is the exchange rate against the U.S. dollar (FRED H.10), not a return. Holding cash earns no interest, so a rising rate is a gain in dollar terms and not a yield, and the comparison against U.S. inflation (CPI) shows what a dollar holder actually kept in real terms.

The franc's reputation was tested most sharply in the last fifteen years. As money fled the euro-zone crisis into Switzerland in 2011, the currency surged so hard that the Swiss National Bank capped it at 1.20 per euro to protect exporters. Then on January 15, 2015 the bank abandoned that cap without warning, and the franc jumped roughly 20 percent against the euro in minutes, one of the most violent single-day moves any major currency has made. The year-by-year table below places that shock inside the longer climb.

Descriptive, educational content computed from official public data. Not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.