LCI Annual Strategy Review December 2024
Performance Overview
2024 was a strongly equity-friendly year, and every LCI strategy posted a solid positive 12M return (Dec 2023 → Dec 2024). US large-cap equity was the dominant engine, supported by gold in the active-enhanced (SE) sleeves. Returns ranged from +5.3% (Yield CHF S) to +15.3% (Growth EUR SE). FX was the swing factor in relative terms: a stronger USD lifted the CHF- and EUR-denominated books (which translate USD assets back into a softer home currency) but worked against the USD-denominated strategies, which therefore trailed their USD peer funds.
Performance - 2024
Semi-Passive (S) | Active-Enhanced (SE)
| Semi-Passive (S) | Active-Enhanced (SE) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | 12M | vs Bench | p.a. SI | vs Bench SI | Strategy | 12M | vs Bench | p.a. SI | vs Bench SI | |
| LCI Yield CHF S | +5.3% | +3.3% | +2.0% | +1.7% | LCI Yield CHF SE | +8.9% | +6.9% | +3.2% | +2.9% | |
| LCI Balanced CHF S | +8.4% | +2.1% | +4.0% | +2.6% | LCI Balanced CHF SE | +11.4% | +5.1% | +4.8% | +3.5% | |
| LCI Growth CHF S | +11.6% | +5.9% | +6.0% | +3.5% | LCI Growth CHF SE | +14.1% | +8.3% | +6.4% | +4.0% | |
| LCI Yield EUR S | +8.7% | +4.3% | +3.6% | +2.4% | LCI Yield EUR SE | +10.7% | +6.3% | +4.7% | +3.4% | |
| LCI Balanced EUR S | +11.5% | +3.5% | +5.8% | +3.2% | LCI Balanced EUR SE | +13.0% | +5.0% | +6.5% | +3.9% | |
| LCI Growth EUR S | +14.4% | +6.5% | +8.0% | +4.5% | LCI Growth EUR SE | +15.3% | +7.5% | +8.2% | +4.8% | |
| LCI Yield USD S | +5.9% | -0.3% | +4.6% | +1.2% | LCI Yield USD SE | +7.7% | +1.4% | +5.6% | +2.1% | |
| LCI Balanced USD S | +7.9% | -0.7% | +6.6% | +2.3% | LCI Balanced USD SE | +9.3% | +0.8% | +7.1% | +2.9% | |
| LCI Growth USD S | +9.9% | -0.6% | +8.4% | +2.6% | LCI Growth USD SE | +10.9% | +0.4% | +8.7% | +2.8% | |
Returns in reference currency; SI = since inception (annualised). Positive figures in green, negative in red. Source: La Côte Invest.
Since-Inception Cushions
All 18 strategies remain ahead of benchmark on an annualised since-inception basis (Jan 2016, 108 months). The vs-benchmark cushion ranges from +1.2% p.a. (Yield USD S) to +4.8% p.a. (Growth EUR SE). The EUR and CHF SE sleeves carry the widest cushions; the USD S sleeves the narrowest, reflecting the strength of the UBS USD peer funds.
Best and Worst Contributors
Sub-asset-class contribution, averaged across the 18 strategies over the 12M window (held positions only).
Best contributors:
North American Equities: +486 bps
Gold: +299 bps
Eurozone Equities: +85 bps
Worst contributors:
Latin American Equities: −31 bps
Short Term Bonds: +7 bps
Swiss Equities: +15 bps
North American equity and (in the SE sleeves) gold did almost all the work. Latin American equity was the only sub-asset class to detract over the year; every other held allocation contributed positively, so the “worst” lines are simply the smallest positive contributors. (Global Equities and Diversified Bonds appear in the model at 0 bps but carried zero weight all year — they were not held and are excluded here.)
Best Performer
Gold (oz, +37.6% in CHF terms) and US large-cap equity ETFs (Xtrackers MSCI USA / iShares Core S&P 500, +34–35%) led across the board. Gold was the single best line in every SE sleeve; US equity led the semi-passive S sleeves.
Worst Performer
The laggards were emerging-market equity sleeves: iShares MSCI Brazil (−25% to −30% depending on reference currency) and Amundi MSCI Korea (−17% to −23%), with Indonesia also negative. These reflect genuine EM weakness in 2024 (Brazilian real and Korean won both fell against the major reserve currencies).
FX Impact
USD strength was the dominant currency theme.
CHF strategies: FX added roughly +21 to +25 bps over the year (USD the main contributor, +20 to +23 bps).
EUR strategies: FX added +22 to +30 bps (USD again the driver).
USD strategies: FX was a drag of −55 to −208 bps, as EUR, JPY and CHF exposures weakened against the dollar.
Portfolio Changes
None. Sub-asset-class target weights were held constant across all 18 strategies through 2024 (max month-over-month change 0 bps); the books were rebalanced back to fixed strategic targets rather than tactically rotated.
Editorial Note
2024 rewarded a static, equity-heavy strategic allocation with a US tilt and, in the SE sleeves, a gold overweight. The relative picture is almost entirely an FX story: CHF/EUR books beat their peers handsomely on dollar translation, while USD books gave a little back to strong UBS USD reference funds. Watch whether the dollar tailwind reverses, which would compress the CHF/EUR relative cushions in 2025.
