For the three-month period ended September 30, 2016, the performance of The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), as measured by the change in value in the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), increased 3.26% in US dollars (“USD”). For the same period, the Fund’s share price performance increased 5.33% in USD, as the discount at which the Fund’s shares traded narrowed. This compares with an increase of 3.13% in the Swiss Performance Index (the “Index” or “SPI”) in USD.

Economic environment during the period under review

Global economic review

On October 4, 2016, shortly after the third quarter ended, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) downgraded its forecasts for global growth further by -0.1% for 2016 and 2017. This downgrade was driven by weaker than expected growth in the United States (“US”) and by implications of “Brexit” (the June vote of the United Kingdom (“UK”) to leave the European Union (“EU”). The US economy is now only expected to achieve 1.6% growth in 2016 and 2.2% in 2017, which translates into downgrades of -0.8% and -0.3% compared to projections as of April 2016, the date of the last full report. Although the IMF expects the impact of Brexit on the UK economy to be fairly low in 2016 (they revised the growth outlook by only -0.1%), the growth forecast was decreased by -1.1% for 2017. Meanwhile, the outlook for emerging markets has brightened a bit. China is expected to stabilize its

growth at around 6.5% with consumption remaining robust and a rotation from industry to service supporting the country’s growth of gross domestic product (“GDP”). India is continuing to recover and both Brazil and Russia are showing early signs of stabilization.

Swiss economic review

In Switzerland, the economy appears to be doing better than expected. GDP growth of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2016 accelerated to 0.6% in the second quarter on a seasonally adjusted, non-annualized rate. It seems that productivity gains have made this development possible. As a result, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (“SECO”) has confirmed its GDP expectations for 2016 are 1.5%, which would represent a strong recovery from the “Swiss franc shock” of 2015. For 2017, the SECO expects a further acceleration of growth to 1.8%. With this, unemployment is also expected to stabilize at a level of 3.3% after a small recent increase.

Market environment during the period under review

Following the knee-jerk reaction immediately after Brexit, equity indices experienced a surprisingly strong and rapid recovery. As a sign of investor risk appetite, volatility declined. Equity index returns were positive both in local currencies and as measured in USD for global, European, US and Swiss equities. The SPI trailed other indices, largely due to its relatively more defensive nature resulting from large sector

weights in food and pharmaceuticals, with the latter being one of the few industries within the SPI that experienced negative returns as measured in USD. Unsurprisingly, cyclical sectors were dominant among those

industries with the highest returns. Small and mid caps outperformed large caps by 4.9%, as represented by the Swiss Market Index (“SMI”).

Performance

In comparing the Fund’s NAV return of 3.26% to the Index’s return of 3.13% in USD terms, there was a positive relative performance impact from some of the Fund’s larger

overweight positions, such as Logitech, Feintool, Belimo, Tecan, Swiss Life, VAT, Syngenta and Cembra Money Bank. Being underweight in Novartis and Roche was positive for relative performance, as the

pharmaceutical industry performed worse than the Index. Some other underweights, however, had a negative effect on relative performance as they outperformed, namely ABB, LafargeHolcim, Geberit and Partners Group. A number of negative contributions to relative performance came from overweights in Lindt & Sprüngli, Kuros, Burckhardt Compression, Airopack, Swatch and VZ Holding.

In the third quarter, there was a negative impact from the Fund’s private equity holdings, although there has been a moderate positive impact for the year as a whole, primarily due to the January revaluation of Kuros Biosciences when it transformed from a

privately held company to a higher valued stock listed company through a merger. In the third quarter, Spineart underwent a capital increase at a lower price than the previous carrying value. We decreased the value of Ixodes to reflect that its search for a business partner has been unsuccessful so far.

Portfolio changes

In total there were 10 purchases and 5 sales of listed equities on a net basis during the third quarter of 2016. As of September 30, 2016, there are 39 listed companies held by the Fund and seven direct private equity investments, including two participations in private equity limited partnerships.

We bought a position in Adecco after its share price corrected significantly after Brexit; we felt that such a deep share price reaction was not warranted, given that it derives less than a tenth of its revenues from the UK.

Similarly, Credit Suisse and UBS also experienced significant share price weakness following Brexit, and so we added to the Fund’s positions at prices that we believed reflected too much potential profit erosion. It is also noteworthy that compared to the SPI,

both banks are now at a moderate overweight, having entered the quarter at an underweight. We also increased the Fund’s positions in Actelion, Aryzta, GAM, OC Oerlikon, Swiss Live, Valiant and VZ Holding, once again during perceived relative share price weakness.

We reduced partially our positions in Bucher, DKSH, gategroup, Implenia and Logitech as their share prices moved closer to our fair value target.

Outlook and Investment View

While markets have recovered impressively after Brexit, this does not mean that political risks have waned. The UK referendum has clearly galvanized protest parties across the EU, which is prompting investors to consider whether they should re-examine the discount they apply to European risk assets. Many of the upcoming events either carry a low risk of happening or a low impact if they do occur. The two most notable are the Italian referendum on constitutional reforms and the Dutch election; the former could see the Prime Minister lose his job, while the latter would propel a far right nationalist party into power. Elections in France and Germany in 2017 should be more straightforward, but Brexit has taught us not to underestimate protest movements. During the campaigns preceding the presidential election in the US, we also noted some anti-establishment mood and intentions to reverse economic integration created by global trade accords.

We have trimmed our global growth forecast to 2.3% for 2016 (from 2.5% previously) as a result of downgrades to the US and Europe. For 2017, our forecasts are little changed, with growth strengthening modestly as a result of more stable emerging market activity. Global inflation is expected to rise only modestly as a result of the recovery in oil prices. It is anticipated that the US Fed could raise rates again in December by 25 bps to 0.75%. With inflation rising, further rate increases are expected in 2017 to 1.25% by end of the year, with the Fed moving cautiously on concerns about its impact on the rest of the world and the strength of domestic recovery. Eurozone recovery continues in 2016, but at a marginally slower pace owing to the Brexit shock. Eurozone inflation is still too low, which might drive the European Central Bank to extend its quantitative easing program. Emerging economies benefit from modest growth in demand from advanced economies and firmer commodity prices, but tighter US monetary policy weighs on activity. Concerns over China’s growth persist, and despite recent signs that economic output might have stabilized, further fiscal support and easing from the People’s Bank of China could be expected.

Looking at the implications for equity markets, we conclude that on balance, the environment has not materially changed. Global GDP growth should remain at levels that are very similar to the past three years. We do not think that the political risks described above will significantly derail the

path of the world economy. That said, we do believe that there may be periods when markets are entirely focused on such risks, leading to a repeat of the stock market volatility experienced around the time of Brexit. As inflation remains stubbornly low, central banks have no need to considerably tighten monetary conditions. They rather have a tendency to fall back into very expansive actions with each onset of a crisis, as evidenced by the massive action of the Bank of England following Brexit.

Even if we do not expect political events to have a significant impact on the overall global economy in the long term, it is important to note that they can have a major impact on a single country. For example, Italy could be thrown back into political

chaos if Prime Minister Renzi’s constitutional reform does not get passed. However, for Swiss businesses, which are typically very broadly diversified internationally, we believe that any negative single country event should have very limited impact. Swiss stock-listed companies seem to have recovered very quickly from the currency shock of January 2015 with decisive actions to address costs, which leads us to conclude that they are also able to weather the bigger storms. Our belief that Switzerland is a good base in which to conduct business has been further confirmed by the recent update of the World Economic Forum’s update of the global competitive ranking, holding its place as the number one country of 140 national markets analyzed.

Terms and Conditions

Pursuant to this Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”) of The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), unless a holder (each, a “Shareholder”) of the Fund’s shares of common stock (the “Common Shares”) otherwise elects, all income dividends, capital gain distributions and returns of capital, if any (collectively referred to herein as “dividends”), on such Shareholder’s Common Shares will be automatically reinvested by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as agent for Shareholders in administering the Plan (the “Plan Administrator”), in additional Common Shares of the Fund. Shareholders who elect not to participate in the Plan will receive all dividends payable in cash directly to the Shareholder of record (or, if the Common Shares are held in street or other nominee name, then to such nominee) by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company LLC, as the Dividend Disbursing Agent. Shareholders may elect not to participate in the Plan and to receive all dividends in cash by contacting the Plan Administrator. Enrollment, purchase or sales of shares and other transactions or services offered by he Plan can be directed to the Plan Administrator through the following:

Telephone

Telephone the Plan Administrator: 1-888-556-0425.

In Writing

You may also write to the Plan Administrator at the following address: American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, PO Box 922, Wall Street Station, New York, NY 10269-0560. Be sure to include your name, address, daytime phone number, social security or tax I.D. number and a reference to The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. on all correspondence.

Participation in the Plan is completely voluntary and may be terminated at any time without penalty by providing notice in writing to the Plan Administrator at least 3 business days prior to any dividend payment date for that dividend to be payable in cash. A request for termination that is received less than 3 business days prior to any dividend payment date will be processed by the Plan Administrator, but you will have that dividend reinvested in additional Common Shares. However, all subsequent dividends will be payable in cash unless and until you resume participation in the Plan. To resume participation in the Plan, your request to enroll in the Plan must be received by the record date for that dividend distribution. If received after the record date, your participation in the Plan will begin with the next dividend declaration.

Whenever the Fund declares a dividend, payable either in Common Shares or in cash, participants in the Plan will receive a number of Common Shares determined in accordance with the following provisions and non-participants in the Plan will receive cash. The Common Shares will be acquired by the Plan Administrator for the participants’ accounts, depending upon the circumstances described below, either (i) through the receipt of additional unissued but authorized Common Shares from the Fund (“newly issued Common Shares”) or (ii) by purchase of outstanding Common Shares on the open market (“open-market purchases”) on the New York Stock Exchange, the primary national securities exchange on which the Common Shares are traded, or elsewhere.

If, on the payment date for any dividend, the net asset value (“NAV”) per Common Share is equal to or less than the market price per Common Share (plus estimated brokerage trading fees) (such condition being referred to herein as “market premium”), the Plan Administrator will

invest the dividend amount in newly issued Common Shares on behalf of the participants. The number of newly issued Common Shares to be credited to each participant’s account will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the dividend by the NAV per Common Share on the date the Common Shares are issued, provided that, if the NAV per Common Share is less than or equal to 95% of the then current market price per Common Share on the date of issuance, the dollar amount of the dividend will be divided by 95% of the market price on the date of issuance for purposes of determining the number of shares issuable under the Plan.

If, on the payment date for any dividend, the NAV per Common Share is greater than the market price of the Common Shares (plus estimated brokerage trading fees) (such condition being referred to herein as “market discount”), the Plan Administrator will invest the dividend amount in Common Shares acquired on behalf of the participants in open-market purchases.

In the event of a market discount on the payment date for any dividend, the Plan Administrator will have until the last business day before the next date on which the Common Shares trade on an “ex-dividend” basis or in no event more than 30 days after the record date for such dividend, whichever is sooner (the “last purchase date”), to invest the dividend amount in Common Shares acquired in open-market purchases. If, before the Plan Administrator has completed its open-market purchases, the market price of a Common Share exceeds the NAV per Common Share, the average per Common Share purchase price paid by the Plan Administrator may exceed the NAV of the Common Shares, resulting in the acquisition of fewer Common Shares than if the dividend had been paid in newly issued Common Shares on the dividend payment date. Because of the foregoing difficulty with respect to

open-market purchases, if the Plan Administrator is unable to invest the full dividend amount in open-market purchases during the purchase period or if the market discount shifts to a market premium during the purchase period, the Plan Administrator may cease making open-market purchases and may invest the uninvested portion of the dividend amount in newly issued Common Shares at the NAV per Common Share at the close of business on the last purchase date provided that, if the NAV is less than or equal to 95% of the then current market price per Common Share, the dollar amount of the dividend will be divided by 95% of the market price on the date of issuance for purposes of determining the number of Common Shares issuable under the Plan.

The Plan Administrator maintains all registered Shareholders’ accounts in the Plan and furnishes written confirmation of all transactions in the accounts, including information needed by Shareholders for tax records. Common Shares in the account of each Plan participant generally will be held by the Plan Administrator in non-certificated form in the name of the Plan participant, although the Plan Administrator will issue certificates for whole Common Shares upon your request. Certificates for fractional Common Shares will not be issued.

In the case of Shareholders such as banks, brokers or nominees that hold Common Shares for others who are the beneficial owners, the Plan Administrator will administer the Plan on the basis of the number of Common Shares certified from time to time by the record Shareholder and held for the account of beneficial owners who participate in the Plan.

There will be no brokerage charges with respect to Common Shares issued directly by the Fund as a result of dividends payable either in Common Shares or in cash. However, each participant will

pay a pro rata share of brokerage trading fees incurred with respect to the Plan Administrator’s open-market purchases of Common Shares in connection with the reinvestment of dividends under the Plan.

Participants in the Plan may sell any or all of their Common Shares in their Plan accounts by contacting the Plan Administrator. The Plan Administrator currently charges $15.00 for the transaction, plus $0.10 per Common Share for this service. Participants also may withdraw their Common Shares from their Plan accounts and sell those Common Shares through their broker.

Neither the Fund nor the Plan Administrator will provide any advice, make any recommendations, or offer any opinion with respect to whether or not you should purchase or sell your Common Shares or otherwise participate in the Plan. You must make independent investment decisions based on your own judgment and research. The Common Shares held in Plan accounts are not subject to protection under the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.

Neither the Fund nor the Plan Administrator will be liable for any good faith act or for any good faith omission to act, including, without limitation, any claim or liability arising out of failure to terminate a participant’s account upon the participant’s death, the prices at which Common Shares are purchased or sold for a participant’s account, the times when purchases or sales of Common Shares are made, or fluctuations in the market value of Common Shares. However, nothing contained in this provision affects a Shareholder’s right to bring a cause of action based on alleged violations of the federal securities laws.

Voting

Each Shareholder proxy will include those Common Shares purchased or received pursuant to the Plan. The Plan Administrator will forward all proxy solicitation materials to participants and vote proxies for Common Shares held pursuant to the Plan in accordance with the instructions of the participants.

Taxation

The automatic reinvestment of dividends will not relieve participants of any federal, state or local income tax that may be payable (or required to be withheld) on such dividends.

Amendments to Plan

The Fund reserves the right to suspend, amend or terminate the Plan at any time. All Shareholders of record, both participants and non-participants in the Plan, will be notified of any suspension, termination or significant amendment of the Plan. If the Plan is terminated, Common Shares held in the participants’ accounts will be distributed to the participants. Any change in the source of purchase of Common Shares under the Plan from open market purchases or direct issuance by the Plan Administrator does not constitute an amendment to the Plan.

Independent Directors and Officers