French election: Swissquote and EPFL Help Investors Understand the Likely Impact on Financial Markets

• Goal: Measure impact of French election on equity and currency markets.
• Swissquote and École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) create Social
  Media Opinion Index to scan voter sentiment on social media.
• Index is complemented comments and trading tools, creating a financial dashboard that enables investors to optimize investment
  decisions.

Gland, Switzerland, April 19, 2017 – Swissquote Bank Ltd., announces the launch of a set of investor tools that help anticipate the impact of the French presidential election on financial markets. A key element is the Social Media Opinion Index, created in cooperation with the Social Media Lab at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
The Index makes use of the latest advances in artificial intelligence to collect and analyze opinions about the candidates in the French election as expressed on social media networks.

The approach, which is very different from traditional opinion polls based on surveys, allows investors to take the pulse of public online opinion about the candidates, indicating potential outcomes of the elections in real-time.

The Index is based on two related technologies, using artificial intelligence: Natural Language Processing (NLP) which interprets the text of a message, and graph analysis, which enables the understanding of the context in which an opinion is expressed. Thus the tool can detect nuances  like irony and sarcasm that may be contained in a message, reduce ambivalence and avoid
misinterpretation that could lead to errors.

The Index will be offered foreign exchange (Forex) trading tools. This comprehensive financial analysis offering helps measure the potential impact of the election and identifies the need to adjust investment strategies accordingly. It will be available publicly on a dedicated Swissquote website: www.swissquote.com/french-election.

Once the first round of the elections is completed on April 23, 2017, and the two finalists are known, Swissquote will offer two different Forex baskets consisting of different currency pairs and stock indices that will be most strongly impacted by one of the two possible outcomes.

The selection currency pairs and stock indices will be made according to the different political programs the candidates have announced; so the baskets linked to the less protectionist candidate will include currencies and stocks indices that are likely to benefit from politics that favor
free trade.

The barometer of public opinion on social networks, coupled with our analysis and strategies, will help investors make informed decisions during a period of uncertainty. We are providing investors with key information to better understand the impact of the French election on the financial markets and helping them benefit from related changes both on the equity and currency markets, said Peter Rosenstreich, Head of Market Strategy at Swissquote.