In 1946, Edith Piaf sang La Vie en Rose, and in 1975, Joe Dassin hummed L’Été Indien. Between these two songs, the Trente Glorieuses granted France an enchanted interlude—a time of growth and carefree prosperity that many would love to see return. These songs encapsulate the era well: one symbolises a fresh start, filled with optimism, while the other evokes the final moments of a golden age, just before autumn—and then winter—set in. This metaphor resonates with the title of this newsletter. Even today, this generation holds a significant share of France’s income and wealth (see the article The 0.1%).

Table of Contents

• China’s Comeback

• Generations: Labelled from birth to oblivion

• The 0.1%

• Le Chat - The French IA APP

• Main Markets

• About B-R & H Finance

Market Review

China’s Comeback

The first two weeks of February 2025 have been anything but dull. Between the rise of Chinese stocks, the surge of European banks, gold reaching new heights, and ongoing geopolitical tensions, investors are juggling between euphoria and caution. Here’s a recap of the winners, losers, and key trends to watch.

A Wave of Optimism Sweeps Across Equities

European markets continue their upward trajectory, with the CAC40 rising +11.19% YTD and the Swiss SMI close behind at +11.15% YTD. The German DAX climbs +7.34% MTD, supported by strong performances in the banking and industrial sectors. But the real surprise comes from Asia: Hong Kong’s stock exchange soars +7.52% MTD, driven by a resurgence in Chinese tech stocks.

In the US, the picture is more mixed. The S&P500’s results are solid (+1.88% MTD), but the market remains nervous amid fresh trade tensions and inflation fears. Investors are digesting a series of strong earnings reports that, nonetheless, fail to spark real enthusiasm. As a result, US indices are flirting with record highs, but without conviction.

Chinese Tech Stocks Make a Comeback

After months in the doldrums, Chinese tech stocks are roaring back. Alibaba (+42% MTD), BYD (+33.92%), and Tencent (+25.4%) lead the charge, propelling Hong Kong’s stock market into technical bull market territory. Investor sentiment towards China appears to have shifted dramatically, with the country reclaiming its role as a global market driver.

In the US, tech stocks are also thriving, with Palantir posting a staggering +47.9% gain, still fueled by the AI frenzy. Intel jumps +33.9% on partial acquisition rumours, while Nvidia continues to attract buyers with a +16.91% increase.

European Banks Skyrocket While Spirits Stumble

The banking sector is on fire: Société Générale (+21.6%) and Banco Santander (+20%) ride a wave of solid earnings and a favourable sector dynamic. Meanwhile, the spirits industry is facing headwinds; Rémy Cointreau (-12%) and Pernod Ricard (-11%) struggle with slowing consumption in China and more subdued growth forecasts for the year ahead.

Commodities and Currencies: Gold Shines, Oil Slumps

Gold reaches a new all-time high at USD 2,932 per ounce. As a reference, an ounce equals 28.34g, meaning that when it surpassed USD 2,834, the gram was worth USD 100, and the kilo USD 100,000 – making calculations much simpler!

Conversely, Oil (USD 75.5) is in its third consecutive week of decline, weighed down by global demand concerns and trade tensions.

On the currency front, the US dollar has strengthened against the euro, the Mexican peso, and the Canadian dollar, as markets factor in the risk of new US protectionist tariffs.

At B-R & H Finance, we track around 500 stocks each month. We’ve decided to share some of the internal tables we produce, purely for informational purposes.

Forthnighly Graph

Morgan Stanley - Key trends in the luxury jewellery industry - February 2025

A Few Figures

• 20 minutes – the time it takes for effervescent paracetamol to take effect, compared to 45 minutes for a standard tablet.

• $50 billion – the current valuation of xAI within Musk’s empire after a $5 billion fundraising round at the end of 2024. Created as a response to OpenAI, the company is at the heart of a rivalry that Musk has taken to court, alongside his recent takeover bid.

• 1 billion surveillance cameras are deployed worldwide, with 54% located in China. In this context, Palantir’s growth comes as no surprise.

Editorial

Generations: Labelled from birth to oblivion

2025 marks the beginning of Generation Beta, a term coined by sociologists who enjoy classifying us into groups, as if we were products on a shelf… These classifications are somewhat arbitrary, much like horoscopes: they are given universal, uniform, and unisex value, even though we are not all born under the same skies, with the same gods, needs, or cultures.

In fact, we will hear little about Generation Beta until they start dating in fifteen years or so. Then, we will track them for about thirty years before they, too, fade into collective history. Much like the Silent Generation (1920-1945), which, true to its name, is rarely mentioned anymore.

Between the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation Beta, there have been four: Generation X (1965-1980), Millennials (1980-1995), Generation Z (1990-2010), and Alphas (2010-2015). And after the Betas? Perhaps Gammas, or maybe, weary of these labels, we’ll move on to something else…

A Look Back at the Baby Boomers in France

The Boomers are a generation that witnessed the birth of the Fifth Republic and accompanied it to its economic peak. The oldest celebrated their 80th birthday last year, while the youngest are still in the workforce. But their true dividing line lies in 1968: some were on the barricades, while others were still in short trousers.

Unusually in history, this generation will be fortunate enough to never experience a "direct" war. The first were rocked by the sexual revolution, while the youngest were the first to grow up under the shadow of AIDS.

This is a generation that grew up in a world under reconstruction. Their beginning coincides with the Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946), and their chapter closes with the death of Winston Churchill (1965). Between these two dates, France became electrified, motorised, and modernised. They transitioned from rationing to hypermarkets, from bread coupons to consumerist abundance.

The Baby Boomers welcomed the arrival of fast food alongside the Renault 5 (1972), the Minitel (1980), and the first McDonald’s in France (1979, Strasbourg). They consumed everything, owned everything: a house in the suburbs, a holiday home, vacations at Club Med, and a guaranteed pension at 60. Between 1945 and 1975, France experienced an average annual growth rate of 4–5%. It was Jean Fourastié who coined this period Les Trente Glorieuses (The Glorious Thirty).

Household appliances revolutionised homes to such an extent that Boris Vian mocked them in song in 1956 with La Complainte du Progrès:
"Ah, Gudule, come and kiss me and I’ll give you… A fridge, a lovely scooter, an atomixer, and a Dunlopillo mattress..."

The Boomers also saw France enter the nuclear age with the commissioning of the Marcoule power plant in 1956. Everything seemed bright, with negligible public debt and growth that was believed to be infinite. Black-and-white television broadcast Les Shadoks, and people drank Tang. But everything changed with the 1973 oil shock. Full employment vanished, and French industry began relocating abroad.

However, by then, the Boomers already had their homes paid off, their pensions secured, and their acquired benefits guaranteed. The youngest among them developed a mentality similar to the Gen X: After me, the flood…

What Remains of the Baby Boomers Today?

Surprisingly, there aren’t many major French companies from that era. Most are either older (L’Oréal dates back to 1919, and Moulinex to 1937) or came later, like EssilorLuxottica. Nevertheless, here are a few:

• Club Med (1950) – The embodiment of carefree holidays and mass tourism, a revolution in leisure that accompanied the Boomers’ economic rise.

• Carrefour (1959) – Mass retail exploded alongside them, and Carrefour became a global giant. Ginette Moulin passed away last week; her family holding still owns many shares in the company.

• Coface (1946) – A specialist in credit insurance, created to support French exports in a world under reconstruction.

• Publicis (1926, but boomed post-Trente Glorieuses) – Modern advertising took off with the Boomer consumer era.

• Société Générale des Eaux → Veolia (1953) – The predecessor of today’s global leader in water and waste services.

• Sodexo (1966, slightly later but a direct heir of the Trente Glorieuses) – Collective catering grew alongside the rise of large companies and services.

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Wealth

The 0.1%

France’s Wealthiest 74,500 Households: A Closer Look

Each year, the DGFIP (French tax authorities) profiles the 74,500 wealthiest households in France, divided into two main categories. On one side, the Very High Incomes (THR), comprising around 40,700 households earning an average of €1.03 million per year, compared to €32,000 for the rest of taxpayers. The threshold for entry into this category was set at €463,000 in annual income in 2022. On the other side, the Very High Net Worth Individuals (THP), also 40,700 households, with an average real estate wealth of €4.6 million, compared to €250,000 for other households. Together, they hold 1.8% of French household real estate wealth, amounting to €187 billion.

A portion of these households fall into both categories: around 6,900 households are simultaneously THR and THP, concentrating a significant share of the country’s wealth and tax contributions.

Are the Wealthiest Getting Richer Faster?

Between 2003 and 2016, the wealth of the THP nearly doubled, rising from €5.3 million to €10.2 million (+96%). While this is a remarkable increase, it is not as disproportionate as one might think, given that over the same period, the wealth of other households also grew by 59%. Since 2017, following the transformation of the Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune (ISF) into the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI), the real estate wealth of the THP has continued to rise but at a slower pace: +18%, compared to +27% for other property owners. Rather than an explosion of great fortunes, these figures suggest a more general rise in French real estate values.

Who Really Pays Tax?

Contrary to some misconceptions, these households contribute significantly to the country’s tax revenues. In 2022, THR households paid €10.7 billion in income tax, accounting for 13% of total national income tax, despite making up only 0.1% of taxpayers. Meanwhile, THP households covered 64.3% of the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI), amounting to €1.5 billion, despite representing just 26.7% of taxable households.

The IFI applies only to net real estate assets exceeding €1.3 million—a threshold that has not been adjusted since 2018, despite inflation and rising property prices. As a result, an increasing number of households are being drawn into this tax bracket, even if they do not fit the profile of ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Who Are the 0.1%?

Far from the stereotype of the young billionaire entrepreneur, the profiles of THR and THP households reveal quite different trends. These households are predominantly older than the national average, with many over the age of 50. They are also largely homeowners and mostly married or partnered, with only 7% of THR and THP individuals being single.

Their income structure has evolved over time. In 2006, THR households derived 46.9% of their income from employment. By 2022, this had fallen to 29.3%, while pensions and retirement income (28.2%) and capital income gained prominence. In other words, the share of rentiers and heirs has increased, reflecting a generational shift among the very wealthy.

A Highly Progressive Tax System

Despite wealth concentration, France’s tax system remains highly progressive. The bottom 50% of households earn 19.3% of total income but contribute only 6.4% of income tax. At the other end of the spectrum, the top 0.1% (THR) earn 3.1% of the nation’s income yet pay 26% of total income tax.

However, because the IFI only taxes real estate assets, it largely spares the wealthiest individuals who favour investments in shares, bonds, or company stakes. This imbalance—where real estate is taxed heavily while financial assets remain largely exempt—raises the question of whether capital taxation should be reformed.

An Exclusive Club, But Not Untouchable

THR and THP households represent a tiny fraction of the French population, but their economic and fiscal impact is substantial. Their wealth is not uniform: THR households derive their income from highly paid work and financial investments, while THP households primarily build their wealth through real estate holdings.

With an uncertain economic climate and growing pressure on public finances, one question remains: where will the state seek new revenue? While the ultra-wealthy may seem like an obvious target, taxing them remains a delicate balancing act—between generating fiscal revenue and avoiding capital flight.

Act, or it will be a slow agony
Mario Draghi

Tech Moment

Le Chat - The French IA APP

Highly advertise by President Emmanuel Macron during the evening News on French TV France 2 last week, we’ve decided to try the French new IA app “LE CHAT” from Mistral. If we found some early stage mistakes in some answers, we believe this new app is already impressive. What we’ve particularly appreciated is the referencing of the sources.

As an example, please find LE CHAT answer to:

“ Can you give us the detailed repartition of Mr Elon Musk financial participation”:

Elon Musk's wealth is primarily composed of his stakes in several leading technology companies. Here is a detailed overview of his main financial holdings:

1. Tesla:

   • Elon Musk owns approximately 13% of Tesla's capital, which represents the largest part of his wealth. This stake is valued at around $173 billion at the current stock price.

2. SpaceX:

   • Musk holds a 42% stake in SpaceX, valued at approximately $140 billion. This stake is held through a trust.

3. xAI:

   • He owns a majority stake of 54% in the artificial intelligence startup xAI, valued at $50 billion by private investors in November.

4. Twitter (X Corp):

   • In April 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion, becoming the largest shareholder with a 9.2% stake.

5. Other Holdings:

   • Musk also has stakes in other companies, including Neuralink, which specializes in human brain implants, and The Boring Company, valued at $5.7 billion, which aims to create underground infrastructure to reduce traffic.

In summary, Elon Musk's wealth is largely comprised of his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and Twitter, with additional investments in innovative companies like Neuralink and The Boring Company.

Main Markets

About B-R & H Finance

Founded in 2004, B-R & H Finance SA is a Swiss entity specialising in wealth management. We offer a full range of personalised, independent investment advisory services. Regulated by SO-Fit and approved by FINMA, we are also members of the ASG (Swiss Association of Independent Asset Managers) and work with top-tier custodian banks.

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