For the three-month period ended March 31, 2015, 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 by 3.91% in US dollars. For the same period, the Fund’s share price performance increased by 3.59%, as the discount at which the Fund traded its shares widened. This compares with an increase of 4.89% in the Swiss equity markets, as measured by the Swiss Performance Index (the “Index” or “SPI”) as measured in US dollars.

Economic environment during the period under review

Global economic review

Global economic growth reported for the final quarter of 2014 was weaker than the rate posted in the third quarter. This was mainly due to a softening of data reported for the US, where the real GDP growth rate registered in the third quarter more than halved from 5% to 2.2%. In the Eurozone, there was a moderate acceleration from 0.8% to 0.9%. In the UK, the rate also advanced slightly from 2.8% to 3%. Japan recovered to 1.5% quarterly growth after a slump in the previous two quarters, and China was stable at 7.3%.

In the US, although the quantitative easing (QE) process has been terminated, the Federal Reserve appears reluctant to start raising short-term interest rates. Meanwhile, in large part due to the slow pace of economic activity and lower energy prices, the massive

QE effort of the European Central Bank (ECB) does not appear to be causing inflationary pressures in consumer prices.

In terms of Swiss monetary policy, the “big event” during the reporting period was the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) abolishment of the floor for the Euro exchange rate against the Swiss franc, which occurred on January 15, 2015. This led to an approximate 15% rise of the Swiss franc against all other currencies. The US dollar subsequently continued its rise against most currencies, including the Swiss franc. As a result, while the Swiss franc strengthened by just over 2% against the US dollar for the first quarter 2015, it strengthened by approximately 15% against the Euro.

Swiss economic review

Swiss real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2014 grew by 0.6% (not annualized)—equal to the third quarter. The preliminary growth estimate for 2014 came at 2.0% according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The strongest contribution, accounting for 1.4% of the 2.0% GDP growth, came from the balance of trade. Exports of goods (excluding valuables) advanced by 4.8% while imports grew only by 1.3% (however, this component is expected to change in 2015, after the SNB abandoned the floor for the EUR/CHF exchange rate). Private consumption, which was a more stable component in 2014 and is expected to remain so, grew by about 1% and contributed approximately 0.5% to annual GDP.

Market environment during the period under review

Equity and bond markets performed well during the first quarter, primarily driven by the start of QE by the ECB. Most stock markets experienced positive performance in local currencies, but when measured in US dollars, some of the strong advances were offset by the significant decline that most currencies experienced—except the Swiss franc. In terms of regional performance in local currencies, the MSCI Europe stood out when measured in Euros, having returned 16.75% on the prospect of better economic growth and the ECB’s QE, which however led to a decline of the common currency, resulting in a return for the MSCI Europe of only 3.52% in US dollars. In general, when looking at the performance in US dollars, regional or country index performance had marginal variance, and the SPI emerged as a leader with an advance of 4.89%, compared to an almost flat performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 during the same period.

Within the Swiss equity market, there were important differences both in terms of sectors and stocks. Generally, stocks with high dividend yields fared better, with some exceptions: Adecco, Geberit and UBS were among the top performers within the blue chip Swiss Market Index, despite paying dividends at a rate below that of the Index. The performance of the three heavyweights can be found around the median. Novartis slightly outperformed, while Roche lagged slightly due to a drug development set-back in December, and Nestlé was subdued due to

its 2015 guidance for organic growth, which was below its long-term ambitions. Small and mid caps moderately outperformed the Index by 1.6%.

Performance

The Fund’s performance benefited in absolute USD terms from some of its larger positions, i.e., Novartis, Roche, Lindt & Sprungli, Nestlé, Tecan UBS, Syngenta and Swiss Life. Some smaller holdings also were helpful for absolute performance: Leonteq, Basilea, Implenia, Evolva, Lonza, Clariant, Helvetia and DKSH. These stocks also contributed positively to performance compared against the return of the SPI, with three exceptions: Novartis (outperformed the Index and is held at an underweight due to the Fund’s industry concentration limitations), UBS (outperformed the Index and is held at an underweight) and Swiss Life (underperformed the Index slightly and is held at an overweight). Among the Fund’s larger positions, Swatch and Richemont contributed negatively on an absolute and relative basis. Other stocks that had an absolute and relative negative impact were Belimo, Sonova, Bucher, OC Oerlikon, Bruckhardt Compression and Logitech.

During the period, there was an overall neutral effect from stock and sector allocation on the Fund’s NAV return of 3.91% in US dollars, which was equivalent to the performance of the Index’s performance of 4.89% before taking into account the impact of private equity holdings, Fund expenses and dividend reinvestments.

Private Equity Investments

The value of the Fund’s private equity investments decreased during the reporting period. The limited partnership Zurmont Madison Private Equity LLP distributed the proceeds of two further divestments, but also reduced the value of its holdings. There was a minor negative revaluation at SelFrag, reflecting the terms of a capital increase announced in the first quarter that the Fund chose not participate in and which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

Portfolio changes

There has been a rather low turnover, both in dollar terms and in the number of portfolio purchases and sales. In total, there were 8 purchases and 6 sales of listed equities on a net basis during the quarter. As of March 31, 2015, there are 35 listed companies held by the Fund, 6 direct investments into private equity firms and two participations held in private equity limited partnerships.

In the first quarter of 2015, we added three new positions to the Fund: Airopack, gategroup and Sunrise Communications.

Airopack is a small company with a focus on innovative packaging and dispenser solutions, including dispensing technology driven by air pressure without the need for chemical propellants. Its largest client is Procter & Gamble, which is offering under the Gillette brand first products (razor gel) with the dispenser solution of Airopack.

Travel and Leisure company gategroup is an independent provider of products and services for on-board passengers in trains and airplanes. Its core operation is airline catering. We had several meetings with management and with the company’s chairman as well as with an activist shareholder. We gained confidence that the operational underperformance of the business will be addressed and therefore decided to buy a position in this stock.

Sunrise Communications is a telecommunication company with operations solely in Switzerland. It is a top company in a highly concentrated and attractive Swiss market with high brand loyalty. We decided to participate in the company’s IPO as we like the stable nature of the business and as it was priced at a discount to Swisscom, the incumbent industry leader.

We increased the Fund’s positions in Swiss Life, Feintool and OC Oerlikon when these stocks sold off after the SNB’s decision to abandon the Swiss franc minimum exchange rate to the Euro.

During the quarter we completely disposed of our position in Sika. While the stock had performed well since our acquisition, we disposed of our position after evaluating the potential impact of an ongoing legal dispute involving the company’s founding family.

In addition, we reduced several positions that either had a strong stock price performance or where we believe the market is underestimating the impact of the SNB’s decision regarding the Swiss franc/Euro exchange rate.

Outlook

Global economic outlook

Expectations for 2015 are for a moderate recovery, although the global economy softened toward the end of last year, mainly driven by the US. Also, lower commodity prices, particularly the large slide in oil

prices, led to concerns over global growth. While these have a dampening effect in the short term, we believe they should lead to economic tailwinds in the long term, which reinforces our view that the economy should accelerate modestly after the US digests a weak first quarter. Thanks to the ECB’s large quantitative easing program and the ensuing slide of the Euro, growth is expected to pick up from a low level in Europe, while a weaker yen should have a comparable effect on the Japanese economy. Emerging economies generally are likely to benefit from an upswing in advanced economies, although commodity dependent countries such as Russia and Brazil may continue to be impacted by heightened volatility in commodities. In contrast, net energy importers such as India should benefit, although factors such as exchange rate links to the US dollar, a tighter US monetary policy and a strong dollar might weigh on growth. Meanwhile, China is expected to decelerate as the property market cools and business capex is held back by overcapacity, but it should still grow solidly above other major economies.

Swiss economic outlook

Although last year’s Swiss real GDP once again outpaced the Euro area and accelerated to an annualized preliminary growth rate of 2% in the fourth quarter of 2014, forecasts for 2015 have been lowered to 0.9% by SECO after the SNB decided to abandon the minimum exchange rate against the Euro. This will likely dampen the growth of an export oriented economy like Switzerland considerably, and we deem the official

estimate as optimistic. However, the weakness can be categorized as transient, as so far there are no reasons to expect a significant further strengthening of the Swiss franc. Therefore, our outlook for 2016 is again more realistic, and a reversion to 1.8% growth is currently expected.

Investment view

In terms of our overall market view, we expect strong liquidity and modest improvements in growth to continue to support equities despite the increase in valuations. We have, however, also highlighted previously that we expect volatility to increase from its currently low level. This would not be atypical for the later stages of a bull market.

Looking at the Swiss market, we should not be surprised that, after the SNB’s decision, earnings estimates have fallen about 12% measured against where they stood at the start of 2015. While they have recovered slightly since the end of February, this is related to the strong correlation between Swiss earnings and the US dollar and should not yet be interpreted as a sign that overall earnings fundamentals have improved.

We currently think that the geopolitical risks are more or less confined to Russia, the Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa. We also expect the current Euro exit discussion to be limited to Greece. As a result, there is currently a lower risk for global markets, but the source of many of these issues emanates

from unexpected and irrational human behavior, and therefore they should not be disregarded completely.

As long as these risks do not become reality, equity markets should continue to rise. The liquidity injected by central banks is so significant and other asset classes, in particular bonds, are offering such low yields that the additional money created by central banks will eventually flow into equities. However, we expect volatility to increase, as it is typical in the later stages of an equity bull market. We do not expect a near end of the bull market, but rather would like to highlight the increased risk of a more significant set-back, after which we would expect equity indices to advance to even higher levels. As price-conscious investors, we are prone to add or increase positions in stocks during potential market corrections when prices become very attractive and when there is more valuation dispersion among stocks than we currently discern.

Ultimately, we continue to believe that Swiss equities are a good investment, especially in the long term. Many Swiss companies are global leaders of industry and we believe that Swiss companies will be able to successfully cope with a strengthening Swiss franc, as they have done over the last several decades.

The Plan

The Fund’s Dividend Reinvestment Plan (the “Plan”) offers a convenient way for you to reinvest capital gains distributions and ordinary income dividends, payable in whole or in part in cash, in additional shares of the Fund.

Some of the Plan features are:

The following are answers to frequently asked questions about the Plan.

How do I enroll in the Plan?

If you are holding certificates for your shares, contact American Stock Transfer & Trust Company (AST) at the address shown on the following page. If your shares are held in a brokerage account, contact your broker. Not all brokerage firms permit their clients to participate in dividend reinvestment plans such as the Plan and, even if your brokerage firm does permit participation, you may not be able to transfer your Plan

shares to another broker who does not permit participation. Your brokerage firm will be able to advise you about its policies.

How does the Plan work?

The cash portion of any dividends or distributions you receive, payable in whole or in part in cash, will be reinvested in shares of the Fund. The number of shares credited to your Plan account as a result of the reinvestment will depend upon the relationship between the Fund’s market price and its net asset value per share on the record date of the distribution or dividend, as described below:

If AST begins to buy Fund shares for your account at a discount to net asset value but, during the course of the purchases, the Fund’s market price increases to a level above the net asset

value, AST will complete its purchases, even though the result may be that the average price paid for the purchases exceeds net asset value.

The stock portion of any dividends or distributions you receive is not subject to the Plan. When the Fund declares dividends or distributions payable either in (i) stock or (ii) stock or cash at the election of the stockholder, you will receive newly issued shares of the Fund (unless you elect to receive your dividend or distribution in cash) on terms and conditions that are otherwise identical to those of the Plan.

Will the entire amount of my distribution or dividend be reinvested?

The entire amount of your distribution or dividend, payable in cash, will be reinvested in additional Fund shares. If a balance remains after the purchase of whole shares, your account will be credited with any fractional shares (rounded to three decimal places) necessary to complete the reinvestment.

How can I sell my shares?

You can sell any or all of the shares in your Plan account by contacting AST. AST charges $15 for the transaction plus $.10 per share for this service. You can also withdraw your shares from your Plan account and sell them through your broker.

Does participation in the Plan change the tax status of my distributions or dividends?

No. The distributions and dividends are paid in cash and their taxability is the same as if you received the cash. It is only after the payment of distributions and dividends that AST reinvests the cash for your account.

Can I get certificates for the shares in the Plan?

AST will issue certificates for whole shares upon your request. Certificates for fractional shares will not be issued.

Is there any charge to participate in the Plan?

There is no charge to participate in the Plan. You will, however, pay a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred with respect to AST’s open market purchases of shares for your Plan account.

How can I discontinue my participation in the Plan?

Contact your broker or AST in writing. If your shares are in a Plan account, AST will send you a certificate for your whole shares and a check for any fractional shares.

Where can I direct my questions and correspondence?

Contact your broker, or contact AST as follows:

By mail:

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company

PO Box 922

Wall Street Station

New York, NY 10269-0560

Through the Internet:

www.amstock.com

Through AST’s automated voice response System:

1-888-556-0425

AST will furnish you with a copy of the Terms and Conditions of the Plan without charge.

Independent Directors and Officers

Investment Adviser

Schroder Investment Management North America, Inc.

875 Third Avenue, 22^nd Floor

New York, NY 10022

(800) 730-2932

Investment Sub-adviser

Schroder Investment Management North America Ltd.

31 Gresham Street

London, EC2V 7QA

Administrator

Citi Fund Services Ohio, Inc.

Custodian

Citibank, N.A.

Transfer Agent

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company

59 Maiden Lane

Plaza Level

New York, NY 10038

(888) 556-0425

Legal Counsel

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

The Investment Adviser