Clear separation of roles and external asset management

The investment organisation of the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution differentiates between the roles of "Definition of principles", "Operational implementation" and "Monitoring".

The principles are defined and mandates awarded by the Board of Trustees and the investment committee.

The office implements, or ensures the implementation of, the decisions taken by the Board of Trustees and the investment committee in conjunction with the partners in the capital investment unit and monitors their implementation.

In principle, the decision about which securities to buy or sell is taken by external portfolio managers.

The entire investment activity is monitored with the assistance of external controllers.

1. The management of the foundation’s assets helps to ensure that the pension objective is certain to be achieved and is done in the interest of the beneficiaries. The assessment of the certainty takes place in particular in recognition of all assets and liabilities as well as the structure and the expected development of membership figures.
2. The foundation invests only where the investment risk, taking into account the implementation costs, is offset by a risk premium that can be explained economically.
3. The foundation’s opportunities and risk management is focused on identifying, quantifying and managing opportunities and risks.
4. Basically, in terms of asset management, the foundation does not start from the belief that it can forecast the development of financial markets and macroeconomic variables. In making investments, however, it takes into account various scenarios in this regard.
5. The organisation is set up in such a way that all investment decisions are clear and level-appropriate, subject to expert knowledge and regularly monitored.
6. The foundation also takes environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria into account when managing assets in the context of opportunity and risk management. In order to ensure the long-term success of its equity investments, it actively exercises its shareholder rights.

Statement for the subject "responsible investment"

In order to be able to fulfil its legal mandate for the payment of pensions and the secure management of vested benefits accounts on a permanent basis, the foundation pursues an investment strategy geared towards sustainable success. Consideration of factors affecting the environment, social affairs and good corporate governance (ESG factors) is an integral part of the foundation’s opportunity and risk management policy.

The foundation actively exercises the voting rights on its shares in Switzerland and, to a large extent, also abroad. In order to have a dialogue with companies in which it has a stake, it joins investor pools, thus promoting a business development policy which promises to deliver sustainable success.

The foundation maintains a list of companies in which it does not invest and which it also does not finance. In particular, this includes companies affected by the sanctions regime of Switzerland and the UN.

The majority of the foundation’s assets are invested by external asset management companies. All asset management companies working for the foundation are signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). When choosing external asset management companies, their handling of sustainability criteria is explicitly taken into account.

The actual asset management is performed exclusively via asset management mandates awarded to external portfolio managers (banks or other specialist institutions) or, in individual cases, to portfolio managers within the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution.

Asset management mandates as at 1st July 2023:

The data relating to the investment activities of the portfolio managers is transmitted to and monitored by the global custodian and the fund administration, and analysed in detail and commented by the investment controller at least once a quarter.

Global custody mandates and consulting / controlling: