The SFr34bn (e21bn) PKB (Pensionskasse des Bundes) pension scheme for Swiss government employees began investing in securities in July, with a view to placing SFr4.2bn in shares and SFr 800m in foreign bonds before the year end.
The process will continue until 2004, by which time the PKB fund will have invested SFr24bn, principally through the changing of government loans into marketable securities.
Julius Bär Asset Management, Bank Sarasin, Lombard Odier and Zürcher Kantonalbank have all won active mandates for Swiss shares.
Pictet and Crédit Suisse Asset Management will run the indexed portfolios, and ABN AMRO, Deutsche Asset Management International, JP Morgan, Schroder and Scudder are the active overseas equities managers. Barclays Global and Crédit Suisse won the passive foreign shares briefs. The fund’s foreign bonds are entrusted to Allfonds Investments (part of Bayerische Vereinsbank), Fiduciary Trust and Swissca Portfolio Management. Erich Solenthaler