SWITZERLAND - Swiss Pensionskassen returned an average of 10.8% and 11.56% last year, depending on the data calculation method selected.

State Street, which traditionally does not include direct real estate in its pension fund index, said its clients generated an average return of 11.56%  in 2009.

It noted the final quarter contributed 1.32% to the year's performance and was the third consecutive quarter to deliver a positive performance.

In contrast, Credit Suisse said Swiss Pensionskassen produced a 1.7% positive return on average among its sample for the last quarter, and December was the best month in terms of performance delivering 1.5% while October generated an average negative return of -0.4%.

Overall, the funds assessed for the Credit Suisse index averaged 10.8% in 2009.

The banking group also noted that Pensionskassen increased their foreign equities holdings by 1 percentage point between Q3 and Q4 last year and by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year.

The share of direct real estate holdings was also increased by 1 percentage points while the weighting of Swiss bonds was decreased by two percentage points.