Direct ownership of domestic property helped Swiss pension funds bring up their performance from just under 1% on average last year to over 2%. According to the Credit Suisse Pensionskassenindex, average returns of funds – which have the Swiss banking group as their custodian – were at 2.04% for 2007. State Street calculated a similar index based on their clients› portfolios with a return of just 0.66%. Credit Suisse looks at all asset classes, including direct real estate and mortgages, for the calculation  but which are not held by a custodian. State Street confirmed they did not include these assets “on purpose”. Credit Suisse noted the spread between their worst and their best performing client was larger than in previous years with returns from -2% to 6%. State Street confirmed for the first time in years only very few Pensionskassen will reach the legally required minimum return of 2.5%.

 

Swiss funds saved by direct real estate