Geneva (awp) – Swiss pension funds closed the year 2024 with an average performance of -0.18%. Their annualized return has been 3.17% since 2006, a study by the banking group UBS indicated on Monday.
The performance of small pension funds with assets under management of less than 300 million Swiss francs was stronger than that of large pension funds with more than 1 billion Swiss francs in assets under management, with respectively – 0.19% and -0.27% last month.
By asset class, private placements (2.67%), hedge funds (2.66%) and direct real estate (1.21%) take the top spots. Swiss franc bonds (-0.19%), global stocks (-0.26%) and Swiss stocks (-1.31%) struggled more.
The December meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) made investors more cautious at the end of 2024, pushing the majority of global indices into negative territory, explains UBS. Global dollar stocks, on the other hand, grew by more than 20% last year.
The big bank’s experts expect a favorable environment for stocks given “growth and domestic demand in many economies have remained robust so far.” Market uncertainty and volatility are expected to persist “as Donald Trump’s policies take shape,” they warn.
a/jh
Swiss
