Mon, May 13th 2024
Swiss pension funds see first performance dip after three positive months, marking an unexpected setback in April 2024.
Swiss pension funds faced a downturn in April 2024, recording a negative average performance of -0.95% after fees, marking the first loss after three consecutive months of gains. This development emerged from the latest data from a UBS sample comprising around 100 pension funds.
Despite the setback in April, the cumulative return since January remains positive, totaling 3.06%. The funds had previously enjoyed a steady rise with increments of 2.10% in March, 1.38% in February, and 0.52% in January.
The range of performance across the funds narrowed slightly in April to 1.76 percentage points. A medium-sized pension fund, managing assets between CHF 300 million and CHF 1 billion, topped the performance charts with the least negative outcome at -0.20%. Conversely, the smallest funds, those with less than CHF 300 million in assets, were the hardest hit, showing a return of -1.96%.
Performance varied significantly among different asset classes during the month. Swiss equities saw the sharpest decline, falling by 2.52%, followed by global equities which dropped by 1.26%. Bond markets also faced challenges, with Swiss and foreign currency bonds decreasing by 0.24% and 0.59%, respectively.
This dip in performance comes amidst broader financial market uncertainties, influenced by geopolitical tensions and persistent concerns over high U.S. interest rates.
©Keystone/SDA
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