Vita Joint Foundation: above-average return

Vita Joint Foundation: above-average return

Zurich
The Vita Joint Foundation achieved a return of 1.2% in 2015. The largest semi-autonomous pension foundation thereby achieved investment performance significantly higher than the median of 0.7% for Swiss pension funds, despite a difficult investment year.
In 2015, the Vita Joint Foundation generated an annual return of 1.2% in a demanding investment environment. The investment performance for Swiss pension funds in 2015 was 0.7%, but Vita Joint Foundation exceeded this by an additional 0.5% (performance comparison by the Swiss Association of Pension Funds ASIP). This is significantly higher than the important pension fund indices, the CS PK Index (0.9%) and the UBS PK Barometer (0.8%). You can find more details in the Investment Report 12/31/2015.

Insured benefit from high interest rates

In the years from 2012 to 2014, the broadly diversified investment strategy pursued by the Vita Joint Foundation already earned above-average returns on the savings capital of the insured. Thanks to this excellent earnings basis and an innovative pension planning model, the Vita Joint Foundation can pay high interest on the pension capital: 2.25% on mandatory savings and 3% on super-mandatory savings, even in the current low interest rate environment.  


Careful management of risks

The volatile investment environment and the current market correction give no reason for the Vita Joint Foundation to change its broadly diversified investment strategy: “Our strategy is geared to long-term security and coordinated with the structure of the insured of our semi-autonomous foundation,” says managing director Samuel Lisse, adding, “Our innovative pension planning model also absorbs value fluctuations in the capital markets with a capital buffer.” The security of the pension assets is the most important goal of Vita Joint Foundation. “In 2016, we will continue to focus on carefully managing risks of the capital market,” sums up Lisse. 

Success thanks to innovation

The innovative pension model of the Vita Joint Foundation allows a build up of interest reserves in strong investment years with pension assets that exceed the target coverage ratio of 106% on October 31. From these interest reserves, the Vita Joint Foundation then gradually distributes additional interest to those insured over the next five years. Over time, this secure model has resulted in balanced interest earned for the retirement assets and made it possible for the Vita Joint Foundation to pay interest up to 1% higher than the BVG minimum interest rate four times in a row.

The largest semi-autonomous joint foundation with some 19,700 companies

The Vita Joint Foundation is the biggest semi-autonomous joint foundation in Switzerland with over 117,000 insured and some 19,700 companies. It manages pension fund assets worth CHF 10.7 billion.

Zurich Insurance Company Ltd and Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd are responsible for dealing with the commercial and personal lines of the Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Zurich Switzerland is one of the largest insurers in Switzerland and appears on the market under the names Zurich and Zurich Connect.

Zurich Insurance Group is a leading multi-line insurance provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East as  well as other markets. It offers a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services for individuals, small businesses, mid-sized and large companies as well as multinational orporations. Zurich employs about 55,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries. The Group, formerly known as Zurich Financial Services Group, is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt program (ZURVY) which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.