Migros Pension Fund presents solid business figures
Migros Pension Fund (MPK) achieved a positive net return of 1.6 percent in the 2015 financial year in what the company says was a "challenging market environment". The result was characterized by the low interest rate environment and a solid contribution to earnings from real estate investments.
With its result, MPK outperformed the comparable Pictet-BVG-25-plus-Index (1.21 %) in 2015. It closed the financial year with an expense surplus of CHF 169.0 million. This includes 53.4 million for the increase of the fluctuation reserve to the target level of 3.2 billion. The coverage ratio decreased by one percentage point to 120.5 percent, thus exceeding the target requirement by 1.5 percentage points.
The investments of the Fund amount to 21.1 billion. Of this, 8.0 billion (37.8 %) is attributable to nominal value investments and 6.6 and 6.5 billion (31.4 % and 30.8 %, respectively) to equity and real estate investments. The number of insured persons at the end of 2015 was 80,800, of which 28,700 were pensioners.
MPK Managing Director Christoph Ryter said the investment years 2012 to 2014 had been "far above expectations" and last year now slightly below. By the end of the year, MPK wants to analyze how it will respond to the situation of rising life expectancy and low return prospects. The board of trustees had already decided on initial small changes at its November meeting, such as supplementing real estate investments with domestic and foreign infrastructure investments, Ryter said.
MPK makes direct investments only in sole ownership. Real estate investments are made in residential or commercial properties (core segment), project developments or undeveloped land. The acquisition of building rights is also permitted. MPK states the investment volume per property to be approximately 20 to 100 million. (mr)
