Data basis

The PPCmetrics Pension Ticker covers over 400 pension funds with a total of around CHF 900 billion in assets. The key figures of the PPCmetrics Pension Ticker are based on an approximated daily update of the asset allocation, the realised return and the target return.
The published key figures therefore change over time as a result of the financial market performance, but also because of changes in the asset allocation or the peer group composition, as well as the available pension fund data. In addition, the return on illiquid investments is sometimes estimated using liquid equivalents, which can lead to deviations from the effective portfolio return. The published key figures are always expressed as medians.

Definitions

Year to date performance: This figure denotes the average (median) return of the peer group realised to date since 1 January of the current year (approximation).

Actuarial funded status: To calculate the actuarial funded status, pension assets are set in relation to pension liabilities. To compute pension liabilities, the plan benefits are discounted at the technical interest rate. The actuarial funded status is the com-mon regulatory measure of a pension fund’s financial situation (Art. 44 BVV 2).

Economic funded status: The economic funded status corresponds to the ratio of pension assets to guaranteed liabilities, which are valued at the current risk-free market interest rates and do not include liabilities from guaranteed benefits that have not yet been vested, for example, future pension losses. Because of the consistent (mark to market) valuation of assets and liabilities, the economic funded status is a key figure for pension risk management.

Economic funded status incl. future benefits: The definition is analogous to the economic funded status, though the denominator, pension liabilities, does also include guaranteed benefits that have not yet been vested (e.g. future pension losses), estimated over the next five years.

How can we assist you?

As a leading consultant for pension funds, we have extensive knowledge of the Swiss pension fund market.

We would be pleased to assist you with the following services:

Extensive consulting in Asset and Liability Management (e.g. analysis of return requirements and risk capacity, optimisation of the investment strategy and assessment of new asset classes).
Individual peer group analyses of funded status, interest rates, returns, asset allocation, fees and many more, tailored to the needs of your pension fund.
Online access to extensive peer group comparisons of the structure of Swiss pension funds via our interactive web platform myPPCmetrics.