Institutional investors: pension funds, insurers, foundations

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Swiss sustainable finance is driven first and foremost by institutional investors, a significant proportion of whom are based in Geneva. Swiss pension funds manage assets of the order of CHF 1,200 billion. A growing share of them have adopted responsible investment policies, prompted by their members, by the umbrella associations and by initiatives such as the pension funds’ climate alliance.¹ Insurers, subject to their own risk management requirements, have integrated climate risks into their models. Foundations, which are numerous in Geneva, align their investments with their mission. These investors mandate Geneva managers and require detailed sustainability reports from them, which has spread the practices throughout the financial centre.

For private wealth management, the effect is indirect but real. The tools, data and methods developed for institutional investors are made available to private clients, whose sustainability preferences must be ascertained. Geneva’s family offices, described in Part E, occupy an intermediate position. Equipped with resources comparable to those of institutional investors, they apply to the family wealth responsible investment policies that are often more demanding than those of pension funds, because the family bears the consequences directly.

Notes

Association suisse des institutions de prévoyance (Swiss Pension Fund Association), page “Faits” (asip.ch): total assets of CHF 1,066 billion at the end of 2022, 1,355 pension institutions in 2023, 4,751,360 active members (2023) and 1,317,867 pension recipients (2022); Federal Council, press release of 23 December 2024 on the 2023 pension fund statistics (admin.ch): net investment result of CHF 54 billion (against a loss of CHF 105 billion in 2022), fluctuation reserves of CHF 94 billion. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Institutional investors: pension funds, insurers, foundations

Notes

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