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Performance and governance of Swiss pension funds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2008

MANUEL AMMANN  and
ANDREAS ZINGG
MANUEL AMMANN
Affiliation:
University of St. Gallen, Swiss Institute of Banking and Finance, Rosenbergstrasse 52, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected])
ANDREAS ZINGG
Affiliation:
University of St. Gallen, Swiss Institute of Banking and Finance, Rosenbergstrasse 52, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland (e-mail: [email protected], [email protected])
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Abstract

We investigate the relationship between pension fund governance and investment performance. For this purpose, we develop the Swiss Pension Fund Governance Index (SPGI) which is a standard metric for the governance quality of Swiss pension funds. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 96 pension funds with total assets of more than CHF 190 billion. We find evidence for governance issues in the area organization and target setting. Our results support the widespread hypothesis of a positive relationship between pension fund governance and investment performance.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Pension Economics & Finance , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 95 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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