17 aprile 2023
We're hiring!

AMAS is looking for a Legal Counsel 80-100% (Financial Services). We look forward to receiving your application!

3 aprile 2023
Schweizer Anlagefonds - Auch in Konkursfällen sicher

Durch die Ereignisse um die Credit Suisse und die anhaltenden Unsicherheiten im internationalen
Finanzsystem über die möglichen Szenarien und ihre Konsequenzen beschäftigt erneut die Frage: Wie
sicher sind Anlagefonds im Falle eines Konkurses einer Depotbank oder einer Fondsleitung?

17 marzo 2023
Broadening of SFC Membership base

The Swiss Finance Council (SFC) and its founding members Credit Suisse and UBS are pleased to announce that the Association of Swiss Private Banks (ABPS), the Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS), the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and the Association of Swiss Asset and Wealth Management Banks (VAV) are joining the SFC. This will strengthen further the collaboration in representing the interests of internationally active Swiss banks and asset managers with EU stakeholders.

15 marzo 2023
Motion "Secure pensions": Missed opportunity to strengthen the BVG

The Council of States has rejected the motion "Secure pensions thanks to comprehensively competent management of pension fund assets". It has thus missed an opportunity to professionalize occupational pension provision. AMAS continues to advocate measures to strengthen the 3rd contributor - i.e. the investment return - in occupational pension provision.

Pension fund assets are the largest saved assets for many Swiss people. Therefore, the boards of trustees, who are responsible for the main investment decisions, have an enormously high fiduciary responsibility. It is therefore imperative that these decision-makers have the appropriate investment knowledge.
The motion was aimed at three important adjustments to strengthen the fitness of Swiss pension funds: Improving investment competence in the (Art. 33 BVV 2), ensuring comprehensive risk management (Art. 50) and abolishing category limits to better reflect different risk structures (Art. 55 BVV2).

The Swiss pension fund system urgently needs modernisation in the central areas of investment competence and risk management in order to better exploit the return potential in the individual pension funds. For some time now, the investment return on Swiss pension fund assets, the so-called 3rd contributor, has contributed more to asset growth than employee and employer contributions. In concrete terms, the 3rd contributor has contributed an average of around CHF 30 billion per year (i.e. a cumulative CHF 450 billion) to pension fund asset growth over the past 15 years. The 3rd contributor is a supporting pillar of occupational pension provision with considerable potential. Implementing the motion would have made a significant contribution to further strengthening the pension funds. A comprehensive professionalisation of the investment management of pension fund assets has a positive effect on the exploitation of existing return potential, taking into account the risk capacity. In addition, increased investment competence in the boards of trustees also has an effect on the cost efficiency of investment management. This also has a positive effect on the net return on investment assets.

For AMAS, strengthening Swiss pension funds and individual pension provision through Pillar 3a remains a strategic priority. The association will continue to advocate strengthening the 3rd contributor and thus the occupational benefit scheme.

23 febbraio 2023
Join our team

To strengthen our competent and active team, we are looking for an open-minded and committed Sustainability Analyst (Internship 80-100 %).

16 dicembre 2022
A credible sustainable financial centre without greenwashing

Today, the Federal Council published its Sustainable Finance Strategy for the Swiss financial center up to the year 2025 and defined fields of action for measures to be developed. The Asset Management Association Switzerland (AMAS) welcomes this strategy update and, together with the other Swiss financial associations, supports the common goal of establishing a leading sustainable financial center.

Switzerland needs a holistic climate strategy
However, AMAS is convinced that this goal, and in particular the net zero goal, can only be achieved in line with a holistic Swiss climate strategy that includes all parts of the Swiss economy. AMAS therefore considers a revised Swiss CO2 law to be an elementary step towards strengthening the international competitiveness of the financial center within the framework of an overall strategy and to manifest its high credibility in sustainability.
The Federal Council has also defined the further course of action to avoid greenwashing in the financial market. Like the Federal Council, AMAS takes the view that there is a need for a clear and general understanding of when a financial product or service can be offered as sustainable. AMAS will take part in the working group that is set up implement greenwashing prevention.

Financial products must show sustainability impact
AMAS welcomes the fact that the Federal Council advocates differentiated communication to investors on the sustainability impact of investment products. Products that only include sustainability indicators or exclude certain companies lack a direct link to sustainability goals.
In its self-regulation on transparency and disclosure for collective assets with sustainability reference published last September, AMAS no longer classified such products as "sustainable". The binding requirements contained in the self-regulation serve the goal of establishing high quality standards for sustainability-related financial investments in the Swiss asset management industry.
Self-regulation continues to pursue the goal of preventing and combating greenwashing at the organizational and product levels mentioned by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). AMAS remains convinced of the subsidiary role of the state. The implementation of self-regulation and the development of its effect remain to be seen.

New product category for impact investments
Among the further measures for a leading sustainable financial center, the Federal Council has identified the mainstreaming of impact investments. A working group with industry representatives is to examine the introduction of a new product category oriented towards the characteristics of a Long-Term Investment Fund (LTIF). Another working group is also to develop measures to ensure that financial institutions active in the private client and retail segment can meet the high requirements for the quality of advice to distribute impact investments in the form of an LTIF. AMAS considers this necessary, as such products have a higher degree of complexity and are associated with risks.
In principle, an LTIF in the impact sector could achieve the goal of increasing the volume of project financing by opening a new asset class to private investors. Previous experience with the European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) has shown that this would only be effective if the minimum investment threshold were set at a correspondingly low level (e.g. CHF 10,000).

15 dicembre 2022
Wir feiern 30 Jahre

Unser Verband wird 30 Jahre alt! Und so feiern unsere Mitglieder und Vorstände das Jubiläum:

14 dicembre 2022
ASIP ESG-Reporting 2022

Der ASIP verfolgt daher das Ziel, über ein regelmässiges, ganzheitliches Reporting die Transparenz bezüglich ESG-Umsetzung zu erhöhen. Im Fokus steht eine transparente Offenlegung von ESG-Informationen, mit welchen alle involvierten Stakeholder nachverfolgen können, wie die Pensionskassen investiert sind und welche Entwicklungsschritte bezüglich Nachhaltigkeit realisiert werden. Dazu soll der heute publizierte ESG-Reporting-Standard dienen. In ein ESG-Reporting gehören qualitative Aussagen zur Art und Weise, wie die Pensionskassen mit diesem Thema umgehen, und auch quantitative
Angaben zu einzelnen Anlagen.
Der vorliegende Standard wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Verbänden - u.a. der Asset Management Association, Swiss Sustainable Finance und den Anlagestiftungen - erarbeitet.

24 novembre 2022
Pacta Climate Test 2022: Potential for climate-friendly financial flows

In the PACTA Climate Test published today, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has again taken stock of the climate compatibility of financial flows. While the FOEN identifies potential for further development in the report, AMAS points out that Swiss asset managers provide their clients also with other transparent methods for the differentiated assessment of the climate compatibility of a portfolio.

9 novembre 2022
Vorwürfe an Schweizer Asset Manager und falsche Thesen im Buch «Das Rentendebakel»: Die AMAS bezieht Stellung

Im kürzlich erschienenen Buch «Das Rentendebakel» weisen die Autoren auf Systemfehler im Schweizer Vorsorgesystem der 2. Säule hin und verurteilen die Finanzindustrie pauschal, Vorsorgegelder zu verspielen. Die AMAS hatte im Vorfeld zu einem Fragenkatalog der Autoren für das Buch ausführlich Stellung genommen. Die Antworten der AMAS sind in dem Buch jedoch kaum und nur mit Weglassungen berücksichtigt worden. Um das verzerrte und teils schlicht falsche Bild zu berichtigen, welches in dem Buch zur Rolle der Asset Manager im Schweizer Vorsorgesystem gezeichnet wird, legt die AMAS zu den Hauptpunkten hier nochmals die Fakten dar.