SWITZERLAND - The management board of Swiss pension fund lobby group ASIP has nominated Christoph Ryter to succeed current president Hans Ender.

ASIP said Ryter's nomination would be put to a vote of its membership during a meeting on May 11. Ryter is managing director of the pension fund for the aluminium producer Alcan.

"In Christoph Ryter, ASIP's board has found an excellent candidate for the presidency. For the first time, a managing director of a pension fund has been nominated to the post," ASIP said.

"At the same time, there would be a generational change on ASIP's board, as he would be its youngest member," the group added. Ryter was born in 1967.

Beyond Ryter, ASIP has nominated three other new members to its board. The other 16 members of the board are standing for re-election at the May 11 meeting.

The new nominations are: Jacques Hoffmann, director of the pension fund for Switzerland's pharmaceuticals association; Vera Kupper, head of investments at the pension fund for Zurich city employees; and Martin Leuenberger, director of social institutions at an association for Swiss builders.

Ryter's nomination comes just two months before the government is to unveil legislation aimed at improving regulation and corporate governance of Swiss pension funds. The move follows several high-profile scandals at the schemes recently.

A key part of the legislation is a ban on so-called "parallel running" - where Pensionskassen managers trade the same shares as the schemes that employ them.

The government also wants to create a national regulator to assist the cantons in oversight of pension funds. The national body cannot, however, overrule regulatory decisions made by the cantons.

While ASIP had formerly insisted that no further regulation of Swiss pension funds was necessary, it cautiously welcomed the government's legislation last month.

The lobby plans to hold a one-day conference on the legislation on Thursday in Zurich. Key spokesmen at the event are outgoing president Ender and Hanspeter Konrad, ASIP's managing director.

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