Mercer’s Swiss business has officially partnered with independent domestic pension fund consultancy CMP Egliada after a year-long pilot phase.

The organisations said they wanted to deepen their collaboration in the long term.

“We have seen that the collaboration works well and our customers are very satisfied,” said Samuel Lisse, CEO for Mercer Switzerland.

Three-person consulting company CMP Egliada was founded in September 2017. The word ‘egliada’, according to the company, means overview, perspective or insight, as well as far-sighted in Switzerland’s Romansch language. The ‘CMP’ stands for the names of the founding partners: Livio Cathomen, Ursula May, and Matthias Pfiffner, Cathomen told IPE.

In a statement he said: “Mercer’s broad range of services enables us to provide a holistic approach to serving our clients, giving us and our clients access to an international network of specialists.” 

Vontobel restructuring

Vontobel Asset Management has combined its multi-asset class and Vescore businesses to form a single CHF40bn (€35bn) multi-asset boutique.

Christophe Bernard, chief strategist and head of the existing multi-asset business, is departing in connection with the move, with Daniel Seiler, Vescore’s chief investment officer, set to lead the combined team.

Bernard had decided to leave Vontobel after the transfer of responsibilities was complete, according to a statement from the manager.

Investors could now choose between systematic, fundamental or combined strategies “based on a state-of-the-art risk management setup”, it added.

Systematic solutions would continue to be offered under the Vescore brand, while more fundamental solutions would be offered under the Vontobel Asset Management brand.

“Markets change all the time, so investors and we must adapt continuously,” said Seiler. “By combining skill-based and systematic expertise in one platform, Vontobel can access a wider range of alpha sources.”

compenswiss legal status switch

Government ministers have approved the final arrangements for compenswiss to become a federal institution with its own legal status with effect from 1 January.

The three social security funds whose assets (totalling €30.9bn) it manages will be transferred to the new entity. They were previously legally independent.

Christophe Schaer, the funds’ chief investment strategist, talked to IPE about the benefits of the new arrangement earlier this year.

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