The investment committee of the Swiss Federal Pension Fund PUBLICA has resolved not to purchase any further Russian securities and divest its existing holdings.
On Monday, 28 February 2022, the Federal Council joined EU sanctions against Russia. As a result of these sanctions and its normative basis and in keeping with the concept of responsible investment, PUBLICA is excluding Russia from its market portfolio. The pension assets of the individuals who are insured with and receiving a pension from PUBLICA will not be invested in the Russian market.
“The EU and Swiss sanctions are a clear stand against Russia’s massive breach of international law. It goes without saying that PUBLICA supports this stance and has initiated the necessary measures,” Matthias Weber, president of the PUBLICA investment committee, stated.
PUBLICA has directly invested around CHF 170 million, less than 0.5 per cent of its total assets, in Russian securities. These holdings include shares in companies controlled by the Russian state and bonds denominated in US dollars and Russian roubles. At present, PUBLICA is not invested in any Ukrainian or Belarusian securities.
Due to the sanctions imposed by the EU, the Central Bank of Russia has closed the country’s stock market. This complicates the sale of securities currently held by PUBLICA. The investment committee nevertheless seeks to divest its Russian holdings as soon as market liquidity permits.
