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SWITZERLAND - Swiss pension funds posted a half-year return of 6.2% on the back of strong returns from domestic and foreign equities.

SWITZERLAND - JPMorgan Asset Management has appointed Roland Vogel of BZ Bank as country head for Switzerland.

SWITZERLAND - The median manager in the Swiss Balanced Universe returned 3.9% for the second quarter, up from 2.3% in Q1, according to WM Performance Services, the performance measurement arm of State Street. This compares with benchmark returns of 4.5%...

SWITZERLAND - The Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) Swiss Pension Fund Index performed "very well" once again in the second quarter of 2005, rising 3.71% from 105.70 to 109.62.

GERMANY - Hewitt Associates, a global human resources services firm, and Bode Grabner Beye, a pension and benefits specialist, have formed a joint venture to capitalise on increasing demand for pensions services across Germany.

SWITZERLAND - Barclays Global Investors (BGI) has established a local presence in Switzerland with the opening of an office in Geneva. Although BGI already manages e4.5bn for Swiss investors, including Publica and the City of Zurich, the establishment...

SWITZERLAND - Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich) has scrapped its defined benefit pension arrangements for employees and switched to defined contribution.

AUSTRIA - Directors at Allianz Austria have suggested that the country's new insurance-based second pillar scheme, the Betriebliche Kollektivversich-erung, could generate a similar volume of premiums to the existing pensionskassen within the next five...

GERMANY - Germany's Social Services Minister, Ulla Schmidt, has announced plans to bring forward employer contributions to the country's first pillar scheme in a move that could net it a one-off e3.2bn (US$4.1bn) windfall.

GERMANY - AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has announced the appointment of Frank Richter as director, institutional business based in Germany.