Raiffeisen and Vontobel launch innovative retirement savings fund
St. Gallen and Zurich (ots)
Pension Invest Futura 50 is a new investment fund launched by Raiffeisen and Vontobel that combines a vehicle for retirement savings with the principles of sustainability, and is the first fund of its type to be marketed in Switzerland. It is suitable for investors for whom ethical, social and environmental values are important.
More and more shoppers are choosing fair trade and organic products. And more and more investors seek to put their money into companies that achieve economic success sustainably, and whose business strategies pursue ethical, environmental and social goals. The newly launched fund Raiffeisen-Vontobel Pension Invest Futura 50 now enables private individuals to invest their retirement savings in just this type of company. Until now, in most cases sustainable pension vehicles have been the province of investment foundations. Thanks to the new investment fund - the first of its type - investors now have access to a flexible and transparent instrument that brings their financial retirement goals (for example their Pillar 3a pension savings arrangements) into harmony with their personal values.
The rating procedure is crucial for any sustainability fund. What distinguishes the ethical and environmental evaluation process used for Raiffeisen-Vontobel Pension Invest Futura 50 is the fact that it is conducted systematically and autonomously by the independent rating agency INrate. Only securities that are rated as sustainable in this process are included in the investment universe. From this universe, Vontobel portfolio managers select the investments that are most attractive from a financial point of view for inclusion in the portfolio.
With a maximum equity weighting of 50 per cent, Raiffeisen-Vontobel Pension Invest Futura 50 is suitable for private individuals seeking an attractive investment vehicle for their Pillar 3a savings or Pillar 2 vested benefits. The fund is geared to people for whom ethical, environmental and social aspects are important. Investors planning to invest in the fund should have a long investment horizon (five or more years) and be prepared to live with fluctuations in the price of their investment.
Units of the fund (an investment fund under Swiss law) will be issued for the first time on 1 March 2006 at an initial issue price of CHF 100.00. The management fee is 1.1% p.a. The subscription period will run from 13 to 24 February 2006 (4.00 p.m.). The custodian bank is Bank Vontobel AG, and the fund management company is Vontobel Fonds Services AG. Subscription orders can be submitted via any Raiffeisen Bank. Vontobel will also offer the fund to third-party distributors and institutional investors.
Raiffeisen already has four comparably managed sustainability funds that are ideally suited for people wishing to invest outside tied pension schemes. For example, in January, Raiffeisen Futura Swiss Stock received the Lipper Fund Award 2006 as the best Swiss equity fund over three years.
Raiffeisen-Vontobel Pension Invest Futura 50 is an investment fund under Swiss law. This media release is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to buy or subscribe to units. Investments should be made only after carefully reading the current sales prospectus with integrated fund regulations. Documentation is available free of charge from the Swiss Association of Raiffeisen Banks, Wassergasse 24, 9001 St. Gallen or Vontobel Fonds Services AG, Dianastrasse 9, 8022 Zurich.
Contact:
Franz Würth
Head of Public Relations
Raiffeisen Group
P.O. Box
9001 St. Gallen
Tel. (direct): +41/71/225'84'84
e-mail: franz.wuerth@raiffeisen.ch
Daniel Funk
Corporate Communications
Vontobel Group
Tödistrasse 27
8022 Zurich
Tel. (direct): +41/58/283'56'78