Updated:
Credit Suisse Anlagestiftung 2. Säule (CSA 2)
Credit Suisse's Swiss pension investment foundation pools capital for affiliated plans into buyout funds and direct real estate across Switzerland and...
Credit Suisse Anlagestiftung 2. Säule (CSA 2)
Credit Suisse Anlagestiftung 2. Säule was established to provide the bank's Swiss pension clients with a pooled vehicle for alternative and real-asset exposure. It is structured as a Swiss investment foundation, a nonprofit legal form governed by a board of trustees drawn from the Credit Suisse ecosystem — including Jürg Roth and Raymond Rüttimann, the latter also serving as head of real estate at Credit Suisse Asset Management. The foundation's primary client is the Pensionskasse der Credit Suisse, which uses CSA 2's investment groups for its 1e plan, a Swiss defined-contribution pension arrangement. CSA 2's capital flows into two broad streams: a private-equity program focused on buyout fund commitments, and a direct real estate portfolio organized into three geographic sleeves. The real estate holdings include CSA 2 Real Estate Switzerland, a mixed-use domestic portfolio; CSA 2 Real Estate Germany, concentrated on commercial assets; and CSA 2 Multi-Manager Real Estate Global, which allocates to external real estate managers worldwide. The foundation also maintains a dedicated gold-exposure vehicle. On the private-markets side, the strategy is LP commitments to buyout funds, giving participating pension plans indirect access to leveraged-buyout strategies they could not negotiate independently. The foundation is embedded in Credit Suisse's pension infrastructure and, following the 2023 UBS acquisition of Credit Suisse, now sits within the UBS Group umbrella. It is a member of KGAST, the Swiss association of investment foundation managers, and VIS Verband Immobilien Schweiz, reflecting the board's real estate expertise. September 2024: UBS completed the operational integration of Credit Suisse's Swiss pension entities, a process first announced after the emergency merger in March 2023, which is expected to reshape the governance and investment oversight of the combined pension structures. CSA 2's structural differentiator is the Anlagestiftung model itself: a closed, nonprofit foundation that can accept capital only from Swiss tax-exempt pension funds. This restricts its client base to Credit Suisse-affiliated plans but eliminates commercial asset-management incentives. The board is internally recruited from Credit Suisse's own investment and real estate teams, which means portfolio decisions sit with people who manage the underlying assets at the asset-management level — a governance overlap that most external pension funds deliberately avoid.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Switzerland
City
Zurich
Corporate office
Zurich, Switzerland
Principals
Jürg Roth
Member of the Board of Trustees
Raymond Rüttimann
Member of the Board of Trustees
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is an Anlagestiftung, and how does CSA 2 use that structure?
An Anlagestiftung is a Swiss investment foundation — a nonprofit legal form that can only accept capital from Swiss tax-exempt pension funds. CSA 2 pools assets from Credit Suisse-affiliated pension plans and invests them in private-market funds and direct real estate. This structure lets smaller pension schemes access buyout funds and property portfolios at institutional scale without building their own investment teams. The foundation's nonprofit status eliminates commercial management fees, though its governance remains closely tied to Credit Suisse's asset-management personnel.
Who runs investment decisions at CSA 2?
Investment oversight sits with the board of trustees, which includes Jürg Roth and Raymond Rüttimann — the latter also heads real estate at Credit Suisse Asset Management. This means key portfolio decisions, particularly on the direct property portfolio, are made by individuals who concurrently manage the underlying real estate strategies at CSAM. The board operates within the Anlagestiftung governance framework, which requires fiduciaries to act solely in the interest of the affiliated pension plans.
Is CSA 2 a single-family office or an institutional asset owner?
CSA 2 is neither. It is a Swiss collective investment foundation that functions as a pooled pension vehicle for multiple affiliated Swiss pension schemes, primarily the Pensionskasse der Credit Suisse. It does not manage family wealth; it aggregates retirement-plan assets under Swiss pension regulations and is restricted from accepting capital from individuals or for-profit entities.
What does CSA 2 invest in?
The foundation allocates across three main areas: buyout private-equity fund commitments as a limited partner; a direct real estate portfolio split into Swiss mixed-use, German commercial, and a global multi-manager real estate sleeve; and a dedicated gold-exposure vehicle. The private-equity program is built around LP commitments to leveraged-buyout funds, while the real estate portfolios are a mix of directly held assets and externally managed allocations.
How did the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse affect CSA 2?
Following the March 2023 emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, CSA 2 now sits within the UBS Group umbrella. UBS completed operational integration of Credit Suisse's Swiss pension entities in September 2024, which is expected to lead to governance and oversight restructuring across the combined pension foundations. The full impact on CSA 2's investment strategy and board composition is still unfolding as of the integration date.
Can external investors access CSA 2's investment groups?
No. Under Swiss law, an Anlagestiftung can only accept capital from Swiss tax-exempt pension funds. CSA 2's investment groups are open exclusively to Credit Suisse-affiliated pension plans, primarily the Pensionskasse der Credit Suisse and its 1e plan participants. There is no pathway for external institutional investors, family offices, or individuals to commit capital.
Does CSA 2 do any direct private-equity deals, or is it entirely fund-of-funds?
CSA 2's private-equity exposure comes through fund commitments — it acts as a limited partner in external buyout funds rather than making direct company investments. The foundation's only direct-investment activity is in real estate, where it holds Swiss and German property portfolios directly rather than through fund structures. The multi-manager global real estate sleeve is externally managed but still falls under the real asset category, not private equity.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on pension funds?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: