Pensionskasse des Schweizerischen Apothekervereins (PKSAV)

Pensionskasse des Schweizerischen Apothekervereins (PKSAV)

PKSAV was founded by the Swiss Pharmacists Association (pharmaSuisse) to serve as the industry-wide pension vehicle for pharmacy owners, employed pharmacists, and their personnel. Based in Geneva, it operates as a registered Swiss pension foundation under the supervision of the relevant cantonal and federal authorities, pooling retirement assets across hundreds of affiliated pharmacies and related businesses within the sector. The fund pursues a multi-asset strategy anchored by direct Swiss mortgage lending, which provides duration-matched, secured income against the domestic residential property market. Beyond mortgages, PKSAV invests in Swiss residential real estate, international real estate, global infrastructure, and insurance-linked securities (ILS). Its infrastructure allocation spans both developed and emerging markets, while the ILS book provides catastrophe-bond exposure uncorrelated to traditional financial-market cycles. Mortgage underwriting is conducted in-house, often through affiliated vehicles such as Stiftung Hypotheka, where board interlocks support aligned credit practices. PKSAV engages with the Swiss pension ecosystem through its membership in the Swiss Association of Pension Funds (ASIP) and the Conference of Managers of Investment Foundations (KGAST). The fund maintains a lean internal team under General Director Philipp Aegerter, who also serves on the board of AWI Anlagestiftung, a Swiss investment foundation for tax-exempt institutional investors. The board is presided over by Dr. François Jeanneret. While total assets are not publicly disclosed, the fund's direct mortgage portfolio and multi-layered real asset program suggest an institution of substance within the Swiss second-pillar landscape. The fund's architecture is structurally Swiss: a closed, sectoral pension scheme with paritarian governance, binding legal obligations under BVG/LPP, and a liability-driven investment philosophy. The combination of in-house mortgage origination and third-party-managed real assets creates a hybrid operating model unusual among Swiss pension funds of its size. The direct credit exposure, governed by its own credit committee and supported by shared board oversight with Hypotheka, gives PKSAV a sourcing advantage in Swiss residential lending that most pooled pension vehicles cannot replicate.