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Sonova Pensionskasse
Sonova Pensionskasse operates as the captive pension fund for Sonova Holding AG, the Stäfa-based parent of Phonak, Advanced Bionics, and other hearing-care...
Sonova Pensionskasse
Sonova Pensionskasse operates as the captive pension fund for Sonova Holding AG, the Stäfa-based parent of Phonak, Advanced Bionics, and other hearing-care brands. The fund is structured as a hybrid defined-benefit/defined-contribution or cash-balance vehicle, standard for Swiss corporate plans that must cover both mandatory BVG minimums and supplemental benefits for an international workforce. The fund's investment posture reflects the typical Swiss Pensionskasse framework: a direct allocation to Swiss real estate paired with a growing alternatives sleeve. Unlike Anglo-American pension plans, Swiss schemes are bound by OAK BV regulatory limits on equities and alternatives; real estate often serves as the primary inflation hedge. Sonova Pensionskasse participates in the annual Swisscanto Schweizer Pensionskassenstudie, the benchmark survey that tracks asset allocation, funding ratios, and performance across the Swiss occupational-pension universe — confirming a portfolio anchored in domestic property and diversified into private-market exposures. Governance sits with a foundation board that includes Elodie Carr-Cingari, a member of management, alongside other employer and employee representatives per Swiss parity rules. The fund does not operate as a separate investment company; it functions as a classic Pensionskasse with a lean internal team that delegates manager selection and asset-management mandates to external Swiss and global institutions. Affiliated entities under the Sonova umbrella — Phonak AG and Advanced Bionics AG — share the Zurich-area headquarters and the same pension vehicle, consolidating retirement assets across the group's operating companies. Sonova Pensionskasse's structural differentiator is not a novel investment strategy but its quiet linkage to the Sonova Group's broader social-impact apparatus. The parent company's Hear the World Foundation, a philanthropic entity focused on pediatric hearing care, operates adjacent to — though legally separate from — the pension fund, creating a constellation of institutional capital and mission-aligned activity that is unusually formalized for a mid-sized corporate Pensionskasse.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Switzerland
City
Zurich
Corporate office
Zurich, Switzerland
Principals
Elodie Marina Marie-Gabrielle Carr-Cingari
Member of the management/foundation board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does the fund's hybrid DB/DC structure work?
Swiss hybrid plans, commonly called cash-balance or 'umhüllende' Pensionskassen, combine a defined-contribution savings element with defined-benefit guarantees on the mandatory BVG portion. Members accrue retirement credits on a fixed-interest basis set by the foundation board, while the sponsoring employer bears conversion-rate and longevity risk. The structure provides predictable accumulation with some insulation from market volatility for insured members.
Does the fund make direct private equity or venture investments, or does it rely on fund commitments?
Sonova Pensionskasse categorizes its non-traditional exposures under a general 'alternative investments' allocation, which for Swiss pension funds is almost exclusively accessed through commingled fund structures rather than direct deals. The fund does not run an in-house direct-investment team. Fund commitments to private equity, infrastructure, and possibly private credit are standard among peer Swiss Pensionskassen in its size band.
How is Sonova Pensionskasse related to the Hear the World Foundation?
The Hear the World Foundation is a separate philanthropic entity established by Sonova Group, not a division of the Pensionskasse. There is no commingling of pension assets with foundation assets. The two entities share a corporate sponsor but operate under distinct legal and governance structures, with the Pensionskasse subject to Swiss occupational-pension regulation and the foundation governed by Swiss foundation law.
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