Vaudoise Assurances

CEO Jean-Daniel Laffely oversees both insurance operations and the investment portfolio. The Board of Directors, chaired by Philippe Hebeisen, sets strategic asset-allocation parameters. Day-to-day investment execution is managed internally, with the firm's cooperative governance structure requiring policyholder-aligned capital deployment rather than maximizing short-term returns.

Mutuelle Vaudoise, a cooperative society, holds 67.6% of the capital and 91.2% of the voting rights. This eliminates external shareholder pressure for rapid earnings growth and allows the firm to accumulate direct real estate holdings, hold venture positions through market cycles, and maintain lower portfolio turnover than publicly traded insurers. The structure mirrors peer European mutuals like Gothaer and MAIF in its patient-capital approach.

The firm directly owns commercial property in Switzerland, including Le Siège des Cèdres at Avenue de Cour 41 in Lausanne — its operational headquarters. Through the Vaudoise Anlagestiftung, it holds additional mixed-use Swiss real estate. These direct property stakes provide inflation-hedging characteristics uncommon in an insurance general account dominated by bonds.

The firm blends fund commitments with select direct stakes, focusing on Swiss startups in deep-tech and climate sectors. Its foundation relationships — including the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation and the Swiss Climate Foundation — suggest early-stage engagement. The venture allocation is modest relative to the total portfolio but reflects a deliberate diversification away from the negative-yielding fixed-income environment Swiss insurers faced through the 2010s.

Vaudoise is a member of Euresa and ICMIF, two networks for European mutual and cooperative insurers that facilitate best-practice sharing and occasional co-investment. Philippe Hebeisen's vice presidency at economiesuisse provides institutional connectivity across Swiss industry and access to domestic deal flow that peers without such representation may not see.