The financial problems of many countries persist. The successful placement of Portuguese government bonds on the capital market, however, contributed among other things to increased investor interest in the quarterly results of a number of companies. In many cases, these results exceeded analysts' forecasts, which already reflected renewed optimism. In Europe and the US, financial institutions in particular posted solid half-year results. In addition, the stress test conducted under the aegis of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors helped to improve investor sentiment, even though seven out of a total of 91 banks failed the test.
The economic outlook for the US economy, described by the US Federal Reserve as "unusually uncertain," impacted equities prices only temporarily in the period under review. The announcement that further stimulation packages will be launched in the case of a renewed slide into economic recession implies that this scenario is no longer considered improbable.
At end-July, global equities in Swiss francs recorded a performance of 4.9%. Hampered by the pharmaceutical sector, the Swiss equity market posted a gain of only 1.5%. The results of the European bank stress test together with positive European macro data, such as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), strengthened confidence in the European single currency, pushing the euro up 6.7% against the US dollar and 3.2% against the Swiss franc. Persistent high unemployment and fears with regard to consumer trends caused the US dollar to lose 3.0% against the Swiss franc.
The Pension Fund of Credit Suisse Group (Switzerland) posted a performance of 1.3% in July. Its overall performance for the year to end-July is 1.1%.
The
Pictet indices often used as a benchmark have shown a performance of between 0.2% and 3.3% since the beginning of 2010, depending on the risk profile. The chart below shows how our pension fund has performed relative to the various Pictet indices, taking the
risks assumed into account.
As is well known, the Pension Fund of Credit Suisse Group (Switzerland) does not track a reference index, but instead pursues an
absolute return strategy.
