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Switzerland is one of the most innovative countries in the world.

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For the City of Winterthur Pension Fund, it is therefore important

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to understand how venture capital works and what

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role it plays in financing innovation.

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As pension fund trustees, it is our responsibility to continuously

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educate ourselves on all matters that are relevant to pension funds.

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In many other countries, venture capital plays an important role as an asset class.

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Venture capital is more established in other countries,

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for example in the United States or Canada.

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There, pension funds invest quite significantly in venture capital,

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while Europe remains more limited.

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Investors here are still very risk-averse,

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and the same is true in Switzerland.

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The hesitation among pension funds is mainly due to a lack of knowledge.

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They are not familiar enough with the asset class.

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In a diversified portfolio,

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venture capital has a place. At the City of Winterthur

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Pension Fund, we invest around 10 to 20 percent

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of our private equity portfolio in venture capital.

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On the one hand, it provides good diversification

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alongside buyout and special situations, which are also in our portfolio.

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On the other hand,

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venture capital follows different cycles than buyout,

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and offers different returns. In our portfolio,

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which we began building in 2015 and have invested in

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annually since then, venture capital has clearly outperformed.

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Swiss pension funds are not yet fully aware that this is

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a potential asset class with strong future prospects.

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The board of trustees therefore needs to understand the opportunities,

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the risks, and the main ways this asset class can be implemented.

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We support pension funds in deciding whether venture capital

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belongs in their portfolio by showing them

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what venture capital actually means,

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and what kind of portfolio management strategy

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is required to build a venture capital allocation.

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The education program by Deep Tech Nation Switzerland,

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together with a lecturer from Università della Svizzera italiana

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and VPS, creates exactly this knowledge base.

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During the seminar,

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participants will certainly get a deep dive into venture capital,

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as well as a strong understanding of the Swiss ecosystem.

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They will also

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learn about the dynamics of venture capital investments

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and what a portfolio allocation could look like.

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An investment committee, and even less so a board of trustees,

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cannot fully understand every asset class

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and every individual investment in complete detail.

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But they do need to understand how it works well enough

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to seek the right advice, know the limits of their own expertise,

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and identify which external resources they can bring in

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to protect themselves as much as possible

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and ensure they have the right overall competence.

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So defining a strategy based on an awareness of one's own limits

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is a very important factor.

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Our goal is for participants to leave the course

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feeling confident when it comes to venture capital,

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and motivated to continue learning more

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about this field.

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Deep Tech Nation's VC education program,

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run together with USI and VPS,

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is an especially valuable opportunity to learn about

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venture capital today.