For all intents and purposes, the funds appear to have been well-placed, yielding a return of 7.33% last year, thanks to positions in bonds, equities, oil and gold. Compenswiss, an independent public body that manages the assets (46.1 billion Swiss francs, or 48.9 billion euros) of Swiss social security insurers, has been pleased. "At the end of 2024, all asset classes were clearly in positive territory," said institution director Eric Breval three weeks ago, while presenting its annual results. All running surpluses, the three main social security funds − AVS, AI and APG, which distribute retirement and disability pensions, as well as benefits in the event of loss of income due to illness − have never had anything to worry about.

In hindsight, however, it may not have been such a brilliant idea, in July 2024, to entrust management to American bank State Street. For 26 years, Swiss banking giant UBS had performed the task within Switzerland's borders, but it made the mistake of charging 20 million francs for its services, while its American competitor offered 4 million less. So the Compenswiss jackpot moved. But things have been changing so fast in the US that a question has suddenly jumped to the fore: Could Trump get his hands on Swiss retirement funds?

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