Why Mammut relies on experts for its employee benefits scheme

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Pirmin Walker, Head of Group Finance & Controlling at Mammut, talks about the group’s move from a company pension fund to a collective foundation.

As a member of the Conzzeta Group, Mammut Sports Group AG used to run its own pension fund before joining a collective foundation. However, when the globally active Swiss industrial group with over 1,000 employees was dissolved in 2021, the employees joined three different employee benefits units operated by the GEMINI Collective Foundation with effect from 1 January 2021.

In 2020, was it clear that Mammut wanted to join a collective foundation or was autonomy also an option?

In line with its focus strategy, the Conzzeta Group had decided to withdraw from the sporting goods, foam materials and graphic coatings divisions and dissolve the pension fund. Having taken this decision, we analysed the pension fund situation from various angles and came to the conclusion that Mammut, with its 270 insured employees in Switzerland, was too small for an autonomous or semi-autonomous pension fund. Other companies leaving the Conzzeta Group had also decided to join a collective foundation.

What were your requirements at the time?

We wanted to manage our own employee benefits unit and choose our own investment strategy. So we compared offers from various collective foundations that met our requirements.

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Pirmin Walker, Head of Group Finance & Controlling at Mammut
We decided in favour of a collective foundation firstly because we are too small for our own pension fund and secondly because we want to concentrate on our core competencies.

What else did you compare?  

We compared both numerical facts and soft factors. Costs were the central concern. We closely examined the risk premium rate and the technical interest rate calculation as well as the available investment options and the level of flexibility they offer. Professional service was important to us along with a user-friendly and modern online portal for the beneficiaries and our HR department.

Why did you ultimately decide in favour of the GEMINI Collective Foundation?

GEMINI was a convincing choice in terms of the above factors: the costs are fair, the foundation submitted a transparent restructuring model, it offers a flexible investment model with four investment pools and the all-in service appealed to us. GEMINI also devised an investment strategy for us based on our financial circumstances and we opted for two investment pools.

So what would you say is the added value a collective foundation offers?

We decided in favour of a collective foundation firstly because we are too small for our own pension fund and secondly because we want to concentrate on our core competencies. When it comes to pensions, we want to work with experts who can offer maximum service and handle the administration for us. GEMINI and our HR department work well together and the new administration system allows us to complete all tasks electronically. And our members can, for instance, simulate their accrued assets on retirement.

Enjoy a greater choice

You too can benefit from our expertise and our flexible employee benefits solutions, which we fully tailor to your individual needs.