Governing Board of the Pension Fund

The Governing Board of the Pension Fund held its penultimate (158th) and final (159th) meetings in its current form on 24 September and 25 October 2007 respectively. A number of items, notably the triennial actuarial review and the Fund's Budget for 2008, appeared on the agenda of both meetings.

The Governing Board took note of the Fund's financial position as at 30 June 2007 on the basis of the intermediate closing of the accounts on that date. In the first half of 2007, the Fund had achieved a satisfactory return on its assets compared with the position on 1 January 2007.

Regarding the indexation of pensions, at the second of its two meetings, the Governing Board took note of the inflation rate in Geneva between August 2006 and August 2007 - no rise was observed in the cost-of-living during the period under consideration. As a consequence, the adjustment rate for the forthcoming three-year period, calculated by the Actuary pursuant to Article II 1.15 – Annex C of the Fund's Rules and Regulations, will have no impact on the pension adjustment for 2008. On this basis, the Governing Board will thus recommend the Council, at its December Session, to apply a 0% indexation of pensions, fixed benefits and allowances for 2008.
At its meeting on 25 October 2007, the Governing Board approved the Fund's Budget for 2008, which takes into account various items relating to the new governance structure of the Pension Fund. The Governing Board heard the usual report on the Investment Committee's activities by its Chairman, Professor F. Ferrini, noting in particular that the return on assets at the end of September stood at the same level as at the end of June and that the annual return target has been exceeded despite the high market volatility in August. The Governing Board's work was brought to a close by the Chairman Professor F. Ferrini, who expressed sincere gratitude to everyone around the table for their insightful comments and always constructive criticism. His statement was greeted by warm applause. Professor Ferrini then announced that the new Pension Fund Governing Board (PFGB) would meet for the first time on 16 November 2007 at ESO Headquarters, and that the Board's composition was now complete following the Council's appointment of the two professional experts in October. The new Pension Fund Governing Board will thus be composed as follows:

The Governing Board drew up a preliminary list of subjects that will have to be addressed by the new Governing Board over and above the tasks assigned by the Council in the context of the implementation of the new governance structure.

Finally, the Governing Board noted, with regret, the deaths of the following members of the Fund:
Mr Didier CHANAT (active member), Mrs L. BERGER, Mrs M. BOTTOLI and Mrs  T. HIRSCHI, and Mr R. BOUVRY, Mr J. CHARLOTTON, Mr P. DECHELETTE, Mr J.-M. DUFOUR, Mr C. FAVRE, Mr D. FROMM, Mr R. GIROD, Mr A. GRESSOT, Mr K. JOHNSEN, Mr F. MEMBRARD, Mr E. MENANT, Mr A. MENONI, Mr G. MICHEL-NOEL, Mr S. MINOR, Mr G. MOURON, Mr G. NASSIBIAN, Mr L. PETRONIO, Mr N. RINALDI.