CERN Pension Fund

The CERN Pension Fund is a single-employer corporate pension fund established in 1955 to provide pension and social security benefits to the employees of CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is a defined-benefit scheme and an integral part of CERN. The fund invests across a spectrum of private markets, including private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, and timberland, and commits capital to external fund managers. As of early 2024, it paid benefits to approximately 3,600 beneficiaries and had about 3,700 members. The fund's objective is to maximize returns while adhering to a defined risk limit, with a target of a 2.6% annual real return in Swiss francs.