Page 28 - DIVA_2_2007_No.29

Interview with

Mr Bernard Cochern6,

Chief Executive Officer of

the United Nations Joint Staff

Pension Fund

Q: What is the United mnout+t of assets, sligh-
Nations Joint Staff tly over US$37 billion.
Pension Fund and how Management of the
does it function? assets of the Pension
Fund is a responsibility
Tlie United Nations entrusted to the {JN
Pension Fund is an inter- Secretary-General.
agency organtzatton Investment decisions by
whose mission is to the Secretary-General,
manage pensions for all or his representati've, are
paiticipants from its 22 taken after consultation
ineinber organizations, with an Investments
SIICII as {JNESCO, consumer pi'ice index. Pensions are Committee and in light
WHO, FAO, ITU, ILO, etc. The of observations and suggestions
adjusted to iifflation iii order to
United Nations Organization, maiiitain the pirchasing power for made by the Board of the
witli all its funds and tlie beneficiaries. Ai'iotlier interes- Pension Fund. It is tnue that this
prograinmes , sucli as {JNHCR, tiiig feature is tliat retirees may opt is a huge responsibility and a
{JNICEF and {JNDP, is by far for wl'iat we call "a double track- very challenging job.
the largest of tlie inember orga-
system" of adjush'nent, which basi-
nizations. Cu'reritly, the Pension cally provides a way of l'iedging the In liglit of tlffs, managers and the
Fund covers participants and level of tlie benefits paid in local Board put special emphasis on
beneficiai'ies wlio work and live cui'rencies against exchange rate liaving strong inteinal control
in more tlian 190 count'+es flrictuations. meclianisms and clear policies
worldwide. So tliis is a huge in tenns of risk management.
operation. I'lll talking about Tliis is a uffqrie featiu'e which +s a
some 95,000 contributing pa+ti- bit complex to manage, but I tlffinc Q: What do you do in order to
cipants and 55,000 retirees and the beneficiaries gain a lot from it, make money for the Pension
beneficiaries. especially wlien you tlc that their Fund?
expenditiires are often denotninated
Tliis pe+ision fiuid is similar to What is ci'itical for a pension
in cui'rencies otl'ier tlian the US dol-
otlier defined benefit pension fu+id is to malce sure that the
lar wl'iicli is tlie Fund's base cu'ren-

scliemes. The difference is that ASSETS are managed in order to
cy. Tl'iat is an interesting ai'id unique
tliis pension fiuid is a huly inter- featiire. retiu'ii a peifonnance wlffcl'i is in
national one, both becayise of its line with assunptions on tlie lia-
memberslup acid its const+tuen- Q: You have a huge responsibility bility side. In otlier words, the
cies. It also lias interestiiig featit- on your shoulders investing all assets are not inanaged like
res, such as automatic adjust- mutual fimds, becarise this is a
these funds - US$36 billion. Do
ment of pensions paid to retirees you sleep well at night? Pension Fund wliose ultimate
and beneficiaries; tl'iat is, regular objective is to make sru'e tbat it
adjushnent by tlie applicable YOLI are t'iglit when it comes to the will be able to pay benefits to
26 2 2007 Diva

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