Education initiative: "We can already support 1,500 children"

Martin Spieler: Education is key, yet many children around the world do not have access to it. What can be done about this?

Anja Hochberg: Education is the basis for social and economic development. And education is also one of the UN's 17 sustainability goals. Nevertheless, it is the least funded sustainability goal. This is where the Cantonal Banks' initiative comes in. We want to enable our customers to make profitable investments and at the same time make efficient donations.

Why are the cantonal banks working together on this education initiative? Basically, this is not part of the banks' core business.

The cantonal banks share a long common history and many values. Education is one of them. In this way, the cantonal banks also support the federal government, which has enshrined ensuring high-quality education in the 2030 Agenda. In Switzerland, the cantonal banks also support the financial education of children and young people in particular, working together with schools.

What exactly does this education initiative want to achieve?

Our aim is to enable all our clients to combine investments and donations in a way that is usually only possible for large foundations. The basis for this is a sustainable investment solution, favourable asset management fees, efficient donation management and impact reporting. In this way, we aim to mobilise capital in a way that generates returns in order to finance education.

The education fund enables sustainable investment and disbursement of donations. How exactly does this work?

Basically, it's relatively simple. Firstly, you invest in a balanced mixed fund that contains equities and bonds. These are selected according to strict sustainability criteria. This means that the companies must be exemplary in their sustainability behaviour, they themselves must also make a contribution to the UN's sustainability goals and they must be financially attractive. Based on our experience with this strategy so far, we expect a return of around 4.5%, although fluctuations are of course possible. Of this, 2% will be distributed to Education Cannot Wait. The rest remains with the customers and can generate returns, which can then perhaps also be used for further donations.

As an investor, you forgo returns - how certain is it that the donation will actually benefit educational projects?

Transparency is extremely important, especially when it comes to donations. We work together with Education Cannot Wait, a UN organisation. Switzerland has a seat on the executive committee of this organisation and can therefore help determine its strategic direction and monitor its impact. We can provide our investors with an impact report in which we show exactly how many children have been supported, where and in which projects.

Specifically: How many children have been supported so far with the investment volume currently available?

We launched the fund at the end of June 2024 and are very proud that, with a current investment volume of CHF 13 million, we can already report a positive return for our investors after deducting the donation and fees; in addition, more than 1,500 children can be supported.

Information on the investment fund

The Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks (ASCB) publishes a newsletter four times a year with information about the progress of the education initiative. The newsletter (in German, French and Italian) provides insights into performance and donation distribution, as well as successfully implemented projects in favour of education for children worldwide. Registration

This interview was first broadcast in a slightly modified form in the programme ‘Geld’ on 13 December 2024 on Tele 1, Tele M1 and TVO (only in German).