Zürcher Kantonalbank gains lead portfolio manager for thematic fund
Media information 26. August 2025
Zürich, 26. August 2025 – The Equities & Themes team in the Asset Management division of Zürcher Kantonalbank has been expanded with the addition of another experienced investment expert.
Holger Frey took over as the new lead portfolio manager of the sustainable "Swisscanto (LU) Equity Fund Sustainable Water" at the beginning of August. Dr. Gerhard Wagner, who has been responsible as portfolio manager since 2008, will continue to support the fund with his expertise as deputy portfolio manager.
The sustainable Swisscanto strategy for the investment theme of water and water protection, which has a history of almost 20 years, benefits from the extensive investment know-how of Holger Frey. Before joining Zürcher Kantonalbank, he led an equity strategy focused on environmental technologies at UBS Asset Management. Prior to that, he managed sustainable equity funds on the themes of water and circular economy at the investment company RobecoSAM and the asset manager DWS.
Dr. René Nicolodi, Head of Equities & Themes, commented: "We warmly welcome Holger and look forward to working together. With his specific expertise in the investment theme of water, we are strengthening our proven offering of sustainable thematic funds."
With now five sustainable, actively managed equity funds focused on the long-term investment themes of water protection, climate protection, digital economy, healthy longevity, and circular economy, the offering under the Swisscanto brand has grown significantly. Sustainable thematic investments have a long tradition in the Asset Management division of Zürcher Kantonalbank: the first sustainable investment fund was launched in 1998.
Further information on our sustainable thematic funds can be found here.
Asset Management of Zürcher Kantonalbank
Zürcher Kantonalbank is a leading universal bank in the Zurich economic region with national roots and international reach. It is an independent public-law institution of the Canton of Zurich. Proven specialists in the Asset Management division of Zürcher Kantonalbank develop high-quality investment and pension solutions for private investors, companies, and institutions. It is known for its pioneering role in sustainable investments, and the Swisscanto funds it manages as an asset manager are regularly awarded both nationally and internationally.
Legal notice
Legal notice
This document is for information and advertising purposes only. It is intended for distribution in Switzerland and is not intended for investors in other countries.
It does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell financial instruments or to obtain products or services, nor does it form the basis for a contract or an obligation of any kind. The recipient is advised to review the information, possibly with the assistance of an advisor, to determine its compatibility with their personal circumstances as well as its legal, regulatory, tax, and other implications. The information contained in this publication may be adjusted at any time.
The document was prepared by Zürcher Kantonalbank with customary due diligence and may contain information from carefully selected third-party sources. However, Zürcher Kantonalbank provides no warranty as to the correctness and completeness of the information contained therein and accepts no liability for damages resulting from the use of the document or information contained therein.
Unless otherwise stated, the information refers to Zürcher Kantonalbank's asset management under the Swisscanto brand, which primarily includes collective capital investments under Swiss, Luxembourg and Irish law (hereinafter referred to as "Swisscanto funds").
The investment opinions and assessments of securities and/or issuers contained in this document have not been prepared in accordance with the rules on the independence of financial analysts and therefore constitute marketing communications (and not independent financial analysis). In particular, the employees responsible for such opinions and assessments are not necessarily subject to restrictions on trading in the relevant securities and may in principle conduct their own transactions or transactions for Zürcher Kantonalbank in these securities.
The sole binding basis for purchasing Swisscanto funds is the current fund documents (e.g. fund agreements/contractual conditions, prospectuses, key investor information or basic information sheets as well as annual reports), which can be obtained from products.swisscanto.com/, Swisscanto Fund Management Company Ltd., Bahnhofstrasse 9, CH-8001 Zurich (also representative of the Luxembourg Swiss-canto funds) or from all branch offices of Zürcher Kantonalbank. The paying agent for the Luxembourg Swisscanto funds in Switzerland is Zürcher Kantonalbank, Bahnhofstrasse 9, CH-8001 Zurich.
Carne Global Fund Managers (Schweiz) AG is the representative for funds domiciled in Ireland. Zürcher Kantonalbank is the paying agent for the Irish Swisscanto funds in Switzerland and Luxembourg funds.
It should be noted that any information about historical performance does not indicate current or future performance, and any performance data provided may not consider the commissions and costs incurred when issuing and redeeming fund units. Any estimates regarding future returns and risks contained in the document are for informational purposes only. Zürcher Kantonalbank does not provide any guaran-tee for this.
Every investment involves risks, especially with regard to fluctuations in value and return.
In terms of any sustainability information, please note that there is no generally accepted framework or list of factors in Switzerland that has to be considered in order to ensure the sustainability of investments.
For Irish and Luxembourgish Swisscanto funds, information on sustainability-related aspects in accordance with the Disclosure Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 is available at products.swisscanto.com/.
The products and services described in this publication are not available to US persons in accordance with the applicable regulations. This publication and the information contained in it must not be distributed and/or redistributed to, used or relied upon by, any person (whether individual or entity) who may be a US person under Regulation S of the US Securities Act of 1933. US persons include any US resident; any corporation, company, partnership or other entity organized under any law of the United States; and other categories set out in Regulation S. Status of the data (unless otherwise stated): 03.2025
© 2025 Zürcher Kantonalbank. All rights reserved.