The chairman of Switzerland’s central bank pushed back Friday against activists demanding the institution sell off its massive investment in technology firm Palantir Technologies, worth $1.1 billion.
Martin Schlegel, who leads the Swiss National Bank, told reporters in Bern that while he wouldn’t discuss specific stock holdings, the bank’s enormous foreign currency investments are structured to support monetary policy objectives.
According to Schlegel, the institution’s investment strategy requires holdings that remain liquid and maintain value over extended periods. For stock investments, the central bank follows what he described as a market-neutral strategy.
“We weight companies according to their market weight or market capitalization, in order to cover the market as broadly as possible and also to diversify risks,” Schlegel explained.
The bank chairman noted that the institution does maintain ethical standards, avoiding companies that systematically harm the environment, breach basic human rights, or manufacture prohibited weapons.
“Naturally, we work with external specialists who carry out the screening for us and also make the corresponding assessments,” Schlegel stated.
“I believe this process is very robust,” he continued, though he acknowledged that evaluating companies isn’t always straightforward.
“There are shades of grey, and there are even other colours as well,” Schlegel remarked.
The comments came after campaigners from Minneapolis urged the Swiss central bank to divest from Palantir Technologies.
