Property Sector Financialization: The Case of Swiss Pension Funds (1992–2005)

Financialization is a major trend in Western economies. This paper shows, on the one hand, how it changes the management criteria and, on the other hand, the limits to financialization in the property sector. Between 1992 and 2004, about 15% of Swiss pension funds' wealth was invested in property. As far as their investment policy is concerned, pension funds have two choices. First, they can directly own, and have management responsibility for, the properties in their portfolios. Alternatively, they can buy shares in mainly Zurich-based investment vehicles. In the first case, pension funds require staff with the relevant expertise along with the knowledge of property markets. Investments have a regional focus and are assessed internally by the funds. In the second case, pension funds are merely investors and investment appraisals and comparisons are made on the basis of market criteria such as yield, diversification in relation to risk and liquidity. In this case, property investments focus solely on the country's main urban areas.     

The Churchill–Roosevelt Bases of 1940: The Question of Heritage in their Adaptive Reuse

The US military bases in the British Western Atlantic colonies, negotiated between Churchill and Roosevelt and formalised in the 1941 Destroyers–Bases Agreement, were all abandoned by the 1990s. In the process of their reuse the question of heritage meanings arises. From existing thoughts on heritage in older military bases, the paper considers the legitimacy of recent (living memory) bases as heritage, by reference to various cases among which Malta is particularly persuasive. The Churchill–Roosevelt bases and their heritage potential are then reviewed. The paper examines the three principal naval/military bases involved, namely Argentia (Newfoundland), Bermuda and Chaguaramas (Trinidad), with respect to what heritage perspectives exist among redevelopment agencies and other concerned institutional actors. In all cases heritage constitutes a recessive if not contentious issue among the priorities of base reuse in now post‐colonial environments.