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Novartis Pension Funds to invest 4 pct in metals

Mon May 21, 2007 9:31AM EDT

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Switzerland-based Novartis's (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research pension fund plans to invest four percent of its 14 billion Swiss francs ($11.37 billion) in precious metals, the manager of the pension fund told Reuters on Monday.

"What we want to do is to invest one percent, that is 140 million Swiss francs ($114.1 million), in gold, one percent in platinum, one percent in palladium and one percent in silver, that's more or less half a billion Swiss francs," Andre Ludin, head of portfolio management at drugmaker Novartis AG, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

((Reporting by Atul Prakash, editing by Michael Roddy; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]; [phone]))

($1=1.227 Swiss Franc) Keywords: MARKETS PRECIOUS/FUND

http://www.reuters.com/article/bankingfinancial-SP/idUSL2166200920070521