The Swiss investment bank UBS AG(UBS) is interested in managing Russia's oil fund, the Russian Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
The announcement by deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin came after his meeting with Switzerland's Economic Minister Doris Leuthard.
UBS, and possibly other Swiss banks, could provide consulting services and manage investment of Russia's oil windfall revenue amassed over the past four years, Pankin said.
Last month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he supports a riskier investment strategy for parts of Russia's oil fund.
Medvedev said that there is a need to widen the list of instruments in which the National Welfare Fund - one of the two entities created from the former Stabilization Fund - could be invested in.
Russia split the Stabilization Fund, which collected the windfall oil revenue since 2004 into the National Welfare Fund and the Reserve Fund as of February.
The Reserve Fund, with $130 billion in assets of beginning of June, will carry the conservative investment strategy of its predecessor. Should a need arise, its assets will be used for budget shortages and debt payment. Total assets collected in the fund shouldn't exceed 10% of the country's total gross domestic product at any given time.
Any additional windfall oil revenue is to be transferred to the Welfare Fund, which has already inherited some $33 billion as a result of the division. The assets of the fund will support Russia's pension system and in a medium-to-long term are to be invested in riskier instruments. An investment strategy hasn't been developed yet.
The government has asked the finance ministry, which overseas both funds, to develop a management and investment strategy by October.