Lucerne-based private banker Karl Reichmuth is the brains behind RealUnit. | Photo by Pius Amrein / Neue LZ
By Werner Grundlehner | Published in Neue Zürcher Zeitung on 30.11.2021
An enterprising banker takes an investment company public whose purpose is to preserve purchasing power. At least half of the investments consist of cash and precious metals.
Ultra-expansionary central bank policies and rising inflation have boosted demand for real assets. The RealUnit investment company, founded by Lucerne banker Karl Reichmuth, is a share that is intended to grow in line with economic growth and thus ensure that purchasing power is maintained.
Since the beginning of the week, RealUnit shares have been traded on the BX stock exchange. The concept was previously only available for “Friends and Family”. The assets of the investment company are invested over the long term in a mix of actively managed, liquid real assets. More than half of the investments are in precious metals and cash – the rest in shares of companies with stable balance sheets and crisis-resistant business models.
According to CEO Daniel Stüssi, discounts or premiums, which occur with many investment companies, should hardly occur at RealUnit, since the company does not invest in private equity or real estate and 95% of the investments can be sold within three days.
Reichmuth, a busy banker, has been working on an “inflation-resistant” investment for many years. There has already been an attempt to launch the RealUnit as an investment fund. According to Stüssi, however, this collective investment form was not dynamic enough due to legal requirements, for example when large-scale reallocations had to be made quickly. With a current investment volume of 18 million Fr. the RealUnit still has a lot of room for improvement.
Banknotes, gold and silver are stored outside the banking system: precious metals in bunkers in the Swiss mountains – cash in the same place where the Swiss National Bank stores its notes. Consistently, the RealUnit can also be purchased as a token based on the Ethereum blockchain. Because in this way, the new “currency” can also be stored outside the banking system. The address of the holding company also inspires confidence: it is located at Schutzengelstrasse in Baar.
