Claudio Grass (CG): The RealUnit was born out of a transparent understanding of the numerous flaws and vulnerabilities of our present financial and monetary system. Earlier than we get into the main points of the corporate itself, I’d like to begin by asking you to share your views on these inadequacies. In your opinion, what’s improper with our system and why ought to the common citizen care? 

Dani Stüssi (DS): The complete reply to “what’s improper with our present system” would arguably require whole tomes to correctly lay naked and to precisely expose. However I’ll attempt to put is as merely as doable and in a strictly sensible sense. 

In 1971, President Nixon’s landmark choice to announce the unilateral abandonment of the Bretton Woods system heralded the tip of the U.S. greenback’s convertibility to bodily gold and thus successfully and clearly marked the tip of the “gold normal period”. Since that momentous level in our historical past and inside these 5 many years that adopted it, fiat currencies, not solely the USD, have principally been clearly and disturbingly debased and devalued. The cash provide has exploded, due to free financial insurance policies that have been solely doable due to the fiat cash system and the blatant market distortions it facilitated and incentivized. 

Personally, I consider that anybody who works arduous for his or her cash, who manages their hard-earned rewards in a accountable and prudent means and who appreciates the worth of a low time desire, ought to be capable to see their financial savings retain their worth in the long term. Right now, nevertheless, the precise reverse is the case. Leaving your financial savings sitting in a “secure” checking account would most certainly show to be an enormous mistake –  maybe even a defining selection.

For one factor, in that situation, your buying energy diminishes dramatically over time. By retaining idle money on a checking account, not solely do you fail to “make your cash give you the results you want”, however you really usually assure that it’ll work in opposition to you. Inflation, aka “the silent thief” or the “hidden tax”, will be certain of that. 

CG: One the focal factors of the RealUnit idea is the concept of preserving buying energy. After all, inflation is a risk that’s on most individuals’s minds at the moment, as costs have been relentlessly on the rise for the final couple of years. Earlier than that, nevertheless, it was not a serious concern for the general public or for traders: for years, central banks have been sticking to their “2%” goal and inflation was seen as a factor of the previous. How and why did the RealUnit profit traders even earlier than this present inflationary wave?

DS: The blunt reply is sort of simple: Neither me nor anybody within the RealUnit crew ever took significantly the assessments or projections of central bankers, the “outlooks” and forecasts of worldwide establishments or the narrative of governments and politicians. Official statements, press releases, and even “ahead steering” bulletins, these are all nonetheless phrases – and as everyone knows, actions converse a lot louder that phrases. 

It actually pays to take the time and to place within the effort to type your personal opinion. Particularly when the proof of your personal eyes flagrantly contradicts these “skilled opinions”, simply because it did so many occasions earlier than (and precisely so). As an example, when just about all central banks vehemently insisted a 12 months in the past that inflation was “transitory”, “below management” and customarily nothing to fret about, it was apparent to any sane, observant and affordable person who this was patently unfaithful. The rampant cash printing of the final decade, and particularly its crescendo in the course of the pandemic, couldn’t presumably be with out penalties. This is the reason it’s important that each citizen, saver, or investor acknowledge this as a second to rethink, reevaluate, and possibly recalibrate their plans – to take all mandatory steps to be adequately ready for what lies forward.

Asset worth inflation has made tangible belongings reminiscent of actual property and treasured metals considerably dearer for the reason that final monetary disaster in 2008. Savers have been the large losers since then, partly due to the absurd unfavorable rate of interest insurance policies. Those that invested in our RealUnit funding technique from 2010 onwards have been capable of profit from the rise within the worth of actual belongings. 

The RealUnit idea has been constantly examined, tailored and optimized since its inception – 22 years in the past. Since then, it achieved a median annual return of two.6% per 12 months.

CG: This sort of reliable disaster resistance and sustainable stability are options that the majority long-term, wise traders and peculiar savers perpetually search. That’s what the RealUnit goals to ship, however how did it really emerge and the way did it get the place it’s now?  How is it structured and what are the rules behind it?

DS: One of many essential issues of our present financial and financial construction is that the true financial system and the financial system have successfully decoupled, purposefully dissociated and unequivocally separated for fairly a while now. Consequently, the apparent resolution is to carry them again collectively – a proposition which absolutely is simpler to say than to truly do.

For my part, sound cash should be anchored to and backed by actual, tangible belongings which have a transparent, direct connection to the true financial system, if its core features are to be reliably restored, completely preserved and if all of the terminal defects and crippling shortcomings of at the moment’s system are to be corrected. 

The unique founders of the RealUnit gave an excessive amount of thought to all of the doable sensible, environment friendly, truthful, moral, and wise methods of backing a forex. That is no simple job: in spite of everything, what’s truthful may not be sensible, what is moral may not be environment friendly and what’s wise may not be sensible. 

These issues, and plenty of extra like them, gave rise to the RealUnit. After lengthy and heated debates, doubts and disputes, the founders ultimately got here to the conclusion that an optimum forex mustn’t solely be backed by bodily gold alone. It will additionally want strategic, sound investments in wholesome, stable firms which are necessary to the underlying financial system. 

The imaginative and prescient of the RealUnit is due to this fact primarily based on the concept that a secure forex needs to be backed by actual, bodily, objectively priceless, and productive belongings that ideally transfer in lockstep with the Swiss financial system. A forex primarily based on these rules and conforming to those parameters would absolutely present a extra secure financial base when it comes to worth and a smoother transition between enterprise cycles – each developments being within the curiosity of most of the people.

CG: The benefit of specializing in actual belongings is obvious and the concept of a stake that’s 100% backed by tangible belongings is clearly enticing to seasoned and prudent traders. However doesn’t the required bodily storage and logistics translate into a lot increased bills and charges? What ensures do traders have concerning these underlying actual belongings?

DS: Truly, our prices are solely about 25% of what a treasured steel ETF pays. We need to be as unbiased as doable from the banking system. Due to the direct entry to our treasured steel holdings, we get rid of counterparty danger and enhance our disaster resistance. 

As for the ensures, we’re a listed public firm. As a part of our common audit, an unbiased auditing firm opinions all holdings yearly and confirms this within the annual report.

CG: What is very interesting to me is the heavy allocation to bodily treasured metals. I could possibly be biased in fact, however I see bodily gold and silver as the perfect stabilizers and probably the most stable insurance coverage any investor can have. I’m guessing that’s why the RealUnit technique additionally depends so closely on them too. In apply, nevertheless, and in your personal expertise with RealUnit, what position did your treasured metals place play throughout crises and market meltdowns?

DS: I think we doubtless have the identical “bias” in relation to bodily gold and silver. Clearly there’s a motive why we selected to not simply allocate such a excessive portion of our portfolio to treasured metals, but in addition to carry our place bodily, exterior the banking system and in excessive safety vaults in Switzerland. We presently maintain round 25% gold, 10% silver and three% industrial metals – all bodily allotted and saved securely in Switzerland. 

In 2022, savers in Switzerland misplaced round 3% in worth resulting from inflation, bond holders round 10% and holders of Swiss shares round 15%. Our listed shares solely dropped by 0.92% final 12 months. That is primarily due to our tried and examined funding technique, the safety in opposition to falling inventory markets and our heavy bodily metals allocation. All through the previous 12 months and up till at the moment, we’ve been receiving plenty of constructive suggestions from traders, because the RealUnit was an necessary “stabilizer” in plenty of securities portfolios.

CG: One other function that I personally discovered uniquely fascinating was the selection that’s given to RealUnit traders between conventional shares and share tokens. Might you clarify the excellence and why you selected to supply each choices?

DS: Certainly, this is without doubt one of the issues that clearly units us aside, and it’s one thing we’re very happy with. In June 2022, we grew to become the primary listed firm in Switzerland to supply share tokens on our on-line market. 

After all, we nonetheless supply conventional shares, held in a traditional securities account at a financial institution, however we additionally present the selection of share tokens, held in a digital pockets. The tokens grant the very same property rights and voting rights as the standard shares, i.e. token holders are invited to our basic assembly and may vote on necessary choices similar to “conventional” shareholders do. 

The distinction lies within the custody of the shares. The standard share is listed on the BX Swiss inventory alternate and is a part of the normal banking system. It may be conveniently traded through on-line banking, like several inventory, over the course of a standard enterprise day. The share token is a registered asset on the blockchain and will be saved in your personal pockets and not using a monetary middleman and may due to this fact be traded across the clock by means of our web site. Though self-custody clearly requires some know-how, expertise and understanding of (at the least) elementary ideas, instruments and processes, the token holders are extra unbiased and luxuriate in extra monetary sovereignty.

CG: RealUnit appears to be a product that merges the “previous with the brand new”… It’s interesting to conservative, “no-nonsense”, actual worth oriented traders, however it is usually catering to the youthful technology of tech savvy, privacy-minded ones who perceive the necessity for independence and autonomy. What concerning the peculiar saver, although? How enticing and the way accessible is it to the “common Joe”? And why ought to he take the financial savings he has sitting in his checking account and put them in RealUnit as an alternative?

DS: The RealUnit has been designed exactly for this peculiar citizen you referred to, that “regular particular person” that doesn’t need to actively, personally handle their financial savings or maybe a bigger sum that they want to defend and protect for the following technology. Perhaps they don’t need to be instantly concerned as a result of they really feel they don’t have sufficient expertise with investments, or possibly just because they don’t have the time. 

Regardless of the case is likely to be, it’s wiser, extra environment friendly and safer to depart these choices to the consultants – our crew of finance specialists actively manages our purchasers’ investments, in order that they’ll chill out, commit their free time to one thing they really get pleasure from and sleep peacefully, realizing that their financial savings are in competent, skilled palms. The minimal funding is barely CHF 1.06 – the present worth of a single share on the inventory alternate – which makes the RealUnit a very accessible, inexpensive and wise choice for any prudent particular person investor and any accountable peculiar saver.

In distinction to most financial institution merchandise, we don’t goal for a most return by encouraging our purchasers to take correspondingly increased dangers. Versus most banks, our incentives are aligned with the perfect pursuits of our purchasers and we’ve little interest in securing quick time period earnings on the expense of the person who trusts us with their hard- earned cash. The RealUnit itself is just not designed as a speculative car or as a product that guarantees outrageous returns inside an unbelievable period of time.

Actually, our method is the precise reverse: we goal to match or (modestly, however constantly) outperform Switzerland’s GDP development annually and thereby preserve the buying energy of our traders over the long run. As well as, we maintain greater than half of our belongings exterior the banking system, which will increase our resistance to crises. Furthermore, by holding our shares as tokens on the blockchain, our traders are additionally assured direct entry to their holdings at any time and independence from the banking system, its limitations and its dangers.

CG: There’s a particular edge to the RealUnit idea as an funding choice, however there’s additionally a unique dimension to it, a imaginative and prescient that has been there since its inception: The thought of it will definitely changing into an alternate, personal forex. It was a component that was “baked in” for the reason that starting, however do you continue to see it as a part of the corporate’s mission at the moment?

DS: Completely. Our imaginative and prescient is for the RealUnit to change into a well-liked retailer of worth and in addition a way of fee, resulting from its stability, safety and tradability. This has not modified. 

Currencies have three duties to satisfy. As a retailer of worth, we’re already doing a greater job than fiat cash. However to be extra extensively adopted as a medium of alternate/fee, the RealUnit should change into higher recognized and merchants should acknowledge the RealUnit’s true worth. To correctly accomplish the third job, i.e. to see the RealUnit operate as a “unit of account”, extra time shall be wanted – it would take years, and even maybe many years, for individuals to calculate and to assume in RealUnit phrases as an alternative of CHF. This is the reason at this level we focus totally on rising our investor base, on rising RealUnit’s product consciousness and recognition and on educating and serving to peculiar residents perceive the true worth of their work, time and cash. 

CG: Its built-in stability and incorruptibility actually make it an objectively higher choice than our present fiat cash. However the implicit and near-universal belief (misplaced because it is likely to be) that state currencies nonetheless get pleasure from at the moment would appear to be an unbeatable benefit. How do you envision RealUnit breaking that barrier and competing with the CHF or the USD?

DS: We’re already seeing plenty of demand from individuals who need to flee the EUR. Confidence in our personal forex will solely come to a head with a recession and doable deflation. I’m nearly positively satisfied that the following monetary meltdown will carry with it a disaster of confidence within the previous financial system. In such an atmosphere, individuals can have extra religion in a non-public forex, backed by tangible belongings just like the RealUnit, than within the empty guarantees of central bankers and politicians.

Additional info on the RealUnit: https://realunit.ch/en/