Partners‘ View 1 | 2021 by swisspartners EN

The art of reading.
PART
NERS‘
VIEW
01|2021
May 2021 Edition
Focus
DIGITAL
LIVING
THEMES
< Blockchain
< Smart Homes
< Digital Services
< Who is?

PART
NERS‘
VIEW
01|2021
DIGITAL
LIVING

EDITORIAL
T
The first Partners’ View was created
on a vintage Olivetti typewriter in
1995 and covered all the latest topics
relating to economics and politics as
well as the stock exchange and
financial markets. At the time, it took
the form of a double-sided newsletter
that was copied onto yellowed paper.
It was delivered by post to its recipients
– a few dozen customers and acquaintances
– in a stamped envelope. That
was 26 years ago now and the world
has changed dramatically since then.
We are delighted to present the first
edition of our new-look Partners' View.
The publication will now appear
quarterly as an online magazine and
provide information on the latest topics
and trends in the fields of finance,
economic policy and global living.
The content of each digital edition will
feature a main theme and related
specialist topics. In the “Who is”
section, we will continue to introduce
members of staff at swisspartners
Group.
In the leading article of the latest
Partners’ View on the main feature of
digital living, blockchain expert Mathias
Ruch provides an insight into the future
potential of blockchain technology
and digitalisation, including in the field
of digital investment.
A lot of what we do and experience in
our daily lives is still analogue – but
digital activities are increasingly taking
over our personal and working lives.
Our article on smart homes explores
the take-up of intelligent solutions for
the home in Switzerland to date.
swisspartners is also making great
strides towards digitalisation: with two
digital service innovations and a new
collaboration in cryptocurrency, you
can rest assured that we are acting in
your interests as our valued customers.
I hope you enjoy reading the new-look
Partners’ View.
Yours sincerely
Markus Wintsch
CEO of swisspartners Group
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | Editorial 3

BLOCKCHAIN HAS
GROWTH POTENTIAL FOR
GENERATIONS TO COME
OPINION PIECE BY MATHIAS RUCH
1989
In 1989, the internet as we now know it was invented at the
prestigious CERN Institute in Geneva. However, Switzerland
itself has little to show for this historic development, as not a
single Swiss or even European internet company of any global
significance has evolved as a result of this opportunity. As we
all know, the big business went to tech giants from the US and
China.
But Switzerland is now returning to the fore as the epicentre
of a technology that has the potential to generate growth over
several generations: blockchain. The potential offered by this
new technology is being hailed as similar to that harboured by
the internet 30 years ago. After the phase of information
sharing in the 1990s and commercialisation in the form of
e-commerce and the dotcom boom, blockchain technology has
become the facility for the internet of value – or in other words
the secure exchange of assets.
Blockchain technology and its close affiliate, Crypto Valley,
which is the collective name for the Swiss blockchain ecosys tem
comprising almost 1,000 companies and more than 5,000 staff,
represents not only the biggest opportunity of my entrepreneurial
life, but also a historic opportunity for Switzerland.
What motivated us as our guiding principle when we founded
CV VC three years ago is becoming ever more apparent: the
areas in which blockchain will be used will extend far and wide
beyond cryptocurrencies. Every market that involves the digital
transfer of assets and shares information on ownership will
use this technology. Blockchain is already attracting huge
interest, which will continue to rise at a rapid pace. In line with
the famous saying from André Kostolany – "in a gold rush, don't
invest in the gold diggers, but in shovels” – we have answered
the question of what comes after bitcoin by creating an investment
approach to meet the growing demand for alternative and
digital assets.
WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF A BLOCKCHAIN
REVOLUTION
Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of
things (IoT) or blockchain are precisely the ones that are
attracting new generations of founders and could trigger the
next tech revolution. Cryptocurrencies have spearheaded this
revolution and made it ubiquitous due to the explosion in
bitcoin prices. However, they are just one of many possible
applications for blockchain technology. There is far greater
potential to be tapped in the use of this technology across all
sectors of the economy – from the protection of logistics chains
in the global transportation indus try, to cross-border data
exchange in pharmaceuticals research and the transfer of
digital assets in the finance sector. I firmly believe that we are
on the verge of a blockchain revolution.
4 Main Feature – Digital Living | PARTNERS‘ VIEW

„
Blockchain
technology is not
just the biggest
opportunity of my
entrepreneurial life –
it is also a historic
opportunity for
Switzerland.”
Photo CV VC © Loris de Minico
The surge in digitalisation as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic has led to disproportionately high growth in techdriven
markets and applications. Our venture capital investment
approach and the start-up portfolio of CV VC, in which investors
can participate via our investment certificate, are defined by
six core areas relating to the theme of technology for tomorrow
(T4T): future of work, lifestyle & health, education & science,
security & identity, e-commerce & logistics and – the issue that
is most relevant to swisspartners’ activities – finance & inves ting.
This trend goes hand in hand with the new blockchain
legislation that was recently passed in Switzerland, which will
be the most advanced of its kind in the world when it comes
into force this summer. In this setting, given the fast-growing
sector of alternative investments and the fact that traditional
asset classes are generating ever-decreasing returns, institutional
investors are making the move towards a private equity
approach that involves riskier investments in assets over a
longer period, such as venture capital in the technology sector.
There is a huge amount going on in the field of digital assets
at the moment with many innovative topics that we have yet
to explore. It is not too late to get involved – on the contrary,
we are just at the beginning of this new phenomenon.
THE ART OF ABOUT REAL MATHIAS ESTATE RUCH
Mathias Ruch is the founder and CEO of CV VC, an
early-stage venture capital investor based in Zug. The
company focuses on investments in blockchain-based
start-ups. As a co-founder of the Swiss Blockchain Federation,
he is actively involved in promoting the appeal of
Switzerland as a location for blockchain-based activities
and supporting the development of a secure and competitive
legal framework. Mr Ruch lives with his family in
Zurich.
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | Main Feature – Digital Living 5

L
Photo CV VC © Jehona Abrashi
THIS IS JUST
THE START
OF A GROUND-
BREAKING
DEVELOPMENT
Mathias Ruch was interviewed
by Kathrin Meister.
Mr Ruch, what opportunities do digitalisation and blockchain
offer to private investors?
The technology sector as a whole is generally benefiting
from a global surge in digitalisation on an unprecedented scale.
This is a ubiquitous trend, affecting everything from the federal
government in Switzerland to start-ups and SMEs.
Based on past experience, the technology stocks listed on
the public markets have benefited extensively from this
movement – especially in the US. Given the demand for
alternatives in the tech environment, we expect to see a shift
towards private markets. In terms of specialist technology
investments such as blockchain, there are a variety of options
available to institutional and private investors.
The most obvious of these are listed companies. For example,
if I invest in IBM, I will also have some degree of exposure
to blockchain. Another option would be to invest via a venture
capital fund. However, these funds are often difficult to access
and don’t necessarily specialise in blockchain as they are more
broadly based. Well-informed investors can also invest directly
in start-ups. Another option is to invest in cryptocurrencies as
a private individual. I think that bitcoin will remain an important
player as we have seen over the years that it works. However,
the cryptocurrency repeatedly attracts criticism because, for
example, as the first generation of blockchain technology, it is
pretty energy-intensive.
What are the alternatives to bitcoin?
When talking about alternatives to bitcoin, I don’t necessarily
mean alternative cryptocurrencies, but products that we can
currently only imagine.
Examples of some of the topics on trend are decentralised
finance (DeFi) or investments in the art market using non-
6 Main Feature – Digital Living | PARTNERS‘ VIEW

fungible tokens (NFTs). Digital artwork has been fetching record
prices recently thanks to blockchain-based NFT technology.
Paintings, or to take another example, the first tweet in history,
are attracting bids in the millions in some cases – and all in
cryptocurrency of course. It’s all sheer hype that attracts
attention, but also potential investors who are showing
increasing interest in these areas of investment.
But it’s not just about digitalising processes – we’re talking
about completely new types of products and services, aren’t
we?
Yes. If we move away from existing infrastructures com -
pletely and use new ones, we can represent payment flows or
make automated interest payments via tokens. We can
structure products so that a particular event is triggered only
if condition A and condition B are met, for example. These are
areas in which it is currently impossible to make any accurate
predictions of what direction their development will take. An
initial phase such as this obviously always entails risks – such
as in the whole DeFI space, which is a focus of major attention
at the moment. What it shows is that this is just the start of a
ground-breaking development.
What do you think is the biggest trend for private investors?
Digital assets without a doubt – for both investors and the
sector as a whole. As well as enabling the infrastructure to be
modernised, blockchain technology and digitalisation will pave
the way for completely new products to be launched. New
regulatory legislation will come into full force from summer
onwards in Switzerland. This will create the backdrop – which
does not yet exist anywhere else in the world – for innovative
products to break into the institutional market. As far as I’m
concerned, this will be the hot topic in the years ahead.
Looking ahead, another aspect of digitalisation that is likely
to come to the fore is the ability to enhance the efficiency of an
investment product. Having a verified digital identity will allow
me to process investments on a completely digital basis, from
subscription to settlement. In equity trading, for example,
settlement can take several days. But by using blockchain
technology, the actual exchange will coincide with the settlement
as it is one and the same process.
When and how did your fascination with blockchain technology
begin?
I’m not an early bitcoin adopter who bought bitcoins back
in 2009 – unfortunately (laughs). In 2015, I analysed the rapidly
growing crowdfunding market. During the course of the analysis,
we became aware of the first major fundraising event via
blockchain in 2016: “The DAO” raised over US$ 150 million in
cryptocurrencies within a few weeks. Of course I wanted to
know exactly how that works and decided to investigate
blockchain technology more closely.
I am also very lucky to be living in Switzerland: I realised
„
Blockchain technology
and digitalisation enable
completely new products
to be launched.”
one day that Silicon Valley has relocated – it’s now called
Crypto Valley and is right on my doorstep (laughs). We already
had our companies in Zug at that point and a connection with
this ecosystem from the very beginning. We thought: something
big is happening here and we would like to be part of it.
How much does digital living feature in your daily routine, Mr
Ruch?
It varies. In some areas, I think not enough, while in others,
it’s already excessive. My children, aged four and six, are used
to seeing their dad spending a lot of time on a smartphone or
laptop. And they copy me of course. It’s difficult to resist the
pull of these devices and that’s something that has to be
managed properly – this is the challenge I face as a father.
I would describe myself as a very digital person. I’m always
keen to try out digital innovations as soon as possible. If I find
something I like, I’ll keep using it. For example, I have been
buying groceries online for more than ten years. When using
online grocery providers quickly became impossible in Switzerland
during the first lockdown in spring 2020, I had to revert
to shopping in stores. When you realise you have no cash on
you at the bakery, that can be a problem. It was a reminder of
how digital I have become in my everyday life.
What do you do to find a balance in your analogue life?
I try to be more mindful in my non-digital activities. Nature
is very important to me as a counterbalance to digital living. I
am also passionate about cooking. I don’t follow a recipe when
I am cooking – I like to use my imagination. I also do a lot of
exercise, I find that very enjoyable. However, I do use digital
gadgets to measure my performance when exercising. So even
as I speak, I realise that my life is very much defined by
digitalisation.
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | Main Feature – Digital Living 7

SMART HOMES IN
THEIR INFANCY
SWITZERLAND STILL LAGS BEHIND
WHEN IT COMES TO DEPLOYING
SMART SOLUTIONS AT HOME
“Alexa, play some jazz!” The robot vacuum cleaner swishes
around the room to the relaxing sound of Herbie Hancock.
When someone opens the door to the balcony, the heating
automatically lowers the temperature setting to save energy
costs.
The smart home has now become a reality for many tenants
and homeowners alike. Not only that, digitalisation is set to
prompt further changes to the way we build and live in homes.
The focus is not just on intelligent devices featuring smart
voice control, but above all on networking automated solutions,
otherwise known as the internet of things (IoT). But how willing
are the people of Switzerland to embrace the digital transformation
within their own four walls in the shape of smart home
technology?
GREATER COMFORT AND QUALITY OF LIFE
According to a survey conducted by Ofri, the Swiss platform
for tradespersons, in 2019 just 57% of those surveyed in
German-speaking Switzerland were familiar with the term
“smart home”. Just 20% of Swiss citizens use a networked
device in their homes; by contrast, in neighbouring Germany
half the nation would like to link up all their technical devices
as part of a network so that they could control them digitally.
Meanwhile in the US, around 70% of the population would be
reluctant to part with their smart home devices.
Alongside televisions, networked lighting and sound systems
are the most popular smart home features as far as the Swiss
are concerned. Apple HomeKit is the number one smart
solution in Swiss homes, followed by Amazon’s Alexa. Greater
convenience and quality of life are the reasons most frequently
cited for using smart home devices, followed by considerations
such as security and energy efficiency.
8 Smart Homes | PARTNERS‘ VIEW

„
Demand for smart home solutions
is still a niche issue on the Swiss real
estate market.”
MONIKA BIELER
Fiduciary Services | Real Estate
monika.bieler@swisspartners.com
EVERY TREND INSPIRES A COUNTERTREND
The push towards digitalisation that has been accelerated by
the pandemic has made all our lives far more digital: spending
hours on screen working or learning from home can be tiring
and awaken a yearning for analogue alternatives. Trends that
run counter to the digital transformation include a more
pronounced appetite for nature or the pleasure taken in making
things by hand – it is no coincidence that topics such as DIY,
slow food and mindfulness are enjoying huge popularity. It
remains to be seen to what extent smart home solutions hold
their own or even tap into further market potential amidst
these competing trends. Ultimately, the key issue will be
whether smart home applications are sufficiently user-friendly
to appreciably improve the at-home experience and to provide
clear benefits in terms of security, the environment and cost
savings.
SOURCES (IN GERMAN):
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, online:
https://blog.hslu.ch/diginect/2019/05/09/iot-und-smart-home-heutiger-stand-in-der-schweiz/
Fintech News, online: https://fintechnews.ch/iot/smart-home-schweiz-studie/26019/
Netzwoche, online:
https://www.netzwoche.ch/news/2019-02-26/schweizer-lassen-die-finger-vom-smarthome
Bitkom Research 2020: https://www.bitkom.org/Bitkom/Publikationen/Smart-Home-Studie-2020
THE ART THE OF REAL ART ESTATE OF REAL ESTATE
Property management, buying and selling properties or
support during the construction process – swisspartners
is a companion you can trust with all aspects of real
estate – and not just for property owners, but also for
tenants and service providers.
We offer our clients the following services:
▪ Property management – full administrative and
technical management service
▪ Buying and selling properties – from owner-occupied
apartments to single-family homes and land for
building
▪ Fiduciary services for building owners – support
across all phases of the build from planning to
completion
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | Smart Homes 9

DIGITAL SERVICE INNOVATION
FLOATING ON
CLOUD NINE
Our lives have changed dramatically in recent months. The
coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the process of digital
transformation. Remote meetings, the boom in online shopping
and homeschooling in digital classrooms – the future has
finally arrived.
To enable us to respond even more flexibly to the needs of
our clients, we at swisspartners have developed two forwardlooking
services:
ONE by swisspartners and the stress-free package. These
are both digitally supported solutions that guarantee
security and transparency, while enabling clients to relax
and focus on what’s most important to them.
THE STRESS-FREE PACKAGE
Featuring six building blocks, the stress-free package takes
the pressure off clients across all aspects of wealth, financial
planning, taxes, forward planning & inheritance, property and
lifestyle services. Diverse service modules can be combined to
deliver maximum flexibility. Interested clients can make a
preliminary selection of the stress-free services on the
swisspartners website. In the next stage, swisspartners
specialists work with clients to put together a bespoke package
of services – remotely by video call if required.
Float off and relax into a stress-free, digital future.
Your contact: Christian Dietsche
christian.dietsche@swisspartners.com
Click here for more information:
swisspartners.com/das-sorglos-paket (in German)
10 Innovative Services | PARTNERS‘ VIEW

S FROM SWISSPARTNERS
ONE BY SWISSPARTNERS
The comprehensive ONE by swisspartners service digitally
consolidates and structures all your assets, from equities and
foreign currencies through to property, works of art, vintage
cars and antiques. Not only does ONE enable the transparent
documentation of how assets are structured and owned, it also
offers digitalised performance and cost analyses as well as
macroeconomic assessments. The encrypted, blockchain-based
client portal with cloud servers in Switzerland meets the
hi ghest demands in terms of data security.
Your wealth at a glance.
Your contact: Marco Di Canio
marco.dicanio@swisspartners.com
Click here for more information:
onebyswisspartners.com
„
Here at swisspartners, we are
constantly developing innovative
products and services. Even in
these eventful times, our clients
should be able to relax and focus
on the things that are really
important to them.”
Christian Dietsche
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | Innovative Services 11

GROWTH MARKET
OF DIGITAL ASSETS
SWISSPARTNERS IS WORKING WITH
SYGNUM BANK TO EXPAND ITS OFFERING
IN THE CRYPTO SPACE
As one of the largest external asset managers, for many years
now swisspartners has developed and distributed individual
solutions in conventional wealth management and wealth
structuring. Our services encompass the areas of capital
preservation and capital growth, tax optimisation, succession
arrangements and bequeathing wealth alongside changes of
domicile, taking account of complex structures in respect of
fiduciary and insurance issues.
Owing to the push towards digitalisation, for some time now
we have seen growing demand on the part of our wealthy
private clients for innovative services such as cryptocurrencies
or digital assets.
In forming our forward-looking working relationship with
Sygnum Bank, we are responding to our clients’ requirements
and adding the custody of digital assets to our extensive
portfolio of services. This enables us to support our clientele
across all aspects of financial services with immediate effect.
DIGITAL ASSETS – SECURE AND COMPLIANT
The partnership with Sygnum, which is a regulated Swiss bank,
will enable our private clients to hold digital assets – securely
and in accordance with the relevant regulations – directly with
us as asset managers.
„
Digital assets are now part of
holistic wealth management.”
Christian Dietsche
Alongside efficient trading in cryptocurrencies, the collaboration
also simplifies the safekeeping of digital assets. Furthermore,
it enables additional services such as tokenisation and
Lombard loans to be provided. Sygnum is available to clients
of swisspartners as a new custodian bank.
“More and more of our clients are asking us about digital
assets. These assets are now part of holistic wealth management,”
explains Christian Dietsche, Head of Wealth Management at
swisspartners.
“In Sygnum, we have an acknowledged partner at our side
that is able to offer first-class and secure crypto services,” he
adds.
Martin Burgherr, Chief Clients Officer at Sygnum Bank, is
delighted about the forward-looking cooperation agreement:
“swisspartners is another company that will be making active
use of our expertise in the digital assets space. The firm can
now offer its clients a range of digital asset services with
institutional backing and confidence.”
THE ART OF REAL ABOUT ESTATE SYGNUM
Sygnum is the world’s first digital asset bank. Using the
Swiss banking licence of Sygnum Bank AG and the
licence for providing capital market services of Sygnum
Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, Sygnum enables institutional and
private qualified investors, corporates, banks and other
financial institutions to invest in digital assets with
confidence. The company is rooted in the traditions of the
Swiss and Singapore financial centres and operates
worldwide.
www.sygnum.com
12 SYGNUM Collaboration | PARTNERS‘ VIEW

A BUSINESS IS ONLY EVER AS
GOOD AS ITS PEOPLE. THIS SECTION
IS WHERE WE PRESENT TALENTED
MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM.
WHO IS?
LJILJANA WEIBEL
began her career in accounting. She
obtained a BSc in business economics
at the University of Applied Sciences
and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
(FHNW), specialising in accounting and
financial controlling. On leaving
university, Ljiljana took the plunge into
tax advisory, which was a new field for
her, working for KPMG in Zurich until
end-2012. After taking four months out
to travel the world – Ljiljana describes
herself as a globetrotter – she became
head of the tax department at a Swiss
fiduciary services firm. The birth of her
daughter in July 2017 marked a major
milestone in her life. Alongside her
main career, she is currently studying
for the Swiss tax expert qualification.
Ljiljana has been working part-time for
swisspartners Wealth Services since
September 2020. Her role involves
providing tax advice to legal entities
and individuals. For Ljiljana, it is a
privilege to have found a balance at
swisspartners between the passion
she has for her profession and her
role as a mother. “I’m delighted that
swisspartners has entrusted me with
the opportunity to build on my tax
expertise, to tackle new challenges
and to grow professionally.“
Ljiljana Weibel
Tax Advisor
ljiljana.weibel@swisspartners.com
5
HOW DIGITAL IS YOUR LIFE?
To be honest, I still prefer physical books.
But there are some apps that I’m really enthusiastic about, one
of which is the payments app Twint. Looking a little further
ahead, I’d eventually like to live completely paper-free and
gradually scan in all the documents I need.
Five questions to Ljiljana Weibel
WHAT’S THE BEST THING YOU CAN OFFER YOUR CLIENTS
AT SWISSPARTNERS?
I trust my clients and greatly appreciate our personal working
relationship. It’s important to me to always put the individual
first. The biggest part of my role is to take the pressure off
clients so that they can take care of their core business.
WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST STRENGTH?
I always give my best. After all, my motto in life is: “Persevere,
believe in yourself and never stand still!”
IF YOU HAD THREE WISHES, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
1. An end to the Covid madness
2. For the world to become healthy and safe again...
3. … and then to travel the world with my daughter
HOW DO YOU RELAX?
As a working mum I have virtually no time for hobbies. But I
really do enjoy the time I get to spend with my daughter, who
is three and a half. We like going to painting lessons or for
walks, or we work together on little craft projects. And if I can
find the time, I enjoy mountain biking or running.
Interview by Simone Töllner
PARTNERS‘ VIEW | WHO IS? 13

The art of reading.
swisspartners Group
Am Schanzengraben 23
Postfach
CH-8022 Zurich
Telephone +41 58 200 00 00
swisspartners.com/en
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LEGAL NOTICE
Editorial Team:
Kathrin Meister | wordflow.de
Simone Töllner | swisspartners.com
Layout & Design: Angelika Plag |
corporate-concepts.de
Photos: pages 1, 2, 10, 14 © Getty
Images |Image of flyer on page 10 ©
Karin Bischof | page 11 © Gabriela
Dumitrescu | pages 2, 8, 9 © Adobe
Stock