With the acquisition of Bloxxter, quirion has expanded its offering to include real-estate investments. Together with Martin Daut, Dr. Bianca Ahrens leads the new quirion Sachwerte GmbH as managing director. In this interview she explains what she and her team have planned — and what advantages digitalisation brings to it.
With two properties in Leipzig, the first offer from quirion Sachwerte is now on the table. What comes next?
It will be a little while before I can get really specific. In any case, we have the topic of sustainability firmly in view. We are flirting with an investment offer for the development of a neighbourhood in which ecological and social aspects are given particular consideration. We see good prospects for projects like these and believe this is the right path. We are currently working out the offer and will then move into implementation.
More generally: how do you decide which properties you offer investors to invest in?
In principle, we want to make properties accessible to private investors that are otherwise reserved for professionals. Accordingly, we look at real estate from the perspective of large, institutional investors. Among other things, that means we are not necessarily looking for the offer with the highest return. We want returns that are unusually stable. We receive the proposals from specialised asset managers, through whom such investments usually run. We only work with asset managers who also act for large institutional investors such as insurers — an indication of reliability. When we get an offer, we naturally check once again how successful the asset manager has been on past projects. We also analyse the specific „investment case“: how is the population developing in the city in question? What is the location of the property like? What are the types of use — that is, what share is taken up by offices, homes or retail, for example? Do they fit the location? And of course we do not rely solely on our in-house expertise; we always have the properties valued by external assessors as well.
What else happens before an offer?
Once we have clarified whether the asset manager and the project are a good fit for us, we discuss how the investment is to be structured. This concerns the precise way in which the participation takes place. When the preparatory process has been completed successfully, we write the securities prospectus, which is then first reviewed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. Alongside the legal requirements, the technological ones then have to be put in place: we rely on offering digital securities. For this, a smart contract has to be programmed and deployed on the blockchain. Smart contracts are digital contracts that, together with blockchain technology, replace what would otherwise be a cumbersome and centralised securities administration. Investors receive so-called tokens, which then digitally securitise their investments.
What advantages does this offer?
Anyone who buys a property usually has to put up a lot of capital and commit for a long time. Digital securities overcome barriers to entry like these. Unlike when buying a property, you do not need a notary, for instance. The costs are much lower overall, and the processes are more efficient. Tokens are, in principle, transferable on a daily basis. Small denominations can be created, and with them low minimum investments. In this way, we can put access to premium real estate on a much broader footing. I am firmly convinced of the future of the technology. Blockchain is here to stay. And through smart contracts, all sorts of things can become investable for a wider audience: art or classic cars, for example. At quirion Sachwerte, though, we are focusing first of all on expanding our real-estate offering — and on integrating Bloxxter into quirion.
You joined the Bloxxter team in 2020. Why did you choose this path?
I had been engaging with major trends such as artificial intelligence and blockchain for some time. At that point I wanted to become part of something new, to help build something. Real assets like real estate fascinated me early on, back in my first job after university. At that time I looked after new products for the asset manager of a large insurer. Some of them were financial investments — stocks or bonds, for example. Some were „alternative investments“, which also include real assets such as real estate. I always found those far more exciting, because the projects are tangible. I can practically watch the return being generated.
Bloxxter is now part of quirion: what possibilities does that open up?
quirion and the Quirin Privatbank have built up a great deal of trust with customers in the market over many years. And when it comes to investing, it is always about trust, too. The former Bloxxter team brings a wealth of expertise around real estate and digital securities. We complement each other perfectly. Whether in wealth management or in real assets: digitalisation in investing is our DNA. Together, we can now achieve so much more.
Further information about our properties can be found here.
