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Imagine a world where anything – your favorite artwork, a rare wine collection, or even sneakers – can be invested in as easily as stocks. Sounds unlikely? It’s exactly what the concept of “Assetization” promises. By using structured products, pioneers in finance plan to disrupt the industry by democratizing access to investment opportunities. One of the companies at the forefront of this trend is Zurich-based GenTwo. We met with Co-Founder and CEO Philippe Naegeli to find out what this future of finance could look like.
The numbers are staggering: By transforming both non-bankable (total market volume of $78 trillion to date) and bankable ($112 trillion) assets into structured products, Assetization could unlock a $190 trillion universe that could change how the world invests.
It’s an opportunity that many are chasing. And Zurich-based GenTwo has a good chance of leading that chase. “In a world dominated by traditional finance, we’re creating and providing the rails for anyone to invest in what they believe in,” says Philippe Naegeli, co-founder and CEO of Zurich-based GenTwo AG.
By wrapping physical, digital, and alternative assets into structured products, Assetization enables banks, asset managers, and financial institutions to offer personalized investment opportunities to their clients. GenTwo’s platform supports a range of assets, from fine art and collectibles to real estate, private equity, and intellectual property.
The view that Assetization will create vast opportunities is backed by research. Kean Birch, Director at the Institute for Technoscience & Society (ITS) in Toronto and Ontario Research Chair in Science Policy, was one of the first academics to study the phenomenon. “New markets are arising as the result of Assetization. (…) Companies, especially fintech innovators, are identifying ways to create new investment opportunities across a range of previously non-bankable resources. Some estimates put the value of these untapped markets in the trillions of US dollars. The objective for these companies is to find ways to generate liquidity and tradeability for these non-bankable assets, while opening up finance to more and more people.”
From Banking Floors to Breaking Barriers
That’s exactly what GenTwo is after. Operating from a former UBS trading floor in Zurich, the fintech has re-purposed the space into an innovation hub. The roughly 100 employees are united by their mission to assetize the universe. This isn’t just about niche investing – it’s about challenging the financial market’s structure and making it more inclusive, ensuring everyone can find a place in the financial world regardless of their investment preferences.
For decades, the average investor’s options have been limited to stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Traditional financial systems were not designed to handle exotic assets like vintage cars, rare whiskeys, or digital collectibles. Even bankable assets, such as private equity or ESG-aligned investments, remain underutilized due to outdated infrastructure.
GenTwo’s founders saw an opportunity to address this gap. “Finance hasn’t kept pace with how people want to invest,” Naegeli says. “Our goal is to align investment opportunities with personal values and passions, whether they are sustainable technologies or rare sneakers.”
GenTwo’s solution is as ambitious as it is simple: create the infrastructure to make any asset bankable and investible. The platform acts as a B2B2B enabler so financial intermediaries can securitize assets into structured products with a standardized wrapper. This “mass customization” approach provides personalized investment options at scale, catering to individual preferences and interests. But Naegeli says that GenTwo is about something other than dominating markets. “We’re not the producers,” he explains. “We’re the rail-builders. Our job is to support the market’s evolution and make ‘Assetization’ accessible with our infrastructure.”
Early Successes and Pushbacks
Since its founding in 2018, GenTwo has forged key partnerships with global players, slowly building an ecosystem around Assetization. These partnerships allow asset managers to package unconventional investments like pre-IPO shares and exclusive real estate portfolios into structured products.
Today, GenTwo is working with over 300 clients in 26 countries, having issued more than 1,400 products – from digital assets and crypto strategies to fine art and collectibles. And they’re not stopping there. The recent launch of a London hub proves the team is hungry to take their mission global. “The demand has always been there,” says Naegeli. “We just make it as easy as booking a flight.”
As usual, such disruption comes with pushbacks. GenTwo’s journey has faced its share of resistance. Traditional financial institutions are often skeptical of the concept of Assetization, seeing it as a potential threat to established revenue streams. Moreover, regulatory frameworks still need to be designed to accommodate such unconventional offerings.
However, GenTwo is committed to pushing boundaries responsibly. They advocate for regulatory updates while ensuring they maintain trust in the system. GenTwo’s impact extends beyond financial innovation; it represents a shift in how people engage with their money. By enabling mass customization, the company is positioning itself as a leader in the next evolution of finance. This vision is about more than accessibility – empowering individuals to align their portfolios with their values and ambitions. “We’re creating a world where anyone can invest in what they understand and believe in,” Naegeli explains. “From sustainable technologies to personal passions, anything can be investible.”
With over $190 trillion of potential assets to unlock, GenTwo is well-positioned to take a leading role in reshaping the global investment landscape. The ultimate goal? A future where every asset is accessible to every investor, regardless of geography, income, or expertise. “We’re not here to dominate,” says Naegeli. “We’re here to empower. We’re just a piece of the puzzle, providing tools for others to believe in their investments and build the future they envision.”
Philippe A. Naegeli has almost three decades of experience in the financial industry in Switzerland and the United States. In 2018, he co-founded GenTwo together with Patrick Loepfe in Zurich.
Fotos: Florian Spring