Development & Community › Roadmap & Further Development › Sponsorship · 5 min read · Decided – this is how it will be
The concept of a "Company with Tied Assets" describes corporate and ownership structures in which assets remain permanently tied to a purpose, an organization, or a collectively supported mission.
At its core is not private wealth accumulation through sales or distributions, but the long-term development of an organization across generations.
This concept is often associated with the following terms:
It revolves around two central principles:
In traditional corporations, company shares can be sold, inherited, or used for private wealth accumulation.
Models with tied assets, on the other hand, aim to:
Often, the following is established:
In Germany, there has been discussion for several years about creating a dedicated legal form for companies with tied assets.
The term that has become particularly well-known is:
Earlier drafts referred to:
The discussion was particularly initiated by the Stiftung Verantwortungseigentum (Foundation for Responsible Ownership). (Wikipedia)
The planned legal form aims to enable companies to:
This does not mean the company must be non-profit.
This means:
A company can engage in economic activities and generate profits without these primarily serving private wealth accumulation.
Company assets remain permanently tied to the organization.
The private withdrawal of built-up company value is to be prevented. (gesellschaft-mit-gebundenem-vermoegen.de)
Control of the company should lie with people who actively take responsibility.
The future of the company should not be decided by invested capital. (verantwortungseigentum.org)
Profits should primarily be:
An important background to the debate is the succession issue in medium-sized businesses.
Many companies are looking for models that can preserve their structure in the long term. (Wikipedia)
Important:
The "Gesellschaft mit gebundenem Vermögen" is not yet a fully established independent legal form in German corporate law.
What exists:
In 2026, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Ministry of Finance published a framework concept again. (Federal Ministry of Finance)
The concrete legal implementation continues to be under development.
Many companies already work with similar structures, usually through combinations of:
Well-known examples often cited in connection with responsible ownership:
(Haufe.de News and Expert Knowledge)
To date, Switzerland does not have a dedicated legal form named:
The idea of responsible ownership is primarily implemented there through existing legal forms. (Faculty of Law)
The most important structure for tied assets in Switzerland is the foundation.
The Swiss foundation is based on the principle:
The contributed assets permanently belong to the foundation itself and no longer to the founders. (MME)
This creates strong asset binding.
Assets are permanently tied to a defined purpose.
A foundation has:
The assets belong exclusively to the foundation itself. (MME)
The foundation is designed for permanence.
It is therefore particularly suitable for:
Management is carried out by a foundation council.
This council administers the assets according to the established purpose.
Legal expert contributions generally see the Swiss foundation as a suitable basis for responsible ownership.
At the same time, it is discussed:
However, the use of existing foundation and corporate models currently dominates.
| Topic | Germany | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated legal form planned | Yes | No |
| Current status | Political and legal development | Implementation through existing legal forms |
| Main model | Planned GmgV | Foundation solutions |
| Asset binding | Central component | Already strongly anchored in foundation law |
| Owner logic | Restricted | Foundation has no owners |
| Practice | Often complex hybrid models | Frequently foundation + AG/GmbH |
The topic may be relevant for TEIKEI as it touches on questions such as:
Particularly interesting are models that:
↑ One level up: Sponsorship
By Felix Schröder, with support from AI (ChatGPT)
Created on May 6, 2026 · Last updated on May 13, 2026
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