THE SWISS FRANC:
                  ROCK SOLID PILLAR OF FINANCIAL SECURITY
          
               The Swiss franc is more than a paper currency --
          it is backed by gold.  Swiss law requires a minimum 40%
          gold reserve for every franc in circulation.  Actual
          gold reserves amount to 56% and are valued at the old
          Central Bank price of US$42.22 per ounce.  At today's
          market price the actual gold reserves would amount to
          many times the amount of Swiss francs in circulation. 
          There is no other currency in this position.
               Switzerland's political and economic stability has
          contributed to the Swiss franc's superior level of
          performance.  The Swiss franc has steadily increased in
          value against all other currencies.  Long term, the
          Swiss franc has been the world's best investment
          currency.
               There is no question that the Swiss franc has been
          the best managed currency in the world.  Others have
          been rising stars -- the German mark and the Japanese
          yen for example -- but they rose as part of a
          speculation on the rapid growth of their underlying
          economies, not because the currency was well managed. 
          And they didn't remain rising stars.  The yen has been
          affected by severe Japanese economic problems, and the
          mark by the high cost of reunification of Germany -- a
          cost that may go on for decades yet.
               Historically, the Japanese yen has been a heavy
          loser of monetary value against the Swiss franc.  The
          Japanese paper and debt crisis may turn out to be worse
          than the American one.
               The German cost of reunification has already been
          vastly more than the politicians estimated.  Taxes and
          deficit spending are sharply on the rise.  The reasons
          are understandable, but understanding doesn't change
          the economic result and the effect on the strength of
          the mark, which may become a far weaker currency than
          many economists expect. 
               For many, Swiss interest rates seem low, yet
          viewed historically, the total long term return has run
          higher than 10% when measured in U.S. dollars.  So many
          investors make the mistake of comparing yields
          expressed only in the currency of the investment, and
          fail to calculate the relative yields including the
          currency fluctuations.