Asset manager & trustee licensing

Professional management of client assets under a power of attorney can require a portfolio-manager license under FinIA. We review the decision-making authority, client relationships and applicable commercial-activity tests. Advice, execution and management should be distinguished by how the mandate actually works.

The licensing analysis concerns professional administration or holding of a separate trust fund for beneficiaries or a specified purpose under the trust instrument. We examine the trustee’s powers, the commercial nature of the work and any relevant statutory exclusions before settling the route.

Yes. Swiss trustee licensing and the law governing the trust address different questions. The trust deed and applicable foreign law determine the trustee’s powers and duties, while Swiss rules regulate the professional activity performed from Switzerland.

No. Licensing the trustee and establishing the trust are separate matters. The license concerns the professional activity; the trust must be assessed under its governing law and applicable recognition rules. We coordinate those questions with appropriate foreign-law advice where required.

We can coordinate the Swiss regulatory work across a trust portfolio. Questions about a particular trust’s validity, interpretation or administration may require counsel qualified in its governing law. Those responsibilities are identified at the outset of the engagement.

FinIA sets a CHF 100,000 minimum, paid in cash and maintained continuously. Ongoing own-funds and financial-security requirements must also be assessed. The minimum is not a complete operating budget, and the financial plan should allow for the business’s actual costs and risks.

The statutory starting point is two qualified managers. A single qualified manager can be possible where continuity of the business is demonstrated as required by law. Training, experience, availability and credible replacement arrangements need evidence; a name on an organization chart is insufficient.

A supervisory organization provides ongoing oversight of most licensed portfolio managers and trustees. Its confirmation is part of the licensing process, while FINMA makes the authorization decision. The application and subsequent controls therefore need to work for both stages.

The file needs a coherent management structure, risk controls, compliance arrangements, suitable delegation and business continuity. Requirements are applied to the size and risks of the operation. We help connect the written policies with the people and providers expected to perform them.

The timetable depends on readiness and the supervisory review. Typical workstreams include mandates or trust documents, management qualifications, ownership, financial resources and internal policies. We identify missing evidence first, then plan supervisory-organization admission and the FINMA submission in sequence.

Licensed managers and trustees remain subject to applicable AML requirements. For the ordinary supervisory-organization route, AML oversight forms part of the ongoing supervisory framework. We establish that framework rather than assume a separate SRO membership is always required.

Yes, but the proposed Swiss presence needs its own analysis. A subsidiary, branch and cross-border service model can produce different requirements. We examine the foreign authorization, Swiss activities, local decision-makers and any coordination needed with the home supervisor.

FinIA permits portfolio managers and trustees to use eligible forms including a sole proprietorship, commercial company or cooperative. Each must satisfy the applicable licensing and commercial-register requirements. Personal practice is not an exemption from the regulatory analysis.

Individual client mandates and management of collective investment schemes or pension assets can fall into different categories. Statutory thresholds and exceptions matter for collective assets. We check the assets, investors and mandate before assuming a portfolio-manager license covers the proposed work.

A portfolio-manager license does not itself authorize deposit-taking. The usual mandate gives investment authority over assets held with a custodian. Holding client money in the manager’s own name or changing settlement arrangements requires a separate assessment.

Yes. We can coordinate the assessment and application work, while addressing the different mandates, qualifications and risks. The documents must accurately describe both activities; adding trustee work to an existing manager should be reviewed before it begins.

The firm must maintain its financial resources, organization and controls, meet the applicable audit and reporting requirements, and keep client documentation current. Responsibility stays with the institution. A compliance calendar helps assign recurring tasks and track evidence of completion.

Changes affecting the license must be assessed before implementation. Management, ownership, activities, outsourcing and financial resources can be relevant. We identify what should be reported to the supervisory organization and whether FINMA approval is also required, then prepare the affected documents.