Trustees & Family Offices
Our Financial Services team advises trustees and family offices in relation to transactional and regulatory matters.
The entry into force of the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) and the Financial Services Act (FinSA) on 1 January 2020 sees the activities of trustees comprehensively regulated for the first time. Since then, trustees, like independent portfolio managers, require a licence to carry out their activities and must provide proof that they are supervised by a supervisory organisation (SO).
Recent Legal Updates related to Trustees & Family Offices
Our offer especially for trustees
Customised set of directives
Although standard documents can be helpful, our experience shows that they are not always effective because every financial service provider has different business activities and needs. We can create an appropriate set of directives tailored to your circumstances at a fixed price. Besides your directives, this package also includes an update of your articles of association and organisational regulations.
FINMA licence applications – preparation and submission
We support you in preparing and submitting your FINMA application. For a fixed fee, you get advice on how to design your corporate governance as well as your structural and procedural organisation. We’ll also revise your existing directives, including your articles of association and organisational regulations. Benefit from advice on the outsourcing of services, preparation of application-relevant enclosures and submission of the application.
Ad-hoc advice on FinSA and FinIA issues
Do you have specific questions about implementation of FinSA and FinIA? Our team will be happy to suggest pragmatic solutions.
Advice on organisational requirements and corporate governance
For a fixed fee, you get advice on how to design your corporate governance as well as your structural and procedural organisation so that all legal and regulatory requirements are met.
Our expertise includes:
- Structuring of (private) wealth planning, advisory and asset management activities of trustees and family offices, including the establishment of trustee entities and contractual relationships with testamentary, revocable or irrevocable trusts and their beneficiaries and trustors, as well as related fundraising ventures
- Drafting, negotiating and commenting on constitutional documents of trustees, will or trust deeds, advisory and asset management agreements, bank agreements, and any documentation of their services providers, as well as issuing legal or regulatory opinions
- Provision of regulatory advice in relation to the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Swiss Financial Institutions Act and the Swiss Financial Services Act (if applicable); the affiliation, organisational and risk management requirements, including drafting and commenting on compliance concepts and internal regulation or guidelines connected to any relevant financial market laws and ESG (or sustainability) frameworks
