The financial press and investor information

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The rise of joint-stock companies and of the stock exchange was accompanied by the development of the financial press. The Geneva newspapers published stock-exchange prices, company results, economic news and market commentary.¹ Specialised publications appeared in Switzerland and France. Investors thus had more abundant information at their disposal, which facilitated their decisions and strengthened the transparency of the markets.

This information was not always reliable. Some newspapers were tied to financial interests, and press campaigns sometimes accompanied speculative operations. Issue prospectuses presented companies in a favourable light without always disclosing the risks. The financial scandals of the late nineteenth century, in France as in Switzerland, brought these abuses to light and fed the demands for regulation.

The question of investor information remains at the heart of contemporary financial regulation. Issuers of securities must publish complete prospectuses and periodic information. Financial service providers must give their clients clear information on products, their risks and their costs. The Federal Act on Financial Services has strengthened these requirements in Switzerland.² The financial press, now largely digital, continues to play a role of information and oversight, as recent scandals have often illustrated.

Notes

Wikipedia (en), “Journal de Genève”: newspaper founded in 1826 by James Fazy, Salomon Cougnard, Jean-François Chaponnière, John Petit-Senn and Antoine Gaudy-Lefort, at first a weekly critical of a government regarded as reactionary, a daily from 1850; merged in March 1998 with Le Nouveau Quotidien to form Le Temps. ↩
Federal Act of 15 June 2018 on Financial Services (Financial Services Act, FinSA; LSFin; SR 950.1), in force since 1 January 2020: Art. 35 para. 1 (“Any person who in Switzerland makes a public offer for the acquisition of securities […] must first publish a prospectus”) and Art. 58 para. 1 (“If an offer relating to a financial instrument is aimed at retail clients, the producer must first prepare a key information document”). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The financial press and investor information

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?