Switzerland

A Swiss company limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft, AG) does not end by simply ceasing to trade. As long as it…

Swiss company law puts the board of directors, rather than the shareholders or the creditors, in charge of recognising a…

Anyone who leaves Switzerland after years of paying into the old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV) must decide what becomes of…

Whether a person who works across borders is covered by the Swiss old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV) depends first on…

The Swiss old-age pension from the first pillar is capped at a fairly modest amount, and how much a person…

A Swiss company that employs staff must deduct social security contributions from salaries and pass them on to its compensation…

Anyone who lives or works in Switzerland is insured under the Swiss old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV), and that includes…

Anyone who employs staff in Switzerland, including an entrepreneur who draws a salary from his own company, has to deal…

The Swiss old-age and survivors' insurance, known by its German abbreviation AHV, is the core of the first pillar of…

Foreign companies and investors often assume that Swiss property is closed to them. For business premises the opposite is largely…

Buying property in Switzerland follows a formal sequence that differs in important respects from practice in Asia, the Middle East…

Swiss property is taxed at several stages, and most of these taxes are levied by the cantons and municipalities. Foreign…

Swiss mortgage lending is conservative by international standards. Banks apply a standardised affordability test, expect substantial equity and require a…

Most foreign companies entering Switzerland begin by renting premises instead of buying them. Commercial leases are governed by Art. 253…

A chalet in the Alps or an apartment by an Italian-speaking lake is a classic aspiration for international families. Foreign…

Investors from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are used to holding property through companies. In Switzerland, a…

For many foreign investors, the simplest route into Swiss residential property is indirect. Shares in listed real estate companies and…

For many families who have lived in Switzerland for some years, the settlement permit (C permit) is the step that…

Swiss citizenship is the final step for many long-term residents, bringing political rights and full freedom of movement within Switzerland.

Many relocations to Switzerland begin with one family member, who later wishes to bring the spouse and children. The rules…

A departure from Switzerland needs as much preparation as the arrival. Deregistration, the end of tax liability, pension assets and…

Switzerland is one of the few countries that still levies an annual tax on private wealth. The tax is raised…

Switzerland has no federal inheritance tax. Inheritance and gift taxes are matters for the cantons, and for families with close…

Switzerland does not tax capital gains on private movable assets. This rule is one of the main attractions for private…

Investors in Swiss companies quickly encounter the 35 per cent withholding tax deducted from dividends and interest. Foreign employees meet…

The Swiss pension system offers some of the most effective tax planning instruments available to residents. Contributions to pillar 3a…

A single family office in Switzerland is usually a small operating company that serves one family and its holding structures.

A family office depends on a small number of trusted people. Families from Greater China, Asia, the Middle East, Africa…

A single family office company is a taxpayer in its own right, separate from the family members and their holding…

Over several generations, unclear roles, unspoken expectations and unresolved disputes can erode family wealth considerably. Family governance gives a family…

Many families set up an office to bring order to assets spread across banks, countries and structures. Investment governance provides…

Family offices with a long investment horizon often allocate a growing share of their wealth to private companies, real estate…

For many families philanthropy is part of their identity and a way to involve the next generation in shared values.

Whether a family office needs authorisation in Switzerland depends on whose assets it manages and which services it provides. The…

Switzerland offers a wide range of banks that serve private clients, and their business models differ more than their brochures…

Anyone opening a portfolio relationship in Switzerland will be asked to choose how investment decisions are to be made. Under…

Many international clients entrust their Swiss portfolio to an independent asset manager while their assets remain with a bank. This…

Swiss banks have long offered credit secured by a client's securities portfolio, commonly called a Lombard loan. It allows clients…

Swiss bank secrecy remains part of the law, although its scope has changed fundamentally over the past fifteen years. Clients…

Swiss succession law protects close relatives through compulsory portions, which a testator cannot simply override by will. The reform of…

For a foreign national domiciled in Switzerland, Swiss succession law applies by default. The Swiss Private International Law Act (PILA)…

Swiss law offers several ways to arrange one's succession, each subject to strict formal requirements. A document that fails to…

The matrimonial property regime determines how assets are divided when a marriage ends through divorce or death. Swiss law provides…

Many internationally mobile couples sign a prenuptial agreement in the country where they marry, often in a common law style.

When an international couple separates, the first questions are where proceedings can be brought and which law will govern them.

When parents live in different countries or plan to move, questions about the children quickly become the most sensitive part…

For many entrepreneurs from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America who run a company in Switzerland, the question…

The canton of Zug is one of the smallest in Switzerland, yet it has become one of the country's best-known…

Low corporate taxes are the reason most often cited for choosing Zug. The effective burden on profits is among the…

For entrepreneurs and families considering a move to Switzerland, personal taxation is often as important as corporate taxation. Zug is…

Forming a company in Zug is a well-established process, and the authorities are used to dealing with international founders. Formal…

For decades, Zug has been a preferred seat for holding companies and international trading firms. The former special cantonal tax…

Zug is closely associated with blockchain and digital assets, and the term "Crypto Valley" has become a recognised label. Behind…

Zug combines a lakeside setting, a safe environment and short distances to Zurich and the Alps. These qualities, together with…

Zug has a well-developed financial services sector, ranging from banks and asset managers to family offices serving wealthy families. Financial…

Many international companies and families narrow their choice to Zug or Zurich. The two locations are close enough for daily…

Switzerland offers two licensed stock exchanges, and each runs several regulatory standards or segments with their own admission and reporting…

Admission to SIX Swiss Exchange depends on a set of requirements laid down in the exchange's Listing Rules and the…

Since the Financial Services Act (FinSA) took effect in 2020, Switzerland has had a uniform prospectus regime for public offers…

The China–Switzerland Stock Connect, launched in 2022, allows companies listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges to issue global…

A company whose shares are already traded on an Asian exchange may wish to reach European investors, raise its profile…

Most of the work that decides whether an IPO succeeds happens long before the prospectus is drafted. Investors, banks and…

Once its shares are listed, a company must keep the market informed continuously and on equal terms. The relevant obligations…

Investors in Swiss listed companies must disclose their holdings once they reach certain thresholds. The regime under Art. 120 of…

Swiss takeover law governs public offers for the equity securities of listed companies. It is set out in the Financial…

Insider trading and market manipulation are prohibited in Switzerland on two levels. The Financial Market Infrastructure Act (FinMIA) contains both…

Swiss listed companies operate under a governance framework combining binding company law, the rules of the exchange and recognised soft…

Not every listing lasts forever. Controlling shareholders, private equity investors and family owners sometimes decide to take a company private,…

Many disputes about trusts begin with a simple question: what does the trust actually hold, and how has it been…

A will that surprises the family is often the first sign of an estate dispute. Swiss law allows heirs and…

Swiss succession law protects close relatives through compulsory portions. Where a will, an inheritance contract or lifetime gifts leave a…

When a family member dies with assets in Switzerland, the heirs often know little about the accounts involved. Swiss banks…

A trustee who no longer enjoys the confidence of the family, or a protector who blocks every decision, can paralyse…

A trust protects assets only as long as it is respected as a genuine structure. Where the settlor continues to…

Liechtenstein foundations are widely used by international families, often with bank accounts in Switzerland. When family members disagree, disputes usually…

Estate disputes can take years, while assets can be moved in days. Swiss law offers several instruments to secure assets,…

Wealthy families often prefer to resolve disputes privately. Arbitration and mediation clauses in trust deeds, foundation documents and wills promise…

Many estates with Swiss assets are administered under foreign law and by foreign courts. Whether a foreign judgment, grant of…

Many products that Swiss companies sell every day can also be used for military purposes or for weapons of mass…

Sanctions change quickly, and a payment that was routine last month can be prohibited today. For a Swiss company with…

Every Swiss bank asks two questions before it accepts a new client: how did the owner build his wealth, and…

When a company opens an account with a Swiss bank, it signs a short form that names the persons who…

Many companies from emerging markets have shareholders, directors or relatives of owners who hold or have held public office, or…

Most companies that list on a Swiss exchange have raised capital several times before. Pre-IPO rounds bring in family offices,…

Since 2021 Swiss law has allowed companies to issue shares, bonds and other rights as ledger-based securities, which exist only…

A foundation is created to last, often for generations, but the world in which it works changes. Its purpose may…

Philanthropy is increasingly international. Families from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America establish foundations in Switzerland to support…

Not every philanthropic project needs its own foundation. A separate foundation requires a board, accounts, an auditor, supervision and a…

A foundation has no owners and no shareholders who hold its board to account. The foundation board therefore carries a…

The tax exemption is what turns a Swiss foundation into an efficient instrument for philanthropy. An exempt foundation pays no…

Once the residence permit and the tax position are settled, a family moving to Switzerland faces a series of practical…

Many families who move to Switzerland want to buy a home, and many foreign companies want to own their offices…

For companies from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America that set up in Switzerland, the question of who…

Wealthy foreign nationals who move to Switzerland and do not work here can, in most cantons, be taxed on their…

Disputes over trusts and estates are rarely confined to one country. The assets are held with Swiss banks, the trustee…

International families often have ties to several countries: the spouses may hold different nationalities, their children may live abroad, and…

Switzerland is home to thousands of charitable foundations, many of them established by international families who want their philanthropy to…

A family office brings the management of a family's wealth under one roof: investments, real estate, companies, tax, philanthropy and…

Many international families hold their wealth through trusts, foundations or companies in Jersey, Guernsey, Liechtenstein, the Cook Islands, the British…

Crypto assets can be moved across the world in minutes, but they leave a permanent trail on the blockchain, and…

In 2014 the Ethereum Foundation was established in Zug, and within a few years the small canton had become the…

Switzerland taxes crypto assets under its ordinary tax laws, and the Federal Tax Administration has set out its practice in…

Switzerland does not have a single crypto licence. A crypto business needs the licence that corresponds to what it actually…

Whether a token issue in Switzerland is subject to securities law, banking law or anti-money laundering rules depends on what…

In 2021 Switzerland adapted its civil, insolvency and financial market law to blockchain technology in a single federal act, commonly…

Swiss companies appear in African business in two forms: as a trading company that carries price, credit and performance risk…

Trade between China and Africa reached about USD 348 billion in 2025 and about USD 204 billion in the first…

Every Swiss company limited by shares (AG) and every limited liability company (GmbH) must be able to be represented by…

Switzerland sells neither residence nor citizenship. There is no investor visa and no passport programme. What Switzerland offers wealthy individuals,…

For decades, a familiar structure for investors from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America was a company incorporated…

If your company trades from Almaty, Tashkent, Baku, Dubai or Riyadh and works with Swiss banks, trading houses or suppliers,…

Geneva is home to the European headquarters of the United Nations, the headquarters of the World Trade Organization and the…

Switzerland was one of the first countries to adapt its civil and financial market law to blockchain technology. Businesses can…

Swiss law uses German, French and Italian terms that have no exact English equivalent. This glossary explains the terms you…

Undeclared assets are a liability on every balance sheet, and the automatic exchange of information makes them visible sooner or…

A company that employs staff in Switzerland pays into a three-pillar pension system. Knowing how it works lets you budget…

Switzerland taxes individuals moderately and predictably, and it does not tax private capital gains on movable assets. For entrepreneurs who…

Commodity traders earn thin margins on large volumes. What decides their profit is access to finance at the right price,…

Without a Swiss bank account there is no Swiss business: no capital deposit, no payments, no trade finance. Swiss banks…

A Swiss listing gives a company access to one of the deepest pools of private and institutional capital in Europe,…

Swiss company law gives the board flexible tools to bring in new money quickly, and the prospectus rules leave room…

A Swiss holding company lets you collect dividends from your subsidiaries at little or no Swiss tax and reinvest them…

Switzerland has a dense network of double taxation treaties. For companies from China and Hong Kong, the treaties decide how…

Since 1 January 2020, independent portfolio managers and trustees in Switzerland have needed a licence from the Swiss Financial Market…

The number of private banks in Switzerland has roughly halved since 2010, while the assets they manage have reached a…

According to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland has returned more than USD 2 billion of illicit assets of…

Attachment under Article 271 of the Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act allows a creditor to have a debtor's assets in…

Since 2003 Swiss law has allowed a company to be convicted for offences committed within it when it failed to…

Every Swiss financial intermediary that develops a well-founded suspicion of money laundering must report it to the Money Laundering Reporting…

On 28 February 2022 the Federal Council decided to adopt the European Union's sanctions against Russia in full. The decision…

Swiss banks hold assets whose owners have stopped responding and cannot be traced. This article follows the procedure that applies…

Retrocessions are remuneration received from third parties, long paid in particular by custodian banks to the independent portfolio managers whose…

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) licenses and supervises banks, insurers, portfolio managers, trustees and other financial intermediaries. This…

Since 2018, Switzerland has sent information on financial accounts held by foreign residents to their tax administrations every year. This…

Article 47 of the Banking Act (BankA) still makes a breach of banking secrecy a criminal offence, although the protection…

The Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland – Second World War, chaired by the historian Jean-François Bergier, carried out the most…

Commodity trading touches states in which payments to officials are part of the business model of local intermediaries. Swiss law…

Since 1 January 2020 independent asset managers in Switzerland require a licence. The transition reshaped the market visibly: of 1,864…

Swiss banking secrecy was never an absolute secret, and it has not disappeared. What entered into force in 1934 was…

Geneva has around 200,000 inhabitants in the city and just over half a million in the canton. By population it…