Financial institutions: securities firms and asset managers

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The Financial Institutions Act of 2018, in force since 2020, regulates securities firms, fund management companies, managers of collective assets, portfolio managers and trustees. A company that deals in tokens qualifying as securities professionally for its own account with a short-term horizon, or for the account of clients, is a securities firm and requires a licence from FINMA.¹ Several crypto companies in Zug hold such licences, which allow them to operate as brokers and market makers in tokenised securities.

Asset managers who manage portfolios that include crypto-assets are subject to the licensing requirements for portfolio managers and managers of collective assets. Since 2020, independent portfolio managers in Switzerland require a FINMA licence and are supervised by a supervisory organisation. The authorisation covers portfolios of any composition. An asset manager that invests clients' money in crypto-assets must, however, demonstrate that its organisation and risk management are adequate for that asset class. Funds that invest in crypto-assets are subject to the Collective Investment Schemes Act. FINMA has approved Swiss funds with crypto exposure under the category of other funds for alternative investments, which are open only to qualified investors.²

Part F discussed the wealth management industry of Zug, all of which is subject to the regulation of asset managers under the Financial Institutions Act. For those who manage crypto-assets, the rules on custody are particularly important. Since a portfolio manager may not hold client assets itself, the assets must be held by a bank or another regulated custodian. For crypto-assets, that requirement means that the manager must work with a crypto bank, a bank with a crypto custody offering or a securities firm that offers custody.

Notes

Federal Act of 15 June 2018 on Financial Institutions (FinIA, SR 954.1), in force since 1 January 2020, droit-bilingue.ch: Art. 2 (scope: portfolio managers, trustees, managers of collective assets, fund management companies, securities firms); Arts. 41 ff. (definition and legal form of securities firms). ↩
FINMA, press release "Approval of first Swiss crypto fund", 29 September 2021, finma.ch: the Crypto Market Index Fund approved as an "other fund for alternative investments" with particular risks; distribution restricted to qualified investors. ↩

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.

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Financial institutions: securities firms and asset managers

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?