Fund management companies

Fund management companies manage investment funds for the account of investors and are responsible, among other things, for choosing which investments to make. They are subject to authorisation requirements.

Authorisation requirements

Fund management companies require authorisation from FINMA. A fund management company must meet the following requirements (Arts. 32 ff. FinIA and 49 ff. FinIO):

• it must be organised as a limited company with its registered office and administrative centre in Switzerland;
• it must meet the minimum capital requirements;
• the board of directors must have at least three members;
• the share capital must be divided into registered shares;
• the company must have an organisation appropriate to its role;
• those responsible for managing the fund management company must be independent of the custodian bank, and vice versa.

Role of a fund management company

Fund management companies manage at least one collective investment scheme subject to approval autonomously in their own name for the account of investors (Art. 34 FinIA and Art. 49 para. 1 FinIO). In particular, they perform the following tasks: 

• decide on the issuing of units, the investments and their valuation;
• calculate the net asset value;
• set issue / redemption prices and profit distributions;
• exercise all the rights associated with the investment fund.

Under Article 54 para. 1 FinIO), fund management companies are also responsible for:

• representing foreign collective investment schemes;
• acquiring stakes in companies whose main purpose is to operate collective investment schemes;
• managing unit accounts.

Changes in circumstances

Fund management companies must inform FINMA of any change in circumstances crucial to the granting of authorisation. Any significant changes are subject to prior authorisation by FINMA before resuming operations (Art. 8 FinIA in conjunction with Art. 10 FinIO).  Prior authorisation must also be obtained for changes to business activities such as when taking on the management of limited qualified investor funds (L-QIF).

Cessation of an activity for which approval is required

Any intention to cease fund management operations requires prior approval from FINMA (Art. 8 FinIA). The regulatory auditor will also be asked to give its opinion of the intended action.

Information and templates

When applying for authorisation, application templates are available on the EHP survey and application platform and the following documents can be used.

Applicants must self-register via the FINMA homepage to gain access to the EHP. Following self-registration and the review by FINMA, they will be able to access the EHP through the FINMA portal via two-factor identification.

The following unfolded application template serves as a guide and cannot be used as an application.