Any amendments made to fund contracts for Swiss contractual investment funds are subject to the approval of FINMA. To date, FINMA reviewed, at the request of the fund management company concerned, the draft materials to be published and the changes foreseen to the fund contract prior to the actual approval procedure. There is no statutory obligation for this preliminary review.
To efficiently optimise the approval procedure, the fund management company may now publish any foreseen changes to the fund contract on their own responsibility without any prior preliminary review by FINMA. Upon publication, the companies may submit to FINMA a formal request for approval (incl. proof of publication).
Subsequently, the updated guidelines no longer refer to the option of a preliminary review.
In addition, the requirements on the enclosures to be attached have been simplified: it now suffices to include one copy of a legally signed power of attorney, if the request is being submitted by a legal representative. It is no longer necessary to submit the original document.