Investment fund registration in Switzerland
Swiss law distinguishes between special financial intermediaries such as banks, insurance companies, gambling houses, stock-brokers, etc, which will require a license from FINMA and other financial intermediaries, e.g. payment service providers, credit providers, money transfer organizations which may be supervised by FINMA or SRO. This is confirmed by the Anti-Money Laundering Act 1997 (AMLA).
What is the role of SRO
The role of the SRO is to determine the requirements for due diligence in accordance with the AMLA in the form of regulations and to monitor whether their affiliated financial intermediaries comply.
Consequences of being monitored by SRO
"Other Financial Services Intermediary companies" (asset management, etc.) supervised by SRO is exactly the same as FINMA.
In fact, as soon as a company is supervised by the SRO, its name and all information will be sent to FINMA and listed on the FINMA website.
Types of financial intermediaries
According to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), persons or companies acting as financial intermediaries with registered offices or branches in Switzerland must be affiliated with a self-regulating organization (SRO) or authorized by the Federal Service for the Supervision of Financial Markets (FINMA).
The SRO makes a distinction between two types of financial intermediaries:
- Financial intermediaries subject to special legislative supervision;
- Financial intermediaries subject to special legislative supervision that require additional licensing/permit by FINMA to operate.
These are:
- Banks;
- Insurance companies;
- Gambling houses.
- Other financial intermediaries (operating in the banking sector):
In contrast to the above mentioned financial intermediaries subject to special legislative supervision, other financial intermediaries, so-called "alternative financial sector" or "parabankan sector" can, after they have applied for and been directly supervised by FINMA or SRO, start their business activities without the need to obtain additional licenses or permit.
Other financial intermediaries: as defined in AMLA
According to article 2 (3) of the AMLA, they are defined as "persons who professionally accept or keep on deposit assets owned by other persons or who assist in investment or transfer of such assets."
What types of services other types of financial intermediaries may provide
In accordance with article 2, paragraph 3, of the AMLA, they include persons who:
- perform credit operations (in particular, for consumer loans and mortgages, factoring, commercial financing or financial leasing);
- provide services related to payment transactions, in particular, perform electronic transfers on behalf of other persons or issue or manage such payment means like credit cards and traveler's checks;
- trade at their own expense or at the expense of other persons in banknotes and coins, money market instruments, foreign currency, precious metals, goods and securities (shares and securities rights), as well as their derivative instruments;
- manage assets;
- make investments as investment advisers;
- hold securities in custody or manage securities.
Advantage of being a Swiss financial intermediary over being an EU status
The main advantage is that the capital requirement is lower than in Europe and only capital of CHF 100,000 is required.
The second advantage is that other Swiss financial intermediaries can trade both at their own expense and at the expense of others. Now, in any other EU jurisdiction, a company that wishes to trade at its own expense must have a capital of at least CHF 750,000.
Ready-made companies with bank accounts
Or you've already got own business and there is a need to expand the scope of activities. To avoid the loss of time and effort to register juridical individuals, you can arrange a ready-made company. You will have a fully prepared company with a package of documents, which is mandatory for conducting a full-fledged activity.
Companies with licenses
Buying a ready-made company is the best option for operational business development in a new industry, as well as the need to expand the scope of the existing organization increase its scale. Acquisition of a company with mandatory permits and license means the ability to enter a new market in a short period of time.
Banks
Acquisition of a ready-made bank allows you to save time, as well as quickly carry out all reissuing operations. On average, the procedure takes about one day. As a result, the client becomes the head of the bank, which already has a client base, as well as status in the market and ready staff. Our company conducts all operations in accordance with existing legislation.
Funds
Investment fund is a modern investment tool designed for all types of assets. The purpose — managing of assets as well as solving number of tasks in a way that works best for individuals. There is no open subscription, meaning that a private investment fund has a closed structure. This is the most optimal solution for distributing capital through broad instruments.
SEMI for sale
When conducting business related to foreign exchange transactions, electronic money and cryptocurrencies, it may be necessary to open a financial company with a SEMI license. This type of license covers the production of debit cards and cryptocurrencies, the acceptance and sending of payments, the execution of transfers from third parties, and the opening of merchant accounts.
Crypto Offshore
When working with cryptocurrency it is important to choose the right country, where it is most profitable to open a company. Each country has a different attitude towards this type of currency. A country that has a loyal or positive attitude towards cryptocurrency can be called a crypto-offshore.
