Author Archives: Patrick Schleiffer
Reduced Scope of per se Ad Hoc Obligations on SIX
As of 1 February 2024 the current per se Obligation of Issuers having only Bonds listed on SIX Swiss Exchange to publish their Financial Reports by way of an Ad Hoc Announcement is abolished.
By René Bösch / Patrick Schleiffer (Reference: CapLaw-2023-59)
Social Trading
The ongoing digitization of the financial services markets and the near ubiquitous availability of smartphones and mobile broadband internet resulted in a rise of digital-only financial service providers over the recent years. Unlike their more traditional “brick and mortar” competitors, these new financial service providers offer their services almost exclusively through digital channels and at significantly lower costs, making financial services, in particular securities trading, available to a broad base of retail investors. Combine this phenomenon with social media features, such as influencers, and the result is social trading. In this article, we take a closer look at the Swiss financial market regulatory aspects of social trading.
By Patrick Schärli / Patrick Schleiffer (Reference: CapLaw-2021-15)
Supervision of Portfolio Managers and Trustees
Under the new Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) entering into force on 1 January 2020, portfolio managers and trustees will have to apply for a license with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and become subject to ongoing prudential supervision by new supervisory organizations (SO). After the Swiss parliament passed the new legislation in June 2018, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) released its draft implementing ordinance (Draft-FinIO) for consultation in October 2018. On 6 November 2019, the Federal Council adopted the final version of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) as well as the implementing ordinance to the new Financial Services Act, and set the entry into force of the new regulation for 1 January 2020. The final FinIO contains various relevant changes for portfolio managers and trustees compared to the Draft-FinIO. Against the background of the imminent entering into force of the new legislation, the purpose of this article is to provide a summary of the license requirements for portfolio managers and trustees as well as the applicable transitional periods.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Ramona von Riedmatten (Reference: CapLaw-2019-58)
Supervision of Portfolio Managers and Trustees
Under current Swiss law, portfolio managers and trustees are not subject to a comprehensive prudential supervision, a situation that will change under the recently passed new Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). After the Swiss parliament passed the new legislation in June 2018, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance released its draft implementing ordinance (Draft-FinIO) for consultation. Under the new legislation, portfolio managers and trustees will have to apply for a license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and they will be subject to ongoing prudential supervision by new supervisory organizations. The FinIO specifies the license requirements for portfolio managers and trustees, taking into account the nature of these businesses and providing a certain amount of flexibility with respect to the requirements to be fulfilled by smaller businesses. While the new rules will come as a challenge for many of the existing portfolio managers and trustees, the FinIA and the FinIO also provide for transitional periods allowing these existing portfolio managers and trustees to transition gradually into the new regulatory regime.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Patrick Schärli (Reference: CapLaw-2018-65)
New Reporting Obligations for Securities Dealers and Participants of Swiss Trading Venues
On 1 January 2018, FINMA’s new circular 2018/2 on the reporting of securities transactions (“FINMA Circular 18/2”) entered into effect. The purpose of FINMA Circular 18/2 is to implement the reporting obligations set out in the Swiss Financial Market Infrastructure Act (“FMIA”) and to further regulate technical aspects of the reporting obligations. Compared to the previously existing reporting obligations, the FMIA and FINMA Circular 18/2 will bring about a number of significant changes, including the reporting of certain derivatives transactions and reporting of beneficial owners.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Patrick Schärli (Reference: CapLaw-2018-14)
New Rules for Organized Trading Facilities
While the concept of organized trading facilities has been introduced into Swiss law more than one and a half year ago, many of the rules applying to organized trading facilities will only be phased in by the beginning of 2018. Similarly, the Swiss regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, has only recently published regulatory guidance on the rules applicable to organized trading facilities. Such rules and regulatory guidance will start applying from January 1, 2018.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Patrick Schärli (Reference: CapLaw-2017-44)
Supervision of Portfolio Managers and Trustees – Update
Under current Swiss law, portfolio managers, unless they are acting as asset managers for collective investment schemes, and trustees are not subject to a comprehensive prudential supervision, a situation that will change under the proposed new Financial Institutions Act (“FinIA”). On 14 December 2016, this proposed new act took the first parliamentary hurdle when the Swiss Council of States deliberated and passed the new act. Compared to the draft bill published by the Swiss government in November 2015 (see CapLaw 2016-8), the draft FinIA now passed by the Swiss Council of States includes a number of significant changes to the new supervisory framework applicable to portfolio managers and trustees. Most notably, portfolio managers and trustees will have to apply for a license with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), while the ongoing (day-to-day) prudential supervision of these financial institutions will fall within the responsibility of new private supervisory organizations.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Patrick Schärli (Reference: CapLaw-2017-07)
Bail-in Recognition Clause
This paper intents to outline the purpose and scope of article 55 of the European Bank Resolution and Recovery Directive, to present, as an example, the Bail-In Recognition Clause suggested by the Loan Market Association, and to discuss the legal nature of such a clause in a Swiss law governed agreement or document.
By Rashid Bahar (Bär & Karrer), Jürg Frick (Homburger), Theodor Härtsch (Walder Wyss), Marco Häusermann (Niederer Kraft & Frey), Patrick Hünerwadel (Lenz & Staehelin), Stefan Kramer (Homburger), Patrick Schleiffer (Lenz & Staehelin), Bertrand Schott (Niederer Kraft & Frey), Roland Truffer (Bär & Karrer) and Lukas Wyss (Walder Wyss (Reference: CapLaw-2016-44)
Supervision of Portfolio Managers and Trustees
Under current Swiss law, portfolio managers, which are not acting as asset managers for collective investment schemes, and trustees are not subject to a comprehensive prudential supervision. Portfolio managers and trustees are only required to register with a self-regulatory organization in order to comply with Swiss anti-money laundering laws. Other financial services providers, most notably banks, have criticized this lack of regulatory oversight. Furthermore, the current Swiss regulatory framework for portfolio managers is not in line with international regulatory standards, such as the EU/EEA’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). This situation is about to significantly change under the proposed new Financial Institutions Act (FinIA). This new act will subject the approximately 2,300 portfolio managers to authorization requirements and comprehensive supervision by a FINMA-approved supervisory organization.
By Patrick Schleiffer / Patrick Schärli (Reference: CapLaw-2016-8)
Revised Cross-Border Marketing Regime for non-Swiss Funds to Qualified Investors in Switzerland applies as from 1 March 2015
The two year transitional period applicable to the rules for the marketing of non-Swiss funds to unregulated qualified investors in Switzerland under the amended Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA) ended on 28 February 2015. As from 1 March 2015, a Swiss representative and a Swiss paying agent must be appointed and Swiss law governed distribution agreements between the Swiss representative and the entities distributing the relevant non-Swiss fund in Switzerland must be in place, prior to marketing such funds to unregulated qualified investors in Switzerland.
By Patrick Schleiffer/Michael Kremer (Reference: CapLaw-2015-17)