Advice on financial and capital market law

Financial market is the term used to describe all markets on which transactions and trading in capital and financial instruments are carried out and related services are provided. Financial market law thus comprises the legal foundations in the areas of money market, credit market, foreign exchange market, securities trading, stock exchanges and banks as well as other institutions of the financial market infrastructure, asset management as well as the regulations concerning the regulation and supervision of these markets and institutions and the fight against money laundering. The self-regulatory decrees of the financial service providers themselves should also be mentioned.  

Consultations on financial market law cover the regulatory issues relating to these legal areas. This includes the legal representation of financial service providers such as banks, investment firms, asset managers and infrastructure operators in contacts with the supervisory authority and self-regulatory organisations.

Authorisation procedure

For the operation of companies operating in the regulated financial market, licences from the supervisory authority are required, in Switzerland FINMA. The licensing requirements are set out in the supervisory laws, e.g. the Banking Act, the Financial Institutions Act, the Collective Investment Schemes Act or the Financial Infrastructure Act. They differ depending on the type of authorisation. For example, the requirements for fulfilling the licensing conditions for operating a bank or a stock exchange are much higher and more complex than for the asset manager licence and the licensing procedure for the former is correspondingly more complex. Specialist knowledge and experience facilitate the preparation and compilation of the application and the application enclosures, such as documentation of the owners and executive bodies, internal regulations, organisation and infrastructure, business plan and budgets.

With the entry into force of the new financial market laws (Financial Institutions Act and Financial Services Act), asset managers are newly also subject to licensing and supervision since the beginning of 2020. For these financial service providers, who are now faced with complex regulatory requirements, advice and support can facilitate the licensing procedure.

Compliance and risk management

All regulated financial service providers and all other non-prudentially supervised financial intermediaries must comply with the obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The rules for combating money laundering have become increasingly complex. Proper and formally correct implementation is costly and requires resources. This challenge is not easily to meet by smaller asset management companies. Support in the form of advice or the assumption of specific functions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act can make things easier. However, larger financial services companies are also increasingly confronted with complex questions on this subject, and external support can be useful in answering them.

Anti-Money Laundering Act

All regulated financial service providers and all other non-prudentially supervised financial intermediaries must comply with the obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The rules for combating money laundering have become increasingly complex. Proper and formally correct implementation is costly and requires resources. This challenge is not easily to meet by smaller asset management companies. Support in the form of advice or the assumption of specific functions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act can make things easier. However, larger financial services companies are also increasingly confronted with complex questions on this subject, and external support can be useful in answering them.


Other Areas of Law

For advice and legal assistance in other areas of law, please refer to the services of Advokatur Beuret, owner Arnaud Beuret; see www.advokatur-beuret.ch.