The abolition of the “Swiss Finish” and “Side Pockets” under Swiss law

To increase Switzerland’s attractiveness as a distribution market for investment funds and to bring Switzerland in line with the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) III Directive, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), formerly the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC), decided to abolish the so-called ‘Swiss Finish’. The FINMA believes that: ‘The suppression of the “Swiss Finish” should contribute to reposition the Swiss Funds Market and promote Swiss Collective Investment Schemes’. This suppression, decided on 28 January 2009, entered into force on 1 March 2009.