Regulation – New Regulation for Independent Investment Managers: Costs and Consequences for the Financial Industry

BSL Banking in Switzerland and Liechstenstein – October 2017
Frédérique Bensahel, Pierre-Olivier Etique

Since the drafts of the Financial Services Act (FinSA) and Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) were presented for consultation by the Federal Council on 27 June 2014, they have given rise to heated debates within the financial industry about their impact on the independent investment managers’ sector, in particular from the small structures perspective. The latter represents one of the major issues of these new regulations; indeed, market analyses have shown that half of the investment management companies active in Switzerland have one to three employees. While the legislative works are entering their final straight – the final versions should be disclosed and published by the end of the year, with a possible entry into force early 2019 – the outlines of the future regime governing independent investment managers are being fine-tuned.