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FinSA Q&A: FinIA - Family Offices

FinSA Q&A: FinIA - Family Offices

UBS Business Solutions AG

Date: May 17, 2022

This product consists of 10 Q&As on the regulatory requirements of the FinIA in the context of family offices.

PV10265
$529.58

Author's Note

The product, a know-how collection entitled “ FinSA Q&A: FinIA – Family Offices ” consists of 10 questions and answers (" Q&As ") developed by the UBS team of regulatory experts and provides you with the basis for understanding the regulatory requirements of the FinIA in the context of family offices. Your purchase gives you access to a know-how collection prepared by UBS and may serve as a basis for you to establish your best practices as a financial institution. The Regulatory Requirements of the FinIA for Family Offices When applying the FinIA in its interplay with the Swiss Financial Services Act (“ FinSA ”) and the revised Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (“ revCISA ”) financial institutions also have to understand the regulatory requirements of the FinIA in the context of family offices. The rules in their interplay can be complex and the practice is still developing. A good understanding of this topic may hence be one of the top priorities in order to avoid...

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The product, a know-how collection entitled “FinSA Q&A: FinIA – Family Offices” consists of 10 questions and answers ("Q&As") developed by the UBS team of regulatory experts and provides you with the basis for understanding the regulatory requirements of the FinIA in the context of family offices.

Your purchase gives you access to a know-how collection prepared by UBS and may serve as a basis for you to establish your best practices as a financial institution.

The Regulatory Requirements of the FinIA for Family Offices

When applying the FinIA in its interplay with the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”) and the revised Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (“revCISA”) financial institutions also have to understand the regulatory requirements of the FinIA in the context of family offices. The rules in their interplay can be complex and the practice is still developing. A good understanding of this topic may hence be one of the top priorities in order to avoid regulatory and operational risks in this context.

These Q&As are essential practical knowledge for financial institutions in Switzerland.

For a full overview of the questions covered by this product, see Questions answered by UBS' FinSA Q&A under the FinIA section.

What you get

After you make your purchase, PartnerVine makes the Q&A available to you for download as a searchable pdf. Below are two Q&As from this product so you can see a sample of what you will get:

Samples of the Q&A

Does a family office require a FINMA license under the FinIA and if so, which one?

For the assessment of whether a family office requires a FINMA license under the FinIA (and which license is required as the case may be), the following distinctions need to be made:

  1. Does the family office qualify as single family office or a multi-family office?
    Single family offices are not in scope of the FinIA, multi-family offices are in scope of the FinIA.
  2. Is the family office appointed as portfolio manager of financial assets according to art. 3(c) FinSA or is it appointed as asset manager of collective investment schemes according to art. 7(1) CISA in connection with art. 5(2) CISO?
    Depending on the answer, different license requirements apply under the FinIA.
  3. Is the family office domiciled in Switzerland or abroad?
    Family offices domiciled abroad are generally not in scope of the FinIA, unless they have a branch or representative office in Switzerland.

Single family office: What are business ties which lead to an exemption from the license requirement under the FinIA?

According to art. 3 FinIO, the following persons are deemed to have business ties with one another:

  • Companies or units of a group which provide financial services or other services in the capacity of trustee for other companies or units of the same group. 

The term business ties is included also within art. 21(1) of the Bank Ordinance (BankO), i.e. companies form an economic unit, if one of the companies is participating directly or indirectly in more than half of the votes or capital of the other company or is controlling it in another way. 

The definition under art. 3 FinIO includes group pension funds, charitable associations (incl. respective collective investment vehicles) and the like (e.g. “Wohlfahrtsfonds”) with business ties to the group.

As a result, where such business ties exist the family office does not fall under the licensing requirements of the FinIA. However, it may need to register its family officers providing financial services in the Swiss register of advisors in accordance with art. 28 FinSA (unless exempt from registration).

 

Who needs it

The FinSA Q&A: FinIA – Family Offices is for family offices in Switzerland. If you are a family office, this product helps you understand the pertaining requirements of the FinIA.

About UBS

UBS Business Solutions AG ("UBS") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the UBS Group AG. For more information on UBS, go to www.ubs.com.

Key features

Key features of this product include: 

  • Structured & easy-to-read. Structured in a reader-friendly, easy-to-access Q&A format that is aligned with the relevant regulations.
  • Easy-to-understand. The language is practical and business friendly. The explanations in the text are accompanied by tables and graphics which make it easier to understand and communicate the regulations.
  • Interconnected. The Q&As include references to related content in other modules of UBS' FinSA Q&A and third party content to help readers understand the issues.
  • Categorization. All of the Q&As are categorized into specific topic groups which you can adapt to your individual needs.
  • Upskilling your employees. Underlined terms are explained in the Glossary, which is a complementary product that comprises over 160 terms and definitions. Together with the Glossary, the Q&As provide knowledge management support not just for employees that know an issue well, but employees that need to learn about an issue, increasing expertise across your firm.
  • Cost & time savings. You receive extraordinary value when you purchase this product. As your usage increases, your savings increase dramatically (see the Relative Advantage Calculator on the left hand side and the section below on the Relative Advantage Calculator, which will help you understand the value of this product).

Relative Advantage

The FinSA Q&A: FinIA – Family Offices gets rid of the need to research Swiss regulatory requirements regarding family offices. The Relative Advantage Calculator on this page shows a conservative use case, and the amount you would save compared to doing the tasks without the benefit of our product. For the calculator, we've taken an hour as the estimate for a lawyer charging CHF 450 per hour to research the answer to one of our Q&As. Our assumptions are conservative ones based on our experience. If you'd like to change our assumptions, you can do so in the calculator and run the number again. The value delivered by our product is meaningful in the vast majority of circumstances, and exceptional as your usage increases. 

Circumstances of Use

This product is intended for Swiss financial service providers and financial institutions and provides general information on the FinIA and related laws as of the date of finalization. Our objective is to provide the UBS' perspective of the law in order to help support a better understanding of the new regulatory framework in Switzerland. This product can be used either for implementing the new regulatory framework or as the basis of your own internal knowledge management. This product is not for use outside of Switzerland.

Important Terms

  • This product is provided to you only for use in Switzerland.
  • You are required to pay for this product by invoice after you have received it. As digital products are so easily replicable, there is no right of rescission for this product and your obligation to pay is unconditional.
  • This product is provided to you on a non-reliance basis. There is no guarantee that this product will address your particular facts and circumstances, and you will have no recourse to UBS or PartnerVine if you do not think it does.
  • Use of this product does not create an attorney-client relationship with UBS Business Solutions AG or PartnerVine, nor should the product be considered a substitute for qualified legal advice. If you need advice tailored to your facts and circumstances, please consult qualified counsel.
  • Your contract for this product is with UBS Business Solutions AG. You will not have recourse to PartnerVine in respect of your use and enjoyment of this product.

Support

This product is a downloadable pdf. There is no additional support for this product.




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