Swiss consultant register
The Swiss register of advisers is part of the Swiss Financial Services Act. The Swiss Financial Services Act (FidleG) is expected to come into force on January 1, 2020. The FidleG regulates the provision of financial services in Switzerland and the creation of financial instruments for the Swiss market. Its obligations apply to both Swiss financial service providers and non-Swiss financial service providers who provide cross-border financial services in Switzerland.
Financial services within the meaning of the FinSA are the acquisition and sale of financial instruments, the acceptance and transmission of orders relating to financial instruments, the administration of financial instruments (asset management), the making of personal recommendations relating to transactions in financial instruments (investment advice ) and the granting of credits for the conduct of transactions in financial instruments. Financial instruments are equity securities, debt securities, funds, structured products, derivatives, structured deposits and bonds.
Financial service providers who are affected by the scope of the FinSA have to fulfill various obligations. These include, among other things, duties of conduct, duties of information, adequacy and suitability, duties of documentation and accountability, duties of adequate organization, duties with regard to conflicts of interest and the duty to connect to an ombudsman .
Function, organization and origin
The Swiss register of advisers is expected to be kept by the Regulatory Services AG registration office. Approval by the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) is required , which is currently pending.
Registration requirement
Just like client advisors from Swiss financial service providers that are not subject to the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA), client advisors from non-Swiss financial service providers who look after clients in Switzerland or who provide financial services in Switzerland, for example in the form of the sale of financial instruments, must all in one Advisor register. Prior entry in the consultant register is a prerequisite for providing financial services in Switzerland. It must be submitted by June 30, 2020 at the latest, or earlier if a client advisor provides financial services to clients in Switzerland.
Prerequisites for entry in the register of consultants are sufficient knowledge of the rules of conduct according to the FidleG, the specialist knowledge required for the activity, the conclusion of professional liability insurance or the existence of equivalent security, the connection to an ombudsman, no entry due to criminal acts against assets according to the StGB and no activity or professional ban imposed by FINMA. The consultant register, which has itself been licensed by FINMA, thus has a discretion in deciding whether a client advisor has sufficient knowledge of the rules of conduct under the FidleG and the specialist knowledge necessary for the job.
When registering, the client advisor must prove by means of documents and possibly also based on an oral interview that he has the necessary knowledge and skills. The advisor register contains at least the following information about the client advisor:
- name and first name
- Name or company and address of the financial service provider for whom you work
- Function and position of the client advisor within the organization
- Fields of activity
- the completed training and further education
- the ombudsman to which you as a financial service provider or the financial service provider you work for are affiliated
- Date of entry in the register.
However, a client advisor has duties even after registration: Client advisors must report the following developments to the advisor register within 14 days:
- Change of name or address
- Change of the name or address of the financial services provider they work for
- Change of their function and position in the organization as well as their fields of activity
- completed training and further education
- Change of ombudsman
- Whole or partial loss of professional liability insurance
- Termination of activity as a customer advisor
- certificates of loss issued on them
- Convictions for criminal acts under Swiss or foreign financial market laws
- Activity bans in Switzerland and abroad
Missing registration penalties
The FidleG expressly provides for penal provisions that can be canceled if the FidleG is violated. In addition to these special legal sanction provisions, the general sanctions according to FINMAG can also apply. In particular, a preliminary investigation can be carried out if the FINMA enforcement department provides information on possible regulatory-relevant irregularities or legislative violations.
Web links
- FinSA: Fundamental changes for the cross-border provision of financial services
- Werner Grundlehner: The advisor should be in the register. In: nzz.ch. July 30, 2015, accessed March 5, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/federal-gazette/2018/3615.pdf
- ↑ Art. 1 FinSA
- ↑ Art. 3 para. 1 lit. c FinSA
- ↑ Art. 3 para. 1 lit. a FidleG
- ↑ https://www.swissbanking.org/de/services/insight/insight-3.15/was-haben-uns-fidleg-und-finig
- ↑ Art. 7 f. FidleG
- ↑ Art. 8 f. FidleG
- ↑ Art. 10 ff. FinLG
- ↑ Art. 15 f. FidleG
- ↑ Art. 21 ff. FinLG
- ↑ Art. 25 ff. FinSA
- ↑ Art. 74 ff. FinSA
- ↑ www.regservices.ch
- ↑ Art. 28 ff. FinSA
- ↑ https://www.finma.ch/de/bewilligung/fidleg-und-finig/informationen-zum-fidleg/
- ↑ Art. 28 FinSA
- ↑ Art. 95 Paragraph 2 FinSA
- ↑ Art. 29 FinSA
- ↑ Art. 32 FinSA
- ↑ Urs Zulauf / David Wyss / Daniel Roth, Finanzmarktenforcement, Bern 2014, p. 85 ff.