FINMA UPDATE – Portfolio managers and trustees need to submit application by 31 December 2022 to update the existing license
Due to a change in legislation in 2020, portfolio managers and trustees have been granted 3-year transitional period to fulfil the licensing requirements and are required to submit the license application to FINMA in order to maintain the existing license. This transitional period ends on 31 December 2022. License holders that wish to carry on their business legally in 2023 must submit an application to FINMA by the end of the year. However, the application process will need to go through a supervisory organization (SO) first before FINMA. Therefore, FINMA recommends to submit the application to SO before June 2022 to allow an adequate amount of time for the affiliation process.
Is the change applicable to you?
The change in legislation is applicable if you are:
Portfolio manager who manages assets on behalf and in the name of clients.
Managers of collective assets below the thresholds defined in Article 24 para. 2 FinIA.
Trustees who manage a separate fund based on the instrument creating a trust within the meaning of the Hague Convention.
(according to FINMA presentation 2020)
Why you should act now
FINMA clearly announced on its guidance communiqués that no deadline extension for latecomers will be granted. Portfolio managers and trustees that have not yet submitted the license application to SO would miss the end of transitional period end of the year and no longer qualify for a possible deadline extension after submission. FINMA states in its Guidance that:
“Institutions that were active before the entry into force of the FinIA but that do not submit an application to FINMA before the end of 2022 may no longer conduct their business activities (on a professional basis) from 1 January 2023. Anyone who intentionally or negligently operates without a license will face the supervisory and criminal consequences set out above … ”
License holders that do not submit applications before the end of 2022 are no longer allowed to conduct their licensed activities from 1st January 2023 under an SRO license alone.
F Trust is a fiduciary and provider of Swiss companies. We assist our clients with company incorporations, administration, accounting and business license applications. If you need administrative assistance with FINMA license, please contact us at admin@ftrust.ch or call us on +41 44 266 10 60