Trustees and portfolio managers are subject to a licensing requirement and prudential supervision following the entry into force of the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA) on 1 January 2020. The scope of activity of specific trustees and portfolio managers may, however, be very limited in scope and the requirements of the FinIA may be disproportionate in the light of its purpose in specific cases. The FinIA and the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO) address these cases to some extent by specific exemptions.

By Alexander Greter (Reference: CapLaw-2020-40)