FinSA and FinIA: ongoing duties and project needs for financial service providers

Short answer: The Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA, in German FIDLEG) and the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA, FINIG) have applied since 1 January 2020. FinSA compliance is an ongoing task: client segmentation, information duties, appropriateness and suitability checks, record-keeping, conflicts of interest, the client adviser register and the ombudsman. FinIA requires portfolio managers and trustees to hold a FINMA licence and run risk management and effective internal controls, including compliance.

This guide is for executive boards, heads of compliance and legal counsel at banks, securities firms, portfolio managers and other financial service providers in Switzerland, and at foreign providers, for example from Germany, that serve Swiss clients. It sets out the recurring duties, where project work arises and which roles cover it.

What do FinSA and FinIA cover?

FinSA and FinIA regulate two sides of the same market: FinSA governs conduct towards clients, FinIA governs the licensing and organisation of financial institutions. Both acts entered into force together on 1 January 2020 (art. 96(3) FinSA).

• FinSA (SR 950.1): protects clients and sets out the requirements for providing financial services honestly, diligently and transparently (art. 1). It also governs prospectuses and key information documents when financial instruments are offered.
• FinIA (SR 954.1): makes portfolio managers, trustees, managers of collective assets, fund management companies and securities firms subject to a FINMA licence (art. 2(1), art. 5).

For legal and compliance teams, the initial implementation is years behind them, but the duties remain. New products, new markets, audit reports and staff changes keep generating work.

Who is affected?

FinSA applies to financial service providers, client advisers, and producers and providers of financial instruments, regardless of legal form (art. 2(1) FinSA). A financial service provider is anyone who provides financial services on a commercial basis in Switzerland or to clients in Switzerland (art. 3(d)). Foreign providers, for example from Germany, are therefore caught when they serve clients in Switzerland.

The rules of conduct do not apply to transactions with institutional clients; professional clients may expressly waive certain duties (art. 20 FinSA).

Deadlines and current status

The transitional periods of both acts have expired; what matters now is ongoing compliance and the recurring audits.

Deadlines in implementing ordinances, FINMA circulars or the rules of supervisory organisations are not listed here. Check them against the current version before planning.

What firms need to do now

Financial service providers should run FinSA compliance as a continuous process and test it regularly against day-to-day practice. Typical workstreams are:

1. Review client segmentation: is every client assigned to a segment (art. 4 FinSA), and are opting-out and opting-in declarations documented in text form (art. 5(8))?
2. Keep information up to date: name, field of activity, supervisory status, ombudsman and the risks of financial instruments (art. 8) in documents and digital channels.
3. Test appropriateness and suitability: sample checks on how knowledge, experience, financial circumstances and investment objectives are collected (arts. 11–12) and on the recorded reasons for each recommendation (art. 15(2)).
4. Review conflicts of interest and third-party payments: organisational measures (art. 25) and disclosure of the nature and scope of inducements (art. 26).
5. Reconcile staff and registers: evidence of staff expertise (art. 22), adviser register entries (arts. 28–29) and rules on employee transactions (art. 27).
6. Evidence FinIA organisation: for portfolio managers and trustees, prepare management, risk management, internal control and the independence of the control function (arts. 20–21 FinIA) for the audit.

Which roles and capacity you need

Ongoing FinSA and FinIA compliance mainly needs experienced compliance officers, supported by lawyers for documentation and products. Peaks arise from audit findings, new products, system changes and market entry into Switzerland.

Smaller portfolio managers may delegate risk management and internal control to qualified employees or a qualified external body (art. 21(2) FinIA). Those people must not be involved in the activities they monitor (art. 21(3)).

How interim support helps

Interim professionals close the gaps that audit findings, vacancies or projects open up alongside day-to-day work. Alpinum Solutions provides compliance officers, legal counsel and project teams through staff leasing (Personalverleih, Swiss staff leasing) or freelancing, part-time or full-time, from junior to senior level. In staff leasing, the client directs the work and the professional is integrated into its organisation. Regulatory responsibility stays with the financial institution.

Professionals can also take on formal functions, for example a compliance officer role with regulatory responsibility, depending on client requirements and supervisory rules. Selected profiles are usually available within 48 hours; the start date is agreed between the client and Alpinum. The guide Interim compliance officer: tasks, requirements and engagement models describes typical interim compliance roles, and FINMA circulars: an overview puts the supervisory framework in context.

FAQs on FinSA and FinIA compliance

Does FinSA apply to German financial service providers?

Yes, if they provide financial services on a commercial basis to clients in Switzerland (art. 3(d) FinSA). Their client advisers may only work in Switzerland once they are entered in an adviser register (art. 28(1)). The Federal Council may exempt advisers of prudentially supervised foreign providers that serve only professional or institutional clients (art. 28(2)).

What is the difference between the appropriateness and the suitability test?

The appropriateness test applies to investment advice on individual transactions without considering the whole portfolio; it covers knowledge and experience (art. 11 FinSA). The suitability test applies to portfolio-based advice and portfolio management and also covers financial circumstances and investment objectives (art. 12). Neither applies to execution-only business, but clients must be told so (art. 13).

Who supervises portfolio managers under FinIA?

Portfolio managers and trustees need a FINMA licence (art. 5 FinIA). Ongoing supervision is carried out by supervisory organisations licensed by FINMA (art. 61(2)). Audits are generally annual; the supervisory organisation may extend the cycle to a maximum of four years based on risk (art. 62(2)).

What happens if the rules of conduct are breached?

FinSA contains its own criminal provisions, including on breaches of the rules of conduct (art. 89) and of the rules on prospectuses and key information documents (art. 90). Supervisory consequences via FINMA and the supervisory organisations come on top. What matters most for the organisation is evidence that duties are documented and controlled.

Can interim professionals run a portfolio manager's compliance function?

Yes. FinIA allows risk management and internal control to be delegated to qualified employees or a qualified external body (art. 21(2)). Qualifications and independence from the monitored activities are decisive. Whether a specific set-up is sufficient is settled case by case between the institution and its supervisory organisation.

Next step

Alpinum Solutions is the leading provider of interim legal & compliance in Switzerland and provides compliance and legal professionals for FinSA and FinIA work. Tell us what you need and we will show you suitable profiles.

• Banking, finance & capital markets law: interim professionals
• Interim legal & compliance for banks
• Regulatory calendar for legal & compliance
• Regulatory radar: all articles on regulatory change
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Last updated: 10 November 2026.