Overview
Financial Regulation & Licensing
The full practice: every FINMA licence, SRO membership and AML in one place, and how to tell which you need.
Financial Regulation overviewSwiss fund & collective
investment licence
Running a fund in or from Switzerland is a question of roles. Managing collective assets, operating a fund management company, and the fund vehicle itself each have their own authorisation under the Collective Investment Schemes Act and the Financial Institutions Act, all supervised by FINMA directly. Since 2024 the L-QIF offers a fast, FINMA-light route for qualified-investor funds. We structure the vehicle, place the management correctly, and carry the authorisation through to approval.
At a glance
The roles, vehicles and licences behind a Swiss fund.
Manager, fund management company and vehicle: supervised by FINMA directly, with the L-QIF as the fast route for qualified investors.
- Legal basis
- CISA (SR 951.31) & FinIA
- Supervision
- FINMA, directly
- Manager capital
- From CHF 200,000
- Fund mgmt company
- CHF 1,000,000
- L-QIF
- No product approval (since 2024)
The essentials
What a Swiss fund licence is, and who needs it
Swiss fund regulation under the Collective Investment Schemes Act works by role, not by a single “fund licence”. Managing the assets of a collective scheme needs a manager-of-collective-assets authorisation; operating a contractual fund or administering a SICAV needs a fund management company licence; the vehicle itself is authorised; and the assets are safe-kept by a custodian bank. FINMA supervises all of it directly. The first task is to decide which roles you will hold and which you will delegate: that decision drives the capital, the timeline and the cost.
Who needs authorisation
- managers of collective investment schemes and qualified-investor pools;
- fund management companies operating Swiss contractual funds;
- promoters setting up a SICAV, SICAF or limited partnership for collective investment;
- managers bringing a qualified-investor strategy to market via an L-QIF.
Who does not
Managing individual client portfolios, rather than collective assets, is the lighter portfolio-manager licence under FinIA. An L-QIF vehicle needs no product authorisation at all, though its manager must be FINMA-supervised. We confirm which roles trigger which licence before any structuring begins.
The building blocks
Roles and vehicles, and the licence behind each
A Swiss fund is assembled from roles and a vehicle. This is what each one is, who authorises it, and the capital it carries: the map we use to structure for cost and speed.
| Role / vehicle | Statute & supervisor | Capital / note |
|---|---|---|
| Manager of collective assetsThe manager | FinIA (SR 954.1) · FINMA | CHF 200,000 minimum |
| Fund management companyOperates the fund | CISA (SR 951.31) · FINMA | CHF 1,000,000 minimum |
| SICAVOpen-ended vehicle | CISA (SR 951.31) · FINMA | Variable-capital company; FINMA-authorised |
| Limited partnership (KmGK)Closed-ended | CISA (SR 951.31) · FINMA | For private-equity / venture strategies |
| Custodian bankSafekeeping | Banking Act (SR 952.0) · FINMA | Holds the fund’s assets; bank licence |
| L-QIFSince March 2024 | CISA (SR 951.31) · no product approval | Qualified investors only; supervised manager required |
The L-QIF is the structural shift of the last two years: a Swiss fund with no FINMA product authorisation, reserved for qualified investors and run through a supervised manager — Switzerland’s answer to Luxembourg’s RAIF, with a few-weeks launch where a classic fund takes many months.
How it runs
From structure to launch
Two speeds. A licensed fund management company or manager runs six to eighteen months; an L-QIF on an existing supervised manager launches in weeks. Per-step timings are indicative and often overlap.
- 1–3 weeks
Structuring & role mapping
Choice of vehicle and the split of manager, fund management company, custodian and delegation, including whether an L-QIF removes the product-approval step.
- 3–6 weeks
Entity, capital & people
Swiss entity and seat, the paid-in capital for the role, qualified managers and risk function, custodian and auditor appointments.
- 4–10 weeks
Fund documents & governance
Fund contract or articles, prospectus and key information, the investment process, risk management and the full compliance and AML framework.
- Weeks–18 months
FINMA authorisation or L-QIF launch
Submission to FINMA for the manager, fund management company or product approval, or, for an L-QIF, launch through the supervised manager without product approval.
- Ongoing
Operation & supervision
Reporting, the supervisory levy and the audit cycle, which we can continue to support after launch.
Budget
What it costs
Two layers, and a wide range. FINMA charges an authorisation fee and an annual supervisory levy against its tariff; for a fund management company or manager of collective assets, the larger cost is standing up the entity, the capital, the fund documents and the organisation. An L-QIF on an existing supervised manager is a different order of magnitude, because there is no product authorisation to pay for or wait on.
Because structures vary so widely, we do not publish a single figure. We quote a fixed advisory budget in writing against a confirmed structure, so the number is settled before any work begins.
Ask for a fixed budget
What you need
What FINMA expects
Fund authorisation is organisation-heavy, because FINMA supervises it directly. A licensed role needs:
- a Swiss legal entity with the minimum capital for the role and own funds of at least a quarter of fixed costs;
- qualified, fit-and-proper managers and an independent risk-management function;
- a defined investment process, with valuation, liquidity and conflict-of-interest controls;
- a custodian bank, a licensed auditor and complete fund documentation;
- a full AML framework, since collective-investment activity is financial intermediation.
When a full fund licence is the wrong route
If you manage individual portfolios rather than collective assets, the portfolio-manager licence is lighter and faster. If your investors are all qualified, an L-QIF run through an existing supervised manager may reach the market in weeks without product authorisation, often the better answer than a full fund licence. We test the L-QIF route first whenever the investor base allows it, so you do not over-build.
Why Goldblum
What the fund authorisation involves
The decisive work in fund matters is the structure settled before any filing: vehicle, roles, and whether the L-QIF fits. That is what we do, and have done since 2014.
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L-QIF
Speed where it is allowed
We test the qualified-investor and L-QIF route first, so a strategy reaches the market in weeks where a full fund licence would take many months.
Ongoing
We stay after launch
We support reporting, the audit cycle and the AML function, keeping the structure compliant as it scales.
Related
Next in this practice
Portfolio managers
Asset manager licence
The lighter FinIA route for managing individual client portfolios rather than collective assets.
Asset manager licenceOverview
FINMA authorisation
All the Swiss licence categories in one place, and how to tell which one your activity needs.
FINMA authorisation
FAQ
Swiss fund & collective investment licence: FAQ
01What licence do I need to run a fund in Switzerland?
It depends on the role. Managing collective assets (a fund or the pooled assets of qualified investors) needs a manager-of-collective-assets licence under the Financial Institutions Act. Operating a contractual investment fund or administering a SICAV needs a fund management company licence under the Collective Investment Schemes Act. The fund vehicle itself (a SICAV, for example) is also authorised by FINMA, and the assets sit with a custodian bank. We map the roles to licences before structuring.
02What is the difference between a manager of collective assets and a fund management company?
A manager of collective assets manages the portfolio of a collective investment scheme; the minimum capital is CHF 200,000, under the Financial Institutions Act. A fund management company operates Swiss contractual investment funds in its own name and can administer SICAVs; the minimum capital is CHF 1 million, under the Collective Investment Schemes Act, with higher organisational requirements. Larger asset managers of collective schemes may also fall under the manager-of-collective-assets category rather than the lighter portfolio-manager licence.
03What is the L-QIF and why does it matter?
The Limited Qualified Investor Fund (L-QIF) is a Swiss fund, in force since 1 March 2024, that does not require FINMA product authorisation. It is reserved for qualified investors and must be managed or administered by an institution that is itself FINMA-supervised. By removing the product-approval step, it cuts time-to-market dramatically, often to a few weeks for the vehicle, while keeping supervision at the manager level. It has made Switzerland competitive with Luxembourg's RAIF for qualified-investor strategies.
04What are the minimum capital requirements?
As of June 2026: CHF 200,000 for a manager of collective assets, and CHF 1 million for a fund management company, each fully paid in. Both must also hold own funds of at least a quarter of fixed annual costs, and the fund management company faces additional own-funds rules scaled to assets under management. The custodian function is performed by a bank, which carries its own banking-licence capital.
05How long does a Swiss fund licence take?
Six to eighteen months for a fund management company or manager-of-collective-assets licence, measured from a complete file, because FINMA supervises these directly rather than through a Supervisory Organisation. An L-QIF using an existing supervised manager is far faster, since the fund itself needs no product approval. The timeline turns on the strength of the organisation, risk management and the investment process described in the file.
06Can foreign managers use a Swiss fund structure?
Yes. Foreign managers regularly use Swiss vehicles, increasingly the L-QIF for qualified-investor strategies, managed through a Swiss-licensed institution or delegated to a foreign manager under FINMA's delegation rules. The Swiss licence and the substance attach to a Swiss entity. We structure the vehicle, place the management and administration correctly, and carry the authorisation, building the Swiss substance as part of the project.
07Who can invest in an L-QIF?
Only qualified investors, as defined by the Collective Investment Schemes Act: regulated financial intermediaries, insurers, public entities, pension funds and companies with professional treasury, plus high-net-worth individuals and private investment structures that have opted in and meet the thresholds. The L-QIF cannot be offered to the retail public; that restriction is the trade-off for skipping FINMA product authorisation. If a strategy needs to reach retail investors, an authorised fund (not an L-QIF) is the right vehicle.
08What is the difference between a SICAV and a contractual fund?
A contractual investment fund (FCP) has no legal personality: it is a contract under which the fund management company manages pooled assets in its own name for the investors. A SICAV is an open-ended investment company with its own corporate form and variable capital, which can manage itself or appoint a fund management company. The choice affects governance and how the fund is administered, but both are authorised by FINMA and both keep their assets with a custodian bank. We match the vehicle to the strategy and the investor base.
09Does an L-QIF still need a custodian bank?
Yes. Removing FINMA product authorisation does not remove the structural safeguards. An L-QIF must still appoint a custodian bank to hold the assets, and it must be managed or administered by an institution that is itself FINMA-supervised, a fund management company or a manager of collective assets. Supervision moves to the institution level rather than the product level; it does not disappear. That is what keeps the L-QIF credible while still being fast to launch.
10Can the portfolio management of a Swiss fund be delegated abroad?
Yes, within limits. FINMA's delegation rules allow portfolio management to be delegated to a manager that is itself appropriately regulated and supervised, usually backed by a cooperation agreement between FINMA and the foreign regulator. Responsibility and oversight stay with the Swiss licensed institution, which must retain the substance and the controls to supervise the delegate. Administration and risk management generally cannot be hollowed out. The Swiss entity has to remain the real centre of the operation.
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