Before you hand anyone a power of attorney over your portfolio, there is one check that takes five minutes and costs nothing: confirming the firm actually holds a FINMA licence. This guide shows you exactly where to look, what the registers do and do not tell you, and which claims should make you pause.
Why this check is no longer optional
Under the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA), which came into force on 1 January 2020, every Swiss portfolio manager needs a FINMA licence. Existing firms had a three-year transition period that ended on 31 December 2022. FINMA received 1,864 applications and had granted 1,532 licences as at February 2025; 131 applications were withdrawn.
The practical consequence for you: there is no grandfathering left. A Swiss firm managing client money commercially in 2026 either holds a licence, or should not be taking your mandate. “We are in the process of licensing” is not a status — it is a warning. Our overview of Swiss wealth management regulation sets out how the regime is built.
Step 1: The FINMA register of authorised institutions
Go to FINMA’s public search at finma.ch → Authorised institutions, individuals and products. You will see two controls: a free-text search box and a category dropdown. Select the category Portfolio managers and trustees and type the firm’s name.
What a valid result looks like: the firm’s name, its location, the licence type (Portfolio Manager or Trustee), and the line Supervisory organisation: followed by the name of the body that supervises it day to day.
Two practical notes. You can search by town as well as by name, which is useful when you are not sure of the exact legal entity. And you cannot search by UID number — the list does not carry that field, so entity verification happens in step 4. FINMA also publishes the full list as a downloadable spreadsheet, and states plainly that a newly authorised firm may not yet appear, and a firm that has lost its authorisation may still be listed. Treat the register as strong evidence, not as a real-time feed.
Step 2: Check the supervisory organisation
Swiss supervision of portfolio managers is two-tier: FINMA licenses, and a FINMA-authorised supervisory organisation (SO) conducts the ongoing prudential supervision. There are currently four, after two of them merged in late 2025:
| Supervisory organisation | Location | Public list of supervised firms |
|---|---|---|
| AOOS | Zurich | Yes, searchable |
| OSFINcontrol AG | Zug | Yes, searchable |
| SO-FIT | Geneva | Yes, searchable |
| OSIF | Geneva | No public directory found |
Cross-checking the SO’s own list is a useful second data point, because the SO knows about a change in status before the FINMA list is refreshed. A small number of firms belonging to supervised groups are supervised by FINMA directly and appear on a separate list instead.
Step 3: The client adviser register — and a common misreading
Under FinSA, client advisers working for firms that are not prudentially supervised must be entered in a client adviser register. FINMA has authorised three registration bodies: BX Swiss AG (Regservices), ARIF in Geneva, and PolyReg (RegFix). Each runs a free public search by adviser name.
Here is the nuance that trips people up: FINMA states explicitly that advisers working for banks and licensed portfolio managers do not require registration. So if your prospective manager holds a FINMA licence and its advisers are absent from the adviser register, that is normal — not a red flag. The register is the check for the unsupervised end of the market.
Step 4: Cross-check the legal entity on Zefix
The commercial register index at zefix.ch lets you search by business name or UID. On a genuine portfolio manager you should find: legal form, seat, status active, UID, the date of first registration, the people with signature authority, and a purpose clause that typically cites the statute directly — wording along the lines of asset management pursuant to Art. 17 FinIA.
What to compare: the exact legal name and town must match the FINMA entry. A mismatch is not automatically sinister — groups often have several entities — but you should be able to get a clear answer as to which entity you are actually contracting with.
Step 5: The ombudsman
FinSA requires any provider serving private clients to be affiliated to an ombudsman recognised by the Federal Department of Finance. Eight offices are currently recognised, including the Swiss Banking Ombudsman, FINOS, OFS Ombud Finance Switzerland, FINSOM and Terraxis.
None of them publishes a conveniently searchable list of affiliated firms, so the practical approach is to ask the firm which ombudsman it is affiliated to and verify the answer with that office. A firm that cannot answer this question immediately is telling you something about its compliance function.
Step 6: The warning list
FINMA maintains a public warning list of companies and individuals that may be providing financial services without authorisation — currently over 2,000 entries. Search the name there too. FINMA is careful to note that inclusion does not automatically mean the activity is unlawful, and that the list is neither exhaustive nor updated daily. It also points readers to the Zurich Cantonal Police cybercrime list and IOSCO’s international I-SCAN database.
Red flags worth taking seriously
- “We are SRO-supervised” offered instead of a FINMA licence. Membership of a self-regulatory organisation is the anti-money-laundering regime — it is not a portfolio manager licence.
- “Our licence application is pending.” The deadline passed at the end of 2022.
- The entity you would sign with is offshore, while the FINMA licence belongs to a Swiss affiliate.
- Reluctance to name the custodian bank, or a proposal that assets be held by the manager itself.
- Guaranteed returns, or pressure to decide quickly — see security and Swiss wealth.
What the register does not tell you
A licence confirms that a firm met FINMA’s requirements on capital, qualified management, risk management and insurance. It says nothing about investment competence, fee levels, succession planning or whether the firm is a good fit for you. Those questions are covered in finding the right independent wealth manager and in our analysis of what Swiss wealth management actually costs. Licensing is the floor, not the ceiling.
FAQ
Does a FINMA licence guarantee my money is safe?
No. It confirms regulatory authorisation and ongoing supervision. Your protection against loss of assets comes from the structure: securities held in your own name at a custodian bank, segregated from both the manager’s and the bank’s estate.
What about foreign managers serving Swiss clients?
Foreign firms have their own regime, and authorised representations of foreign portfolio managers appear on a separate FINMA list. Their client advisers acting in Switzerland generally do need to be in the client adviser register.
How current is the FINMA list?
FINMA itself warns that recently licensed firms may be missing and recently de-licensed firms may still appear. If the stakes are high, verify with the supervisory organisation as well — and see our note on useful Swiss wealth management resources.
General information, not legal advice. Register URLs and lists change; always work from FINMA’s own site.
