The Swiss Financial Services Act
The Swiss Financial Services ACT (FINSA)
The Swiss Financial Services Act (FINSA) came into force on January 1, 2020. With this law the customer resp. investor protection is strengthened and the transparency of financial service providers and financial products is increased.
We would like to inform you as follows:
FINSA Client information sheet
With this customer information sheet Tareno fulfills the information requirements according to the Financial Services Act (FINSA). It is intended to give our customers an overview of the financial services offered.
Customer segmentation
According to Article 4 of the Financial Services Act (FINSA), Tareno as a financial services provider is obliged to classify all customers into customer segments. The customer segment determines the scope of the applicable investor protection level and has, among other things, an influence on the extent of the information and clarification obligations in connection with our financial services.
For client segmentation, the FINSA distinguishes between the categories of private clients, professional clients and institutional clients. Whereby the first two categories have the greatest relevance for Tareno.
Private clients
The private client segment includes all clients who are not classified as professional clients. These can be natural persons, legal entities or partnerships. Private customers are subject to the highest level of investor protection with the most extensive information and disclosure requirements. The range of financial instruments available to private clients may be restricted.
Professional clients
Clients may be classified as professional clients if they meet the legal requirements. Professional clients must have a certain amount of assets. Due to their classification as sophisticated investors, they have access to a larger investment universe compared to private clients. Professional clients are considered to have the necessary knowledge and experience regarding financial services and financial instruments to make investment decisions. They are also in a position to assess whether the associated investment risks are appropriate and financially viable for them. Professional clients are therefore subject to a lower level of investor protection than private clients.
Tareno generally allocates its asset management clients to the “private client” segment
Tareno has decided to classify all its clients as private clients. Thus, they benefit from the highest investor protection with the most comprehensive information and clarification obligations.
Change of customer category (opting-in/opting-out)
High-net-worth private clients can declare that they wish to be considered professional clients. In order to do so, they must demonstrate, in accordance with Art. 5 FINSA, that they a) have the knowledge necessary to understand the risks of the investments, based on their education and professional experience or comparable experience in the financial sector, and have assets of at least CHF 500,000; or b) have assets of at least CHF 2 million.
A change from private client to professional client (so-called opting-out) must be requested in writing to Tareno using a form provided for this purpose.
Professional clients may declare that they wish to be considered as private clients. Under certain conditions, the possibility of the so-called opting-in exists according to Art. 5 para. 5 FINSA. In this case, too, a written declaration must be submitted.