1. Status of implementation
  2. National deviations
  3. Loan origination regime
  4. Regulatory guidance

jurisdiction

Switzerland
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Status of implementation

Switzerland is not part of the European Union and is not transposing AIFMD II into domestic law. However, as a third country, Switzerland is closely monitoring developments related to AIFMD II. Swiss alternative investment fund managers must monitor the local transposition of AIFMD II across EU jurisdictions to ensure compliance with their EU counterparts and the relevant national private placement regimes.

National deviations

There is no national deviation because AIFMD II is not implemented in Switzerland. However, the tightening of the AIFMD II framework may affect Swiss managers acting as third-country AIFMs, in particular in the following areas:

  • Delegation: tighter delegation rules under AIFMD II are expected to increase scrutiny of EU host AIFMs that delegate to managers in Switzerland and may prompt a review of existing delegation arrangements.
  • Risk management and liquidity management tools: the enhanced risk management and liquidity management frameworks may have an operational impact on Swiss AIFMs, even though Swiss rules have also been tightened in this area within the broader IOSCO context.
  • Pre-investment disclosure and reporting: the enhanced disclosure and reporting requirements under Articles 23 and 24 AIFMD II and Annex IV may affect the data feeds and disclosures that Swiss AIFMs must provide.

Loan origination regime

AIFMD II is not transposed under Swiss law and Swiss framework tend to be more flexible. However, the new loan origination regime may affect Swiss managers because marketing loan-originating AIFs in the European Union will be subject to stricter conditions. In the absence of a passport, the national private placement regimes of each EU Member State will define the framework within which Swiss managers operate.

Regulatory guidance

There is no AIFMD II-specific FINMA guidance. However, FINMA has concluded international bilateral agreements with various EU supervisory authorities that generally cover AIFMD. In the absence of recognition by the European Commission, those agreements cannot substitute for EU market access through passporting, although they may facilitate delegation between EU AIFMs and Swiss-based managers.