Choose, assess or change a trustee in Switzerland

Picking a trustee in Switzerland is a decision about people, process and regulation, not only about a name on a trust deed. This site is built around three questions: how do you choose a trustee, how do you tell whether the one you have is doing the job, and how do you change trustee without damaging the trust.

The information here is general. The right answer depends on where the settlor and beneficiaries live, what the trust holds and what the trust deed says, so each situation needs its own analysis.

Why a Swiss trustee is regulated

Switzerland has no trust law of its own, but it applies the Hague Convention on trusts and, under the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA, or LEFin in French), a professional trustee is a regulated financial institution. Under art. 17 para. 2 LEFin, a trustee is anyone who, on a professional basis, manages separate assets for a beneficiary or for a defined purpose under a trust deed within the meaning of that Convention.

For you, this turns a vague promise of competence into something you can check. The details are in our guide to what FINMA and SO-FIT approval means for you.

CHF 100,000

Minimum capital of a trustee (art. 22 LEFin)

Source: Agrément des trustees (LEFin, RS 954.1)

Choosing a trustee

A good choice starts with what you need the trustee to do: hold family business shares, manage a portfolio, support a protector, or look after a vulnerable beneficiary. Then you compare candidates on the same grid. Our decision method for choosing a trustee walks through it, and the due diligence guide lists what to ask before you sign.

Two early questions deserve attention: whether an individual or a corporate trustee fits your family, and how trustees are paid. Remuneration depends on the structure and is explained after a confidential assessment.

Assessing the trustee you already have

Many trusts drift. Accounts arrive late, minutes are thin, nobody remembers who the protector reports to. An independent look at the file usually shows what is missing, and the review of an existing trust is designed for that. If you want to start on your own, read about what information your trustee must give you.

Supervision is part of the picture. FINMA grants the authorisation, and an authorised supervisory organisation checks day-to-day compliance; changes in the facts must be notified to that organisation in advance. A recognised supervisory organisation such as SO-FIT is itself authorised by FINMA.

Changing trustee

Changing trustee is a legal and practical exercise: the trust deed decides who may remove and appoint, the new trustee must accept, and banks and records have to follow. The sequence is set out in changing trustee step by step, and the handover file checklist shows what the outgoing trustee should hand over.

Example: a family established in Lausanne holds a trust set up years ago with an offshore trustee that now answers slowly. They compare the options in switching trustee or fixing the relationship before deciding. The service shown on this page, moving an existing trust to a Geneva trustee, covers the review, the deed of appointment, the banks and the records.

Where to go next

• A trustee is not responding: replacing a failing trustee
• A trust arrived by inheritance: you inherit a trust
• A trust held abroad: bringing a foreign trust into trusteeship in Switzerland
• Terms you keep meeting: the trustee and trust glossary

Frequently asked questions

Does a trustee in Switzerland need FINMA approval?

A professional trustee falls under the Financial Institutions Act and is supervised by FINMA, which works with an authorised supervisory organisation. Whether a particular arrangement is caught depends on whether the activity is professional, meaning an independent economic activity carried out to earn a regular income.

What must a Swiss trustee look like as a business?

A trustee based in Switzerland must be a sole proprietorship, a commercial company or a cooperative, entered in the commercial register. Its management must include at least two qualified persons, and it is audited each year by an audit firm.

Can I change trustee if the trust was set up abroad?

Often yes, but it turns on the trust deed, the governing law and the countries involved. Start with the documents and an independent review, then see changing trustee questions answered.

Sources

• Agrément des trustees (LEFin, RS 954.1) — FINMA
• Introduction du trust dans le droit suisse — Office fédéral de la justice
• SO-FIT — organisme de surveillance