Trustee selection questions: choosing a trustee in Switzerland, answered

Trustee selection questions usually arrive in the same order: who is allowed to act, how to compare candidates, what to ask in the room, and what happens once you have said yes. This page answers them briefly, from the point of view of the person choosing. The answers are general information; the right choice depends on your residence, the beneficiaries, the assets and the trust deed.

Who may act as a trustee

What makes someone a trustee under Swiss law?

The Swiss financial institutions act (LEFin / FinIA / FINIG) defines a trustee as anyone who, on a professional basis, manages a separate pool of assets or disposes of it for a beneficiary or a stated purpose, under a trust deed within the meaning of the 1985 Hague Convention (Art. 17 para. 2 LEFin). Trustees sit in the same family of financial institutions as asset managers (Art. 2 para. 1 let. b LEFin).

When is the activity "professional"?

The law calls an activity professional when it is an independent economic activity carried out to earn a regular income (Art. 3 LEFin). A relative who agrees to help once is not in that category; a firm that offers trusteeship as a service is.

What legal form must a Swiss trustee have?

A trustee based in Switzerland must be a sole proprietorship, a commercial company or a cooperative, and be entered in the commercial register (Art. 18 LEFin). You can check the register entry yourself before any meeting.

Who supervises a Swiss trustee?

Trustees are supervised by FINMA, which involves a supervisory organisation; day-to-day supervision is carried out by supervisory organisations that FINMA itself has authorised (Art. 61 LEFin). SO-FIT is one of them. The FINMA and SO-FIT guide explains what that approval changes for you in practice.

Does supervision mean my trust is protected from every problem?

No. Supervision checks that the firm meets the legal conditions and is audited every year (Art. 62 LEFin). It does not review each decision taken for your trust, and it is not a protection without limits. You still choose carefully and keep reading what you are sent.

Comparing candidates

How many trustees should I interview?

Enough to compare approaches, not so many that you lose track. Most people find that a short list is more useful than a long one. Use the same questions for every candidate, so that differences come from the answers and not from the conversation. A structured method is set out in the decision method for choosing a trustee.

Is the cheapest trustee a risk?

Price on its own tells you little. What matters is what the fee covers, what is charged separately, and whether the team has the time and skills for your structure. A very low quote can mean thin resources; a high one does not prove quality. Fees depend on the structure and are given after a confidential assessment. The fee models compared show how to read the offers.

Can I appoint a lawyer as a trustee?

Your lawyer can advise you and still not be the right trustee. Acting as trustee on a professional basis falls under the supervision rules above, so ask whether the person or firm is authorised and supervised for that activity. Also ask how advice and trusteeship are separated, since the roles can pull in different directions.

Individual or corporate trustee: which should I choose?

An individual trustee can know a family closely but is a single point of failure: illness, retirement or death interrupt the trusteeship. A corporate trustee offers continuity and a team, at the cost of a less personal relationship. The individual or corporate trustee guide lays out how to decide.

Should I appoint one trustee or several?

Co-trustees add checks but also slow decisions and can create deadlock. The answer depends on how complex the assets are and how you want decisions to be taken. See one trustee or co-trustees for the trade-offs.

Does it matter where the trustee is based?

It matters for supervision, for the law applying to the trust and for how easily you can meet and review. If you want a trustee under Swiss supervision, check the register and the FINMA lists rather than relying on a brochure. Whether a Swiss trustee suits your situation depends on where you and the beneficiaries live, which needs an individual analysis.

What to ask and what to see

What documents should a trustee show me?

Ask for proof of authorisation and supervisory affiliation, the commercial register entry, the latest audit confirmation they are able to share, a copy of their standard terms of business, and a description of their professional liability cover. The law requires appropriate security or professional indemnity insurance, along with a minimum capital of CHF 100,000, paid in cash (Art. 22 LEFin). A serious candidate answers these requests without hesitation.

How many qualified people must a trustee firm have?

The management must include at least two qualified people, meaning adequate training and enough professional experience (Art. 20 LEFin). Ask who they are, what they have done before, and who would actually work on your file.

Can I meet the people who will handle my file?

You should. The partner who presents the firm is not always the person who answers your questions a year later. Ask to meet the day-to-day contact and the person who would stand in during an absence. The due diligence guide lists what to check, and the trustee due diligence questionnaire gives you a ready set of questions.

What should the first meeting cover?

Your objectives, the families and countries involved, the kind of assets, who the protector and beneficiaries would be, and how the trustee would take decisions. Come with questions on process: how are distributions requested, how are conflicts handled, how often will you receive accounts.

What will a trustee ask me?

Expect questions about who you are, where the assets come from and who will benefit. This is not curiosity: trustees are bound by anti-money-laundering rules (LBA / AMLA / GwG) and must identify the settlor and the beneficial owners. Hesitation to ask such questions is a worse sign than insistence.

How do I judge whether the trustee will be independent?

Ask about other roles the firm plays for you or your family, such as bank, adviser or asset manager, and how conflicts are managed. Look at how the firm would treat a request from a beneficiary that you, the settlor, would not like. Independence also depends on the protector arrangement, discussed in the trustee, protector and beneficiary triangle.

Can I ask for references?

Ask, but do not expect client names: confidentiality rules prevent a trustee from naming clients. A better test is a description of comparable situations handled, how long relationships last and how handovers were managed, without identifying anyone.

Appointment and onboarding

What does acceptance of office involve?

Before agreeing, the trustee reviews the trust deed, the assets, the people involved and its own risk and anti-money-laundering checks. Acceptance is a decision of the firm, not a formality. It can be refused, or made conditional on changes to the deed or to the asset structure.

How long does onboarding take?

It depends on the complexity of the structure, the countries involved and how quickly documents are provided. Delays most often come from incomplete identity or source-of-assets papers. A trustee who gives a fixed timetable before seeing your documents is promising more than it can know.

What happens to the assets when I appoint a trustee?

The trustee holds and manages them as a separate pool, keeps their value and uses them according to the trust's purpose (Art. 19 para. 2 LEFin). How and when the assets are transferred depends on their nature and location, and your adviser should coordinate it with the trustee.

Should I name a successor trustee at the outset?

It is wise to plan for it. Naming a successor trustee or a mechanism to appoint one avoids a gap if the first trustee retires or ceases to act.