Setting up a real estate asset management firm in Geneva: FINMA thresholds, property funds, Lex Koller and AML

Real estate asset management in Geneva and its neighbouring trades

An asset manager decides on the owner’s behalf: which building to buy, which to sell, what works to commission and what return to aim for. Day-to-day execution belongs to other professionals. Blurring those roles is the usual reason a company ends up with a badly drafted business purpose.

Geneva adds a cantonal layer. If you advise an owner to refurbish a residential building, the LDTR, Geneva’s act on the demolition, conversion and renovation of residential buildings, requires a permit for any conversion or renovation as it defines them (Art. 9(1) LDTR). Your works schedule has to allow for it.

Directly held property: what FinSA says

Swiss financial market law does not regulate the management of buildings as such. It regulates the management of financial instruments. The Financial Services Act (FinSA, LSFin in French) lists among financial services the “administration of financial instruments (portfolio management)” (Art. 3(c)(3) FinSA), and then sets out a closed list of those instruments: shares and similar equity securities, debt instruments, units in collective investment schemes, structured products, derivatives, certain deposits and bonds (Art. 3(a) FinSA).

A building entered in the land register in your client’s name fits none of these categories. Under the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA, LEFin in French), a portfolio manager is someone who manages clients’ assets “within the meaning of Article 3 letter c items 1 to 4 FinSA” (Art. 17(1) FinIA). Reading the text of the law, strategic management of property held directly by the client therefore does not call for a portfolio manager licence.

The line is crossed quickly. Units in collective investment schemes are on the list (Art. 3(a)(3) FinSA), so a client who also hands you listed real estate fund units makes you a portfolio manager as soon as one of the thresholds in Article 19 of the Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO, OEFin in French) is reached: gross earnings above CHF 50,000 a year, more than 20 contractual partners, or unlimited power of disposal over more than CHF 5 million.

Lex Koller: check who owns the portfolio

A large share of Geneva’s investment property belongs to owners domiciled outside Switzerland, and the Lex Koller (LFAIE) decides what they may buy. Your acquisition strategy has to start from that constraint, not end with it.

Persons abroad include nationals of states outside the EU and EFTA who have no right to settle in Switzerland, companies with their seat abroad, and Swiss companies in which persons abroad hold a dominant position (Art. 5(1) LFAIE). Dominance is presumed once they hold more than a third of the capital or the votes (Art. 6(2) LFAIE). Their purchases of real estate need cantonal authorisation (Art. 2(1) LFAIE), unless the property serves as the permanent establishment of a business (Art. 2(2)(a) LFAIE).

The Federal Office of Justice spells out the consequence in its instructions to land registries: offices, shops, hotels and shopping centres may be bought by a person abroad, even purely as an investment. The registry checks, on the other hand, that the buyer is not acquiring housing. Changing the structure does not help. Buying shares in a real estate company whose shares are not listed on a Swiss exchange counts as acquiring the property itself (Art. 4(1)(e) LFAIE), and any attempt to circumvent the Act leads to refusal (Art. 12(c) LFAIE).

SICAVs and real estate funds: collective management

Once several investors pool their money, you are in a different regime. The Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA, LPCC in French) defines collective investment schemes as assets raised from investors for collective management on their behalf (Art. 7(1) CISA). A real estate fund is the open-ended form of such a scheme, investing in real estate assets (Art. 58 CISA).

A real estate SICAV is often the vehicle chosen by an owner who wants to bring other families into his portfolio. Its sole purpose must be the collective management of assets (Art. 36(1)(d) CISA). It needs FINMA authorisation (Art. 13(2)(b) CISA) and may be entered in the commercial register only once that authorisation is granted (Art. 13(5) CISA). It may delegate investment decisions only to persons authorised for that activity (Art. 36(3) CISA).

Your company then becomes a manager of collective assets (Art. 24(1) FinIA). That status brings four requirements:

• a commercial enterprise (Art. 25 FinIA) with minimum capital of “at least CHF 200,000”, “paid up in full” and “maintained at all times” (Art. 42(1) FinIO);
• a management body of at least two people, joint signature by two and a separate body for governance, supervision and control, unless FINMA grants an exemption to a small firm (Art. 37 FinIO);
• supervision by FINMA itself, with no supervisory organisation in between (Art. 61(3) FinIA);
• authorisation before registration: such institutions “may be entered in the commercial register only after authorisation has been granted” (Art. 5(2) FinIA).

The L-QIF, a fund reserved for qualified investors, does not require authorisation when it takes the form of a SICAV or a limited partnership for collective investment (Art. 13(2bis) CISA). Exempt from authorisation does not mean free of rules: have a lawyer review the vehicle before you present it to investors.

Below the thresholds: portfolio manager and supervisory organisation

A manager of collective investment schemes whose investors are qualified remains an ordinary portfolio manager if the assets under management total no more than CHF 100 million, leverage included, or CHF 500 million without leverage and with no right of redemption for five years (Art. 24(2) FinIA). An open-ended SICAV gives investors a right to redeem their units (Art. 8(2) CISA), so only the CHF 100 million ceiling is open to it.

Below that ceiling you still need FINMA authorisation, but day-to-day supervision is carried out by a supervisory organisation (Art. 61(1) and (2) FinIA). Of the four organisations approved on 29 October 2026, two are based in Geneva, OSIF and SO-FIT; the other two are AOOS in Zurich and OSFINcontrol in Zug. Minimum capital drops to CHF 100,000, “paid up in cash” (Art. 22(1) FinIA).

Buying and selling for an investor: the AMLA

Since 1 October 2026, an asset manager who organises clients’ transactions may count as an adviser under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA, LBA in French). The Act now covers those who, professionally and on behalf of third parties, take part in financial transactions, including the organisation of funds, linked to the purchase or sale of real estate (Art. 2(3bis)(a) AMLA).

Most Geneva investment properties sell for well above CHF 5 million, so the exemption for transfers below that amount paid exclusively through financial intermediaries (Art. 2(4ter)(b) AMLA) rarely covers your files. If you coordinate the financing of a purchase or the allocation of a sale price, plan for identifying the client and the beneficial owner and for membership of a self-regulatory organisation. An authorised portfolio manager or manager of collective assets is, in any case, a financial intermediary by law (Art. 2(2)(abis) and (bbis) AMLA).

Incorporating the company in Geneva

The company must be represented by someone domiciled in Switzerland: a managing director or a manager in a GmbH (Art. 814(3) CO), a board member or an executive officer in an AG (Art. 718(4) CO). A manager who keeps his London home for the first months therefore needs a resident director. Our company incorporation service in Geneva covers the steps up to entry in the commercial register.

Your passport decides the residence route. An EU or EFTA national moving to Switzerland to work on his own account receives a residence permit of at least five years if he shows he is setting up for that purpose (Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, Annex I, Art. 12). A national of any other state must satisfy the cantonal authority that the project serves the country’s economic interests and that he has sufficient independent income (Art. 19 of the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act).

One drafting point matters from day one. The terms “portfolio manager” and “manager of collective assets” may appear in a company name, a business purpose or commercial documents only once the corresponding authorisation has been obtained (Art. 13(2) FinIA). A company that manages buildings describes its purpose as real estate asset management, advisory and oversight, not portfolio management.

A worked case: a London manager and a Gulf investor

An asset manager with fifteen years in London real estate takes over the strategic management of twelve Geneva buildings. They belong to a Geneva AG, itself owned by an investor based in the United Arab Emirates. The portfolio, valued at CHF 310 million, consists mainly of offices and ground-floor retail units. The manager moves to Geneva, forms an AG with a resident director for the transition and signs a management mandate with the owning company. The mandate covers only buildings held directly by his client: on the wording of FinSA, he manages no financial instruments.

The first obstacle comes early. The investor wants to add two apartment blocks in Carouge. As a person abroad, he cannot buy them as an investment, and a new unlisted company would change nothing (Art. 4(1)(e) LFAIE). The manager redirects the search towards office buildings.

Two years later, the investor wants to open the portfolio to three families through a real estate SICAV. With CHF 310 million in an open-ended vehicle, the manager cannot stay below the Article 24(2) FinIA thresholds. He forms a second company with CHF 200,000 of fully paid-up capital, two managers and a separate board, and waits for FINMA authorisation before registering it. One question remains: the SICAV’s own Lex Koller position. It is presumed to be dominated by persons abroad where its management is in the hands of a person abroad and, for instance, persons abroad hold more than a third of the votes attached to the entrepreneur shares (Art. 6(5) LFAIE).

Mistakes to avoid

1. Writing “portfolio management” into the purpose of a company that manages buildings: FinIA reserves the term for authorised institutions.
2. Accepting a client’s real estate fund units without realising that they are financial instruments.
3. Incorporating and registering the collective management company before FINMA has granted its authorisation.
4. Proposing apartment buildings to a non-resident investor, whether bought directly or through an unlisted company.
5. Planning the renovation of a Geneva residential building without the LDTR permit in the timetable.
6. Coordinating the proceeds of a sale before clarifying your status under the AMLA.

FAQ: real estate asset management in Geneva

Does a real estate asset manager in Geneva need FINMA authorisation?

On the wording of the law, not to manage buildings held directly by the client, because buildings are not financial instruments under Article 3(a) FinSA. This is a reading of the statute, not a ruling by the authority. Authorisation becomes necessary as soon as the manager handles fund units, shares or a collective investment scheme.

How much capital does a manager of a real estate SICAV need?

A manager of collective assets needs at least CHF 200,000 of capital, paid up in full and maintained at all times (Art. 42 FinIO). Below the thresholds of Article 24(2) FinIA, the manager remains a portfolio manager, with minimum capital of CHF 100,000 paid up in cash.

Can a foreign investor buy property in Geneva through his asset manager?

Yes for commercial property used as a permanent establishment, such as offices or shops, even as an investment. Housing requires cantonal authorisation for a person abroad (Art. 2 LFAIE), which a pure capital investment does not obtain. Using an unlisted real estate company does not change that rule.

Which supervisory organisations can a Geneva portfolio manager join?

Four organisations were approved by FINMA on 29 October 2026: OSIF and SO-FIT, both in Geneva, AOOS in Zurich and OSFINcontrol in Zug. A manager of collective assets joins none of them, because FINMA supervises it directly.

Must a real estate asset manager join a self-regulatory organisation?

Since 1 October 2026, yes if the manager takes part, for clients, in the financial transactions of a property purchase or sale, including organising the funds (Art. 2(3bis) AMLA). Transfers below CHF 5 million paid exclusively through financial intermediaries are excluded.

Do you have to live in Geneva to run an asset management company?

No, but the company must be represented by a person domiciled in Switzerland, as managing director, board member or executive officer (Art. 718(4) and 814(3) CO). A manager of collective assets must also have a Swiss resident on its management body or on its governance and supervision body (Art. 37(2) FinIO).

Sources

• Financial Services Act (FinSA), SR 950.1
• Financial Institutions Act (FinIA), SR 954.1
• Financial Institutions Ordinance (FinIO), SR 954.11
• Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA), SR 951.31 (French)
• Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (LFAIE, Lex Koller), SR 211.412.41
• Federal Office of Justice, instructions to land registries on the acquisition of real estate by persons abroad, 1 July 2009 (French)
• Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), SR 955.0
• Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), SR 220
• Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, SR 0.142.112.681 (French)
• Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, SR 142.20 (French)
• Geneva, act on the demolition, conversion and renovation of residential buildings (LDTR), L 5 20 (French)