The B-angle

Specialised Swiss structures — holding, family office, FINMA authorisation, DLT / crypto

You are here because a plain AG or GmbH is not the full answer. Four specialised paths live under this hub: a Swiss holding company, a family office, a FINMA authorisation, and a Swiss crypto or DLT company. Delivered in English, for foreign founders, with one fiduciary counterpart from first enquiry to ongoing mandate.

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Boundary

What we mean by specialised structures

"Specialised" here means the structure itself is complex, not simply that the advisor is specialist. Each of the four paths adds a tax classification, wealth-management function, regulatory authorisation, or sector-specific regime on top of a standard Swiss company.

Four specialised structures live on this site today: a Swiss holding company, a Swiss family office, a FINMA authorisation, and a Swiss crypto or DLT company. What they share is the baseline — every one of them is built on a Swiss AG (CHF 100,000 share capital, OR art. 621) or a GmbH (CHF 20,000 fully paid-in, OR art. 773), and every one of them requires at least one Swiss-resident signatory (OR art. 718.4 for an AG, OR art. 814.3 for a GmbH). What distinguishes them is the overlay.

A specialised overlay on top of a standard Swiss company

The most common misconception is that a specialised Swiss structure is a parallel corporate form. It is not. A holding is a tax classification applied to an AG or GmbH whose income mix is predominantly long-term participations. A family office is a wealth-management function delivered through a Swiss AG. A FINMA authorisation is a regulatory licence granted to a Swiss company conducting regulated activity. A crypto or DLT company is an AG or GmbH operating under the 2021 DLT Act. The corporate substrate is identical; the overlay is what creates the wedge.

That matters practically, because the Swiss company formation step is largely the same across the four paths. The specialised work begins after the entity exists: the tax structuring for a holding, the governance build for a family office, the FINMA application dossier for a regulated financial-services operator, the token-classification and licence-routing for a DLT company. See the underlying Swiss fiduciary services mandate that wraps every specialised engagement.

What sits outside this hub (and what we plan to add)

Inside the hub today: the four structures above. Outside the hub for now, but within our practice scope: SRO-only AMLA mandates, Swiss foundations (classical and family foundation), CISA-structured funds (SICAV, SICAF, LP-CI, LP-QII), standalone SRO affiliations, and ongoing AMLA compliance mandates. Dedicated pages for these are planned in the next content expansion; until then, raise them via the proposal request and we will scope them like any other specialised engagement.

The four paths

Four paths under specialised

Pick the path that matches your situation. Each card covers scope, the legal and regulatory anchor, the typical timeline, and the audience — the rest lives on the sub-page.

Swiss holding company

A Swiss AG or GmbH classified as a holding by income mix — long-term participations dominate the balance sheet.

Participation exemption under DBG art. 69-70 — dividends at 10% shareholding or CHF 1m market value; capital gains at 10% with a 12-month hold.
Canton-selectable: Zug at 11.85%, Lucerne around 12.3%, Schwyz around 14%, Nidwalden around 11.9%.
Post-STAF regime with patent box and R&D super-deduction overlays in qualifying cantons.

Timeline: 4-8 weeks formation
Audience: Multi-entity groups, holdings re-domiciling from Luxembourg, Netherlands, Cyprus, or Liechtenstein.

Explore Swiss holding

Swiss family office

A wealth-management and governance structure for UHNW families, typically housed in an AG with a FinIA layer when third-party wealth is managed.

Single-family vs multi-family split: single-family is typically unregulated; multi-family triggers FinIA art. 17 portfolio-manager authorisation.
Often paired with a Liechtenstein foundation for succession and asset protection.
Canton fit: Geneva for private-banking density, Zug for tax plus investment-vehicle co-location.

Timeline: 3-6 months including FinIA authorisation if triggered
Audience: Multi-generational wealth principals, trust and fund sponsors consolidating family capital.

Explore family office

FINMA authorisation

The prudential and conduct licence stack administered by FINMA for regulated financial-services operators.

Licence catalogue: bank (BankA art. 3), securities firm, portfolio manager or trustee (FinIA art. 17 plus art. 22-24), fund management company (FinIA art. 32 plus CISA), insurer (ISA), DLT trading facility (FMIA art. 73a), FinTech licence (BankA art. 1b).
Foreign applicants must pre-exist a Swiss AG or GmbH with a Swiss-resident director (OR art. 718.4 / 814.3).
Typical timeline 6-18 months from first gap-analysis to granted authorisation.

Timeline: 6-18 months
Audience: Asset managers, fund promoters, fintech operators, and crypto / DLT founders crossing into regulated activity.

Explore FINMA authorisation

Swiss crypto / DLT company

An AG or GmbH operating under the 2021 DLT Act framework: token issuance, VASP activity, DLT trading facility, stablecoin models.

DLT Act 2021: ledger-based securities (Registerwertrechte), FMIA art. 73a DLT trading facility, bankruptcy segregation of crypto-assets.
FINMA path depends on model: no licence, SRO affiliation (AMLA VASP), FinTech licence (BankA art. 1b) for deposits under CHF 100m, DLT trading facility, FinIA, or full bank.
Canton default: Zug — Crypto Valley, 11.85% combined effective corporate rate.

Timeline: 2-6 weeks formation, plus 6-18 months if a FINMA licence applies
Audience: Token issuers, crypto custodians, VASPs, stablecoin founders evaluating Switzerland against Liechtenstein, Singapore, UAE, or Malta.

Explore crypto / DLT

Compare

Compare the four paths side by side

Six axes across the four specialised structures. Rows are not mutually exclusive — real engagements combine them, as the overlap section below shows.

How to read this matrix

Rows are not mutually exclusive. See the overlap section below for the three dominant real-world combinations.
Capital figures are the baseline AG or GmbH minimums. A specialised overlay — a FINMA licence or a CISA fund product — can require substantially more own funds on top.
Timelines are typical ranges drawn from peer practice and the figures in our facts-switzerland reference. Not guarantees.
Canton defaults are the dominant cases, not the only options. See the canton signpost later on this page.

Structure	Legal basis	Prerequisite	Capital and substance	FINMA status	Timeline	Canton
Holding company	Tax classification under DBG art. 69-70	AG (CHF 100k, OR 621) or GmbH (CHF 20k, OR 773)	Swiss-resident signatory; real board authority in CH; BEPS-PPT substance	Not FINMA-regulated unless it holds regulated assets	4-8 weeks	Zug default; Lucerne / Schwyz / Nidwalden cost alternatives
Family office	Wealth structure in an AG; FinIA art. 17 if managing third-party wealth above threshold	AG typical	Swiss-resident signatory; portfolio-manager substance if FinIA-authorised	Unregulated (single-family) or FinIA-authorised (multi-family)	3-6 months	Geneva or Zug
FINMA authorisation	FINMASA enabling; FinIA / BankA / CISA / ISA / FMIA / AMLA per licence type	AG (preferred) or GmbH with Swiss-resident director	Portfolio manager CHF 100k+; bank CHF 10m minimum; DLT-trading facility per FMIA	FINMA-authorised	6-18 months	Zurich / Zug / Geneva by sub-sector
Crypto / DLT	DLT Act 2021; FMIA art. 73a; BankA art. 1b	AG (CHF 100k) preferred; GmbH workable	Swiss-resident signatory; SRO or FINMA per model	Varies: no licence / SRO-only / FinTech / DLT-trading facility / full FINMA	2-6 weeks (formation) + 6-18 months if licensed	Zug (Crypto Valley)

Capital, substance, and timeline figures verified against research/facts-switzerland.md §1.1, §1.2, §2.1, §2.2, §4.2, §5.2. Re-verified annually in January-February.

Overlap

When you need more than one

The four paths are not mutually exclusive. Most group-level engagements combine two or three. Three patterns account for the majority of real-world overlaps.

Pattern 01

Holding over a FINMA-authorised operating sub

A group-level HoldCo using the participation exemption (DBG art. 69-70) sits over a regulated operating sub — commonly a FINMA portfolio manager (FinIA art. 17) or a DLT trading facility (FMIA art. 73a). Substance and Swiss-resident signatory rules apply at each layer. Entry points: the holding-company page for the HoldCo layer and the FINMA authorisation page for the regulated sub.

Pattern 02

Family office plus holding plus Liechtenstein foundation

A wealth-structuring stack where a Liechtenstein foundation sits at the apex for succession and asset protection, a Swiss HoldCo sits beneath for operational IP and participations, and a Swiss family-office AG handles governance and portfolio management — with FinIA art. 17 if multi-family. Entry points: the family-office page and the holding-company page in parallel.

Pattern 03

Crypto plus FINMA plus holding

Possible where all three apply: a token-issuing operating company under the DLT Act 2021, a parent HoldCo for group-level tax, and a FinIA or FinTech licence at the operating layer where the business model triggers regulated activity. This combination is advisor-heavy, timeline-intensive, and substance-demanding. Entry points: the crypto / DLT page first, then the FINMA authorisation page, then the holding-company page.

Sequencing matters. The HoldCo goes first where tax residency and participation exemption anchor the group; the regulated operating sub follows under a separate FINMA licence categories and timeline workstream. Family-office overlaps typically begin with governance — the family office itself — before the asset-holding layer is formalised via a participation-exemption holding structure. Crypto overlaps start with business-model classification before the licence path is chosen; the Swiss DLT Act token and VASP setups page covers that decision tree.

Why Switzerland

Why Switzerland for specialised structures

Five anchors cut across all four specialised paths. Sub-page head-to-head comparisons against Luxembourg, Netherlands, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Singapore, and UAE live on the individual structure pages.

Integrated supervisor and single regulator

FINMA is one regulator for banks, insurers, securities firms, fund managers, and market infrastructure. Contrast the UK dual-regulator model or the EU sectoral model: in Switzerland, cross-sector questions go to one authority with one interpretive tradition. For specialised structures that span categories — a fund management company with a DLT trading facility, a bank with a crypto arm — this materially compresses the regulatory conversation.

Treaty network, no CFC rules, withholding optionality

Swiss statutory withholding tax is 35% on dividends and Swiss bond interest. Treaty reductions typically bring that down to 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% depending on shareholding and residence country; the CH-EU savings agreement drops qualifying intercompany dividends to 0%. Switzerland maintains more than a hundred double-tax treaties and — a structural differentiator against the ATAD-CFC regimes across the EU — has no controlled-foreign-company rules of its own.

DLT Act 2021 — a bespoke tokenisation framework

The 2021 DLT Act amended FMIA to introduce ledger-based securities (Registerwertrechte) and a dedicated DLT trading facility licence under FMIA art. 73a. No EU country offers the same integrated framework — Liechtenstein's TVTG is closest, Singapore and UAE use sandbox mechanics. The Swiss DLT Act is the direct legal basis for most serious token-issuance and digital-securities work.

Political and monetary stability

The Swiss franc is a reserve currency, Swiss neutrality is codified, and the rule-of-law reputation is durable across generational time horizons. Not a sales line — a precondition that foreign founders of specialised structures routinely state as the decisive factor.

Zug, Zurich, Geneva ecosystem density

Professional-services, banking, regulated-finance, crypto, and private-wealth infrastructure concentrate in three cantons. Peer jurisdictions can match density in one sector; Switzerland offers all of them within a three-city radius. See compare all 26 cantons for the per-canton detail that feeds specialised decisions.

Zug Baarerstrasse modern office district — the hub of Swiss holding companies, family offices, and crypto DLT businesses in Crypto Valley

Cantonal fit

Where specialised structures live — canton signpost

Three cantons account for the majority of specialised engagements. The full comparison — rates, Handelsregister details, and cantonal process specifics — lives on the cantons hub.

Zug

Default for holding, crypto, and most family-office structures. 11.85% combined effective corporate rate — lowest in Switzerland. Crypto Valley cluster, English-friendly Handelsregister, and the canton where our office sits at Baarerstrasse 14.

Zug — lowest rate, Crypto Valley

Zurich

The traditional canton for FINMA-regulated asset managers and fund management companies. 19.61% combined rate traded against deep talent, fund-administration infrastructure, and proximity to FINMA, the SIX Swiss Exchange, and Tier-1 banking.

Zurich — financial-services and talent

Geneva

The canton for private wealth, family-office setups, and commodity-trading structures. 14.70% combined rate with private-banking density, a commodities-trading cluster, and a UN-adjacent philanthropic-foundation ecosystem.

Geneva — private wealth, trading

Rates from facts-switzerland §2.2. Low-cost alternatives for holdings: Lucerne around 12.3%, Nidwalden around 11.9%, Schwyz around 14%, Basel-Stadt around 13% (pharma-linked). For the 26-canton rate matrix and detailed filing notes, compare all 26 cantons.

By the numbers

Specialised structures at a glance

Three numbers that cut across all four paths. Each sources back to the canonical Swiss facts reference; re-verified annually.

11.85 – 20.54%

Combined effective corporate tax, by canton (2026)

facts-switzerland §2.2

6 – 18 months

Typical FINMA authorisation timeline

facts-switzerland §5.2

2021

Swiss DLT Act in force (FMIA amendment)

facts-switzerland §5.1

Process

How we work — from enquiry to specialist engagement

Three steps from first contact to signed mandate. Senior-reviewer involvement on FINMA, family-office governance, and holding-substance matters is built in, not optional.

01

Enquiry

Day 0

Send the contact form with the target structure type, preferred canton, regulatory scope indication, timeline, and any pre-existing cross-border entities (for example a Luxembourg HoldCo or a Liechtenstein foundation). The more precise the input, the faster the scoping call.
02

Scoping call

Within 2 business days

A 30 to 45-minute English call to confirm structure type, canton, FINMA-licence triggers, substance plan, and any pre-existing cross-border layers. A senior reviewer attends for FINMA, family-office governance, and holding-substance matters — the YMYL register items.
03

Written proposal

2-3 business days after the call

A fixed-scope written proposal with itemised deliverables, assumptions, and a fee band. The signed proposal becomes the engagement letter. See the fees-and-process page for how the scoping works end to end.

Specialised structures are scoped per-case — fee bands depend on substance, regulator, and entity count. SRO crypto licence and FINMA trustee packages have published rates (see those pages); holding and family-office mandates are quoted on a written proposal. See how we scope a written proposal.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Eleven questions drawn from peer sub-pages and common disambiguation moments. Each points to the canonical statutory anchor or the facts-switzerland reference.

What qualifies as a specialised Swiss structure?

On this site, four structures: Swiss holding company, Swiss family office, FINMA authorisation, and Swiss crypto / DLT company. Each is built on a standard AG (OR art. 621, CHF 100,000) or GmbH (OR art. 773, CHF 20,000 fully paid-in) and adds a tax classification, wealth-management function, regulatory authorisation, or sector-specific regime on top.

Which of the four do I actually need?

Holding if you consolidate participations and want the participation exemption (DBG art. 69-70); family office if the object is intergenerational wealth management; FINMA authorisation if you manage third-party assets, take deposits, run a fund, or operate regulated market infrastructure; crypto / DLT if your business model is token issuance, custody, trading facility, or stablecoin. Combinations are common.

Can I combine a Swiss holding with a FINMA-authorised subsidiary?

Yes. A Swiss HoldCo using the participation exemption typically sits over a FinIA-authorised portfolio manager or a DLT trading facility under FMIA art. 73a. Substance requirements, including Swiss-resident signatory under OR art. 718.4 / 814.3, apply separately at each layer.

Do I need a FINMA licence to run a family office?

Not for a single-family office managing only the principal's own wealth. A multi-family office managing third-party wealth above the FinIA de-minimis threshold triggers a portfolio-manager authorisation under FinIA art. 17, prudentially supervised by a Supervisory Organisation.

Do I need a FINMA licence to start a crypto company in Switzerland?

Depends on the business model. No licence for pure utility-token infrastructure; SRO affiliation under AMLA for most VASP-scope exchanges and custodians below the FinTech threshold; FinTech licence under BankA art. 1b for deposit models up to CHF 100m; DLT trading facility under FMIA art. 73a for a multilateral DLT-securities venue; full FINMA authorisation for larger or securitised models.

How long does a specialised engagement take end-to-end?

Swiss AG or GmbH formation 2-6 weeks. A holding layer adds negligible time. A family-office setup without FinIA runs 6-12 weeks; with FinIA 4-6 months total. A FINMA authorisation typically 6-18 months. A crypto / DLT company is 2-6 weeks unlicensed, plus 6-18 months if licensed.

Is a Swiss holding still advantageous after the 2020 tax reform (STAF)?

Yes. STAF ended cantonal holding-privilege regimes end-2019 but introduced offsetting instruments: lower statutory cantonal rates, patent box, R&D super-deduction up to 150%, and equity / notional-interest deduction in qualifying cantons. For a genuine holding, the practical tax outcome is broadly equivalent and legally more robust post-STAF.

What is the difference between SRO affiliation and a FINMA licence?

SRO affiliation is the AMLA-only supervisory track for financial intermediaries not triggering a FINMA licence; recognised SROs (VQF, PolyReg, OAR-G, ARIF) supervise only the AML obligations. A FINMA licence is a prudential / conduct authorisation directly from FINMA. A third category, the Supervisory Organisation (SO), supervises FinIA-authorised portfolio managers prudentially.

Which canton should I use for a specialised structure?

Default Zug at 11.85% combined effective corporate tax. Zurich at 19.61% for FINMA-regulated asset managers needing talent and banking infrastructure. Geneva at 14.70% for private wealth and commodity trading. Low-cost alternatives for holdings: Lucerne ~12.3%, Nidwalden ~11.9%, Schwyz ~14.0%. See the cantons hub for the full rate matrix.

Do you cover Swiss foundations, SICAV / SICAF funds, and SRO-only AML mandates?

Yes as engagement scope. Dedicated pages for Swiss foundations, CISA-structured funds (SICAV / SICAF / LP-CI / LP-QII), standalone SRO affiliations, and ongoing AMLA mandates are planned for the next content expansion. Raise these via the proposal request and we will scope appropriately.

How do I request a proposal for a specialised structure?

Send your situation (target structure type, preferred canton, regulatory scope indication, timeline, any pre-existing cross-border entities) via the contact form. A scoping call is booked within two business days; a senior reviewer attends for FINMA, family-office, or holding-substance matters. Written fixed-scope proposal follows 2-3 business days after the call.

Ready to scope

Ready to scope your structure?

One counterpart, one written proposal, one engagement letter. Bring the structure type, the canton preference, and the regulatory scope; we bring the scoping call, the senior-reviewer touch where YMYL applies, and the fixed-scope proposal.