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From the Opalesque team:

FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (and the official regulator for the Swiss hedge funds industry), completed two large-scale investigations in 2009, it announced earlier this month.

The first concerned the impact on Switzerland as a financial centre of the fraud committed by Madoff. The second looked at the distribution of structured products that were guaranteed by subsidiaries of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Both cases led to losses for investors.

FINMA identified the need for certain financial intermediaries to take corrective measures and has requested the necessary steps to be taken. The investigations did reveal, however, that current Swiss legislation does not adequately protect investors in investment advisory and wealth management services. FINMA sees a clear need for regulatory action in this regard and has therefore launched a regulatory project in relation to distribution rules.

An in-depth study currently being carried out by FINMA as part of a regulatory project will look at how these regulatory changes are to be made and by whom. The regulator will publish its findings and regulatory proposals in a discussion paper.

For its part, the Swiss Fund Association (SFA) is keeping close tabs on ......................

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