Swiss Client Advisor Register – FinSA online training for client advisers

Choose your course and start right away

Basic training for the first registration, refresher for the renewal – access straight after purchase, start any time.

Who counts as a FinSA client advisor?

Under the Swiss Financial Services Act, client advisers are natural persons who perform financial services on behalf of a financial service provider or in their own capacity as financial service providers (Art. 3 let. e FinSA). Financial services are the following activities carried out for clients: the acquisition or disposal of financial instruments, the receipt and transmission of orders in relation to financial instruments, portfolio management, investment advice and the granting of loans to finance transactions with financial instruments (Art. 3 let. c FinSA). Every FinSA client advisor must have sufficient knowledge of the code of conduct set out in FinSA and the expertise required to perform their activities (Art. 6 FinSA).

Client advisers of Swiss financial service providers that are not supervised by FINMA, and client advisers of foreign financial service providers, may carry out their activity in Switzerland only if they are entered in a register of advisers (Art. 28(1) FinSA). Client advisers of foreign providers that are prudentially supervised abroad and serve exclusively professional or institutional clients in Switzerland are exempt (Art. 28(2) FinSA and Art. 31 FinSO). Our article Swiss Client Adviser Register: Who Must Register and How explains the registration conditions and the steps to the register.

Foreign providers and the Swiss client advisor register

This register makes sure that advisers who serve clients in Switzerland know the FinSA rules of conduct. For foreign firms, the position is as follows:

High-net-worth retail clients who have opted to be treated as professional clients still count as retail clients for this test, according to FINMA.

Key facts on both courses

The training is accredited by BX Swiss AG and covers the proof of knowledge of the rules of conduct required for registration. Both courses are also listed by the registration body RegFix.

Course content

• Introduction to FinSA and its objectives
• Rights and obligations of financial service providers
• Conduct and information duties towards clients
• Requirements for documentation and transparency
• Overview of organisational duties

From purchase to certificate

1. 1

   Choose your course

   basic training for the first registration, refresher for the renewal. Payment is online.
2. 2

   Receive access

   your access details for the course platform arrive by email straight after your order.
3. 3

   Complete the training

   work through the video course online, in English or German, at your own pace.
4. 4

   Receive your certificate

   on completion you receive the certificate for the basic training or the refresher.
5. 5

   Apply for or renew your registration

   submit the certificate to the registration body of your choice, which enters you in its client adviser register.
6. ✓

   Plan the renewal

   renew the registration no later than 24 months later, with the Peak Compliance refresher.

Legal basis

• Art. 3 FinSA – definitions, including financial services (let. c) and client advisers (let. e).
• Art. 28 FinSA – duty to register for client advisers of Swiss providers not supervised by FINMA and of foreign providers.
• Art. 29 FinSA – registration conditions: knowledge of the rules of conduct and expertise under Art. 6 FinSA, professional indemnity insurance or equivalent security, affiliation with an ombudsman's office where required.
• Art. 30 FinSA – content of the client adviser register.
• Art. 31 FinSA – registration body; it keeps the register and requires authorisation by FINMA.
• Art. 32 FinSA – keeping of the register and notification duty; the contents of the register of advisers are public and may be consulted online (para. 5).
• Art. 31 FinSO – exemption for advisers of prudentially supervised foreign providers serving exclusively professional or institutional clients.
• Art. 41 FinSO – notification of changes and completed training; renewal of the registration no later than after 24 months.
• FINMA overview: Registration body.

Roles

• Peak Compliance provides the training, the course platform and the certificate.
• The registration body (for example BX Swiss AG or RegFix) reviews the conditions and makes the entry in its register. FINMA authorises and supervises the registration bodies.
• The client adviser or the financial service provider arranges the other conditions, in particular professional indemnity insurance and the ombudsman's office.
• A German version of this offer is available on the page Beraterregister-Schulung online.

Why Peak Compliance

• Daily practice: Peak Compliance AG, founded in 2024 and based in Zurich, runs the compliance and risk management function for portfolio managers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (compliance outsourcing). The training draws on this hands-on work with the FinSA rules of conduct.
• Recognition: accredited by BX Swiss AG; both courses listed by RegFix.
• Easy to plan: fixed price per course, start any time, immediate access.
• Two course languages: English and German.
• Further reading: our FinSA knowledge hub and the team.

For questions about the training or the registration process, we are happy to help: contact us.

Responsible

Isabelle Ledergerber

Managing Partner, Co-Founder · LinkedIn profile