Family office in Geneva: private banking heritage, trusts and global philanthropy

Geneva's financial centre grew around private banking partnerships, independent asset managers and trustees serving international families, and it remains a leading centre for cross-border wealth management, commodity trade finance and philanthropy. The city hosts the European headquarters of the United Nations and dozens of international organisations and NGOs, which brings a multilingual workforce and a strong ecosystem for family foundations and impact investment. For many families from Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, Geneva offers a French-speaking base with direct access to Swiss banks, custodians and trustees, and to neighbouring France for daily life.

The federal regulatory perimeter is the same as elsewhere in Switzerland. Under FinIA Article 2(2)(a), persons managing solely assets of persons with whom they have business or family ties are outside the Act, and FinIO Article 4 defines family ties to include the direct line, collateral relatives up to the fourth degree, spouses and registered partners, coheirs and entities controlled by or set up for these persons — including trusts and foundations, even where charitable beneficiaries are also named. This matters in Geneva because many family offices sit alongside trusts: a private trust company (PTC) acting only for trusts of one family can rely on the exemption, whereas a trust company acting for unrelated settlors on a commercial basis needs a FINMA trustee licence under FinIA, with minimum capital of CHF 100,000 and supervision by a supervisory organisation.

A multi-family office that manages assets for unrelated families on a commercial basis needs a FINMA portfolio manager licence. FinIO Article 19 presumes commerciality where gross earnings exceed CHF 50,000 a year, there are more than 20 contractual partners, or there is unlimited power of disposal over third-party assets above CHF 5 million. Licensed managers and trustees must have Swiss domicile and effective management, qualified and reputable managers, adequate organisation, risk management and compliance, and are audited and supervised by a FINMA-authorised supervisory organisation. Advisory services to clients outside the family fall under FinSA conduct rules, and AMLA must be assessed separately: an office with powers of disposal over third-party assets that is not FINMA-supervised generally needs SRO membership. From 1 October 2026 every Swiss company must also report its beneficial owners to the new federal Transparency Register, and Switzerland exchanges information under the CRS and FATCA.

Switzerland has no domestic trust law — the Federal Council shelved its draft in 2023 — but has applied the Hague Trusts Convention since 1 July 2007, so foreign trusts are recognised by Swiss courts and Swiss trustees may administer them. Swiss family foundations remain restricted by Article 335 of the Civil Code to limited purposes such as education and support, which is why Geneva families typically combine a foreign trust or a Liechtenstein foundation for succession with a Swiss charitable foundation under Article 80 of the Civil Code for philanthropy. Tax treatment of trusts follows the federal and cantonal practice on revocable and irrevocable trusts and needs an advance ruling in most cases.

Taxation is a key differentiator within Switzerland. Geneva taxes companies at a combined profit tax rate of about 14%, with participation relief for qualifying holding income. Individuals pay ordinary income and wealth tax, but foreign nationals taking up Swiss residence for the first time (or after ten years abroad) who do not work in Switzerland may be taxed on their worldwide living expenses. Geneva voters approved the cantonal lump-sum law in June 2016: the cantonal minimum base is CHF 400,000 by law (indexed since), at least seven times the rent or rental value of the home, and increased by 10% to account for wealth tax; the federal minimum base is CHF 435,000 for 2026. For non-EU/EFTA nationals, a residence permit for important fiscal interest is discretionary and in practice requires a markedly higher tax contribution agreed in advance. Spouses and direct descendants of Geneva-domiciled persons are generally exempt from cantonal inheritance and gift tax, although practitioners note that this exemption does not apply where the deceased or donor was taxed on a lump-sum basis in one of the last three assessments, so lump-sum families need specific succession planning.