About us

VQF is a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) recognised by FINMA in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). Since 1998, it has supervised financial intermediaries in the non-banking financial sector and supported its members in complying with regulatory requirements.

Based in Zug, VQF is one of the oldest and largest cross-industry SROs in Switzerland.

Organisation

I. The association at a glance

• Founded in 1998
• FINMA-recognised self-regulatory organisation
• Based in Zug
• Cross-industry SRO
• Network of external specialists
• Experienced team of regulatory and compliance experts

II. Governing bodies

The association has the following governing bodies:

• General Assembly
• Board of Directors
• Statutory auditor (currently Grant Thornton AG, Zurich)

The Board of Directors is the governing body responsible for the association. In accordance with Art. 19 of the Articles of Association, its non-transferable duties include, in particular, the overall supervision of the persons entrusted with the management of the association. It ensures compliance with applicable laws, the Articles of Association, regulations and directives.

The Board of Directors is responsible for the strategic management of VQF, defines the annual objectives and oversees their implementation. It also maintains dialogue with authorities and the media.

Operational management is delegated to the Managing Director. The Managing Director is responsible for the association’s day-to-day operations and, together with the Legal & Compliance team, for supervising its members.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors comprises the following members:

Articles of Association and purpose of the association

In accordance with Art. 60 para. 2 of the Swiss Civil Code (CC), the VQF Articles of Association govern the purpose, resources and organisation of VQF.

Art. 2 of the currently applicable Articles of Association defines the purpose of the association as follows:

1) The purpose of the association is to ensure the quality of financial services and promote high standards of business ethics based on individual responsibility.

2) The association operates as a cross-industry self-regulatory organisation (hereinafter: SRO) within the meaning of Art. 24 et seq. of the Federal Act of 10 October 1997 on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in the Financial Sector (hereinafter: AMLA) and is responsible for monitoring compliance with the obligations under the AMLA. For this purpose, the association permanently monitors the members of the SRO (hereinafter: VQF SRO members) to ensure compliance with the provisions of the AMLA, the Articles of Association (hereinafter: “Articles of Association”) and the association’s SRO regulations.

The association may operate directly or indirectly through subsidiaries, interests in other companies or cooperation with third parties in the field of supervision of financial intermediaries and financial institutions in accordance with Swiss financial market legislation.

It may establish branches and subsidiaries, acquire interests in other companies and conduct any business directly or indirectly related to its purpose.

3) The association may assume the function of an industry organisation and issue, review and enforce professional, ethical and conduct rules.

4) The association may carry out any activities related to the aforementioned purposes of the association. The association may conduct its own on-site audits or appoint an audit firm to carry out ordinary and limited statutory audits, and audit firms to conduct regular audits, special audits and audits under specific legislation.

The Articles of Association are available on our downloads page.