Why Financial Services exist & what they offer

• What financial service providers are available in Switzerland
   
• What can a financial service provider offer to you

Let's first have a look at the different types of service providers.

There are many types of financial institutions, many of which can provide financial advice. What they can do and how they’re regulated vary around the world. It’s important to be familiar how the rules around financial advice work in your country, as they can vary a lot. Here, we’re concentrating on the US market.

High street bank in Switzerland is far from dead. High street bank is a large retail bank that has many branch locations. Swiss banks are particularly well positioned for the future – and still come top in terms of customer satisfaction compared with their European counterparts.

Many sell off-the-shelf funds via online tools; some offer the chance to buy shares, with an advice service for wealthier customers (although this tends to be restricted, rather than independent, advice). They can be very helpful for those who want to make straightforward investments, while they go about fulfilling their other saving and banking needs.

These provide all their services online and through apps on mobiles and tablets. Those services are generally automated, including real-time updates, but with customer support through messaging or in-app chat. These generally offer most of the services that high street banks do, but because they don’t have physical branches, they can afford to charge lower fees. The lack of overheads means that some of them can pay higher interest rates, too.

Banks with wealth managers are often known as private banks. They specialise in advising very wealthy people (including those with complex finances) on their money and investments. People with this level of wealth (normally considered to be around CHF 1 million in cash or assets that can be sold quickly) are often referred to as high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

Corporate banks serve businesses, which often have complex needs, such as managing large lines of credit, and complex import and export transactions. To make sure transactions run smoothly, businesses also often work closely with investment banks. These work for businesses, other organisations, hedge funds, governments and, in some cases, individuals. They offer advice and research on financial markets and support complex business deals like mergers and acquisitions, companies that want to become publicly owned (IPOs), hedging, and debt financing.

The Swiss Financial Advisors Association (SFBV) unites independent Swiss financial advisors. All members decide freely on their products and services, but they advise within a professional framework to guarantee quality and comply with the FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) guidelines.

If you are looking for an independent financial advisor, look for the SFBV label.

We have covered the five main types of financial services providers and provided an overview of what they typically offer.

Think about what your financial services needs are and whether your current provider covers all of them. How happy/satisfied are you with what you have been receiving?