FINMA

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority

High Impact

FINMA concludes Wendelspiess Partners enforcement case and imposes long-term industry bans

Published

Jun 3, 2026

Topics

Enforcement, Portfolio managers, FinSA conduct rules, Suitability assessment, Conflicts of interest, Risk disclosure, Industry bans, Licence withdrawal

Executive Summary

FINMA has concluded enforcement proceedings against Wendelspiess Partners AG in liquidation and two responsible individuals, finding serious breaches of Swiss financial services conduct duties. The case centred on client assets invested in a foreign fund established and managed by the firm, which FINMA says was insufficiently diversified, high risk, affected by conflicts of interest and facing the prospect of total loss. FINMA found that more than 400 clients, many with moderate or limited financial knowledge and risk-averse profiles, were inadequately informed of risks and conflicts, and that required suitability assessments were not performed. It also found that almost all client funds were invested in the fund without client consent and that relevant information was withheld from FINMA, including during licensing. FINMA imposed long-term industry bans on two individuals and stated that Wendelspiess Partners AG, now bankrupt, will have its portfolio manager licence withdrawn. The ruling is not final and may be appealed. This is not a new rule, but a significant conduct-risk enforcement signal for Swiss asset and wealth managers.

What Changed

newEnforcement proceedings concluded

FINMA initiated enforcement proceedings in early 2025, appointed an investigating agent, froze accounts and custody accounts, and restricted former directors from transactions.

New

FINMA has concluded the proceedings and published findings of serious breaches involving conflicts of interest, risk disclosure, suitability checks, client consent and information provided to FINMA.

newLong-term industry bans imposed

The individuals were subject to enforcement proceedings; no concluded sanction was stated in the press release before this outcome.

New

Two responsible individuals are subject to long-term industry bans, with the ruling not yet final and capable of appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.

newPortfolio manager licence withdrawal announced

Wendelspiess Partners AG held a portfolio manager licence and was under enforcement measures during the investigation.

New

FINMA has determined that the firm’s portfolio manager licence will be withdrawn, subject to the ruling becoming final or the outcome of any appeal.

newConduct failures identified as systematic client-interest subordination

FINMA had identified evidence of liquidity issues and potential shortcomings in risk disclosure, suitability and conflicts handling.

New

FINMA’s investigation found serious conduct breaches, including inadequate conflict disclosure, lack of required suitability assessments and inadequate client risk information.

newRegulatory information failures cited

The source does not state a prior concluded finding on information provided to FINMA.

New

FINMA concluded that Wendelspiess Partners AG breached its duty to provide information to FINMA on several occasions.

Business Impact

Who is affected

Directly affected

Wendelspiess Partners AG in liquidation, the two sanctioned individuals, its clients and creditors, and Swiss portfolio managers subject to comparable FinSA conduct duties.

Indirectly affected

supervisory organisations, trustees and asset managers, client advisers, fund distributors, custodians, compliance and audit providers, and investors in manager-sponsored or related-party products.

Jurisdictions

Switzerland

Business processes

Client onboarding and financial knowledge/risk profile capture, Suitability and appropriateness assessment controls, Product risk disclosure and concentration-risk governance, Conflict-of-interest identification, disclosure and mitigation, Client consent and discretionary mandate controls, Regulatory communications with FINMA and supervisory organisations, Senior manager fitness, propriety and accountability monitoring

Estimated effort

Medium

Compliance risk

High

Affected Reports

Client suitability assessment records and periodic suitability review controlsProduct risk disclosure packs for managed funds and related-party investmentsConflict-of-interest register and client conflict disclosure evidenceDiscretionary mandate, allocation and client-consent control filesFINMA and supervisory-organisation information-submission control log

Field	Validation rule

Recommended Actions

7 suggested next steps· derived from source analysis

1
AI generatedStep 1 of 7
Review whether any in-house, affiliated or related-party products are recommended or allocated to clients without documented conflict disclosure, mitigation and approval.
2
AI generatedStep 2 of 7
Test a sample of client files to confirm that suitability assessments are complete before investment and align with stated financial knowledge, risk appetite and investment objectives.
3
AI generatedStep 3 of 7
Reassess concentration-risk limits and escalation triggers for portfolios with material exposure to single funds, affiliated entities, loans or illiquid assets.
4
AI generatedStep 4 of 7
Verify that client-facing risk disclosures clearly explain liquidity risk, diversification limits, related-party exposure and potential loss scenarios for high-risk or illiquid products.
5
AI generatedStep 5 of 7
Confirm that discretionary mandates and allocation records evidence client authority and do not permit undocumented transfer of most client assets into firm-sponsored products.
6
AI generatedStep 6 of 7
Strengthen governance over regulatory submissions so licensing, supervisory-organisation and FINMA communications are complete, traceable and reviewed by accountable senior management.
7
AI generatedStep 7 of 7
Brief senior managers and client advisers on FINMA’s use of industry bans for serious supervisory-law breaches and refresh escalation procedures for conduct-risk red flags.

Timeline

other

2021

According to FINMA, Wendelspiess Partners AG clients were invested in a foreign fund established by the firm and managed in-house since 2021.

other

Jan 1, 2024

FINMA states that the fund’s assets under management stood at over CHF 83 million at the end of 2024.

implementation

Jan 1, 2025

FINMA initiated enforcement proceedings, appointed an investigating agent, froze Wendelspiess Partners AG accounts and custody accounts, and prohibited former directors from carrying out transactions.

publication

Jun 3, 2026

FINMA published the press release announcing conclusion of proceedings, long-term industry bans and withdrawal of the firm’s portfolio manager licence, subject to appeal.

Sources

AI-generated analysis is based on the following primary sources. Always verify against the official publication.

Press releaseSwiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMAJun 3, 2026
FINMA concludes proceedings against Wendelspiess Partners AG and imposes long-term industry bans ↗
https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2026/06/20260306-mm-wendelspiess
Primary legislationSwiss Confederation / FedlexJun 15, 2018
Federal Act on Financial Services (Financial Services Act, FinSA) ↗
https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2019/758/en
Primary legislationSwiss Confederation / FedlexJun 22, 2007
Federal Act on the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Financial Market Supervision Act, FINMASA) ↗
https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2008/736/en
Supervisory guidance webpageSwiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMADate not specified
Enforcement tools ↗
https://www.finma.ch/en/enforcement/enforcement-tools/

Related Evidence

Verified source support for this analysis

The evidence agent checks whether the drafted finding is supported by official publications and relevant public source material.

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