The VVG covers portfolio management, investment advice, reception and transmission of orders and execution of orders for clients, together with specified related research and corporate-finance advice.
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VVG · LR 950.4 · LGBl. 2005 Nr. 278 · Editorial explanation · not an official translation
Liechtenstein VVG: Asset-Management Licensing and Duties
An independently authored explanation of the official VVG consolidation effective on 1 September 2026 and FMA materials. It is not an official translation, the full legislation or permission to provide services under a particular investment model.
Editorial explanation · not an official translation
Key takeaways
This is an independently authored explanation of official materials, not an official translation or a reproduction of the complete text. The current German version, transitional provisions and the facts of the matter must be checked before reliance.
An asset management company needs FMA authorisation; the permitted services are stated in the licence and may be limited, so actual activity and marketing must match it precisely.
The company must act honestly, professionally and in the client's best interests, manage conflicts, assess suitability or appropriateness, disclose costs and apply inducement and product-target-market rules.
An individual-portfolio manager does not thereby become a fund management company, depositary or bank and may not accept client money; each additional element needs a separate classification.
01
Services and regulatory boundaries
Article 3 VVG places four principal investment services within asset management: discretionary management of an individual portfolio, personal investment advice, reception and transmission of orders and execution of orders for a client. These may be accompanied by expressly listed ancillary services, including client-facing research and advice on capital structure, strategy, mergers and acquisitions. The model must be distinguished from collective UCITS or AIF management, custody, deposit taking, brokerage beyond the licence and unregulated general information. The FMA expressly notes that a VVG company is not the management company of a collective investment scheme and may not accept or hold client money.
03
Conduct, clients and cross-border business
After authorisation, demonstrable protection of the client's interests becomes central. The company classifies the client, provides fair and intelligible information, gathers knowledge, experience, financial situation, capacity for loss, objectives and risk tolerance, and then applies the required suitability or appropriateness test. Conflicts, product target markets, best execution, costs and inducements require documented controls; portfolio management is subject to a strict restriction on retaining third-party payments or benefits. The EEA passport operates through competent-authority notifications. It does not displace host-state rules, marketing restrictions, AML, sanctions or the analysis required for clients connected with third countries.
LILEX · LLV · FMA
Official sources
This is an independently authored explanation of official materials, not an official translation or a reproduction of the complete text. The current German version, transitional provisions and the facts of the matter must be checked before reliance.
FMA authorisation page for asset management companies
Open official source ↗FMA ongoing supervision page for asset management companies
Open official source ↗Smart Global Capital
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Discuss the legal positionEditorial explanation · not an official translation. This is an independently authored explanation of official materials, not an official translation or a reproduction of the complete text. The current German version, transitional provisions and the facts of the matter must be checked before reliance.