Retrocession fees designate the commissions paid to a financial
intermediary by a third party – a bank, for instance –
as an incentive for selecting services or products sponsored by
them. Switzerland regulates the admissibility of retrocession fees
differently from other jurisdictions, and most requirements have
been set by case law.This article outlines certain aspects of the
legal Swiss regime surrounding retrocession fees in the light of a
recent ruling of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFC), which has
put an end to some uncertainty while opening the way to new legal
debates.
Wealth managers are bound to their clients by an agency
contract, under which the agent agrees to render a service to the
principal without guaranteeing a result.The wealth manager is bound
by several obligations, including a duty to transfer to the client
all items acquired within the performance of the service (see
article 400(1) of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO)). The
restitution
