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Glossary

Appropriateness Assessment

The Appropriateness Assessment is the review prescribed under Art. 11 FinSA to determine whether a financial instrument or service corresponds to a client's knowledge and experience. It applies when no comprehensive Investment Advice or Discretionary Asset Management is provided, for example in the case of pure execution of client orders.

At a glance

01

The Appropriateness Assessment is narrower than the Suitability Assessment: it evaluates only the client's knowledge and experience with the relevant product type, not their overall financial situation (Art. 11 FinSA).

02

Where orders are executed on the client's initiative alone (execution only), the assessment may be waived provided the client is informed of this (Art. 13 FinSA).

Frequently asked questions

An Appropriateness Assessment is carried out when a provider offers financial products or executes transactions without providing individual Investment Advice. A typical example is a broker acting on a client's order. The narrower assessment focuses on product knowledge; financial circumstances and investment objectives are not collected.

Part of the topic

Finanzberatung

Sources: FINMA · Systematische Rechtssammlung (fedlex)