Profile

Sandro Abegglen is head of NKF’s Banking, Finance & Regulatory Team. He has been advising and representing major Swiss and international financial institutions for almost 20 years on financial services regulatory, investment funds, asset management, civil law and AML/KYC issues and in enforcement proceedings vis-à-vis FINMA. For years, he has been ranked band one for banking, banking regulatory, investment funds and asset management by all major international law directories. Furthermore, Sandro has been ranked in the “Hall of Fame” in Banking and Finance by Legal 500 2023, as well as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in Banking – Regulatory by Who’s Who Legal 2023.

Experience

Sandro Abegglen is a member of the Legal and Compliance Committee of SFAMA, the Swiss investment fund and asset management industry’s self-regulatory and industry body. He is a board member of a large, international asset manager, and an adjoint professor for contracts and financial services laws at the University of Berne, Faculty of Law. Sandro is regularly asked by the Swiss government to act as expert on legislative projects, recently on the new Financial Services Act FIDLEG as well the new Financial Institutions Act FINIG, and frequently renders speeches at conferences of the Universities of Berne, Zurich and St. Gallen.

For 20 years, Sandro has been advising and representing banks, securities houses and asset managers on financial services regulatory, civil law and AML/KYC issues. Typically, banks and asset managers instruct him on matters of strategic importance. He advised many major institutions on the sea-change inducement ruling of the Supreme Court, and is currently counseling large clients on the implementation of FIDLEG and FINIG. He is a highly recognised expert in investment funds, wealth management and asset management and in obtaining FINMA and other authorities licenses for institutions such as banks, securities dealers and asset managers, both in the traditional investment expertises and for private equity and real estate managers/advisors, as well as for their products such as investment funds and investment foundations – areas where he brought about a number of important practice changes.

Sandro represents banks and asset managers, their directors and executive board members, in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the Swiss supervisory authorities FINMA and CDB Supervisory Board, and, in cooperation with international counsel, by other regulatory and law enforcement authorities, in particular from the UK and the USA. He represents clients at the Federal Administrative Court and the Swiss Supreme Court levels in appeals against FINMA decisions.

Sandro advises and represents financial institutions in large, typically international litigations involving regulatory, code of conduct or AML/corruption issues.

1996 University of Texas at Austin School of Law, LL.M.
1995 University of Berne, PhD, Dr. iur.
1992 Admitted to the Bar, Fürsprecher, Canton of Berne
Best Lawyers/ Handelsblatt Switzerland 2023/24 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Funds
Best Lawyers 2010 – 2024
Legalcommunity Switzerland Awards 2023 – Lawyer of the Year: Banking & Finance
Best Lawyers/ Handelsblatt Switzerland 2022/23 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Funds
Chambers Global 2004 – 2023
Chambers Europe 2007 – 2023
The Legal500 EMEA 2019 – 2023 – Hall of Fame
IFLR1000 2020 – 2023 – Market Leader
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders Global Elite 2022
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Switzerland 2019 – 2022
Who’s Who Legal: Global 2019 – 2022
Who’s Who Legal: Switzerland 2016 – 2022
Best Lawyers/ Handelsblatt Switzerland 2019/2020 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Funds
IFLR1000 2017 – 2019 – Highly Regarded
Handelsblatt 2018 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Law
The Legal500 EMEA 2018 – Leading Individual
The Legal500 EMEA 2017 – Leading Individual
Best Lawyers Switzerland 2015 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Funds
Best Lawyers Switzerland 2014 – Lawyer of the Year for Investment Funds
  • Swiss Bar Association
  • Zurich Bar Association
  • IBA International Bar Association
  • Member Legal Committee Swiss Funds Association and Asset Management Association SFAMA
2006 Partner, Niederer Kraft Frey
2003 Adjoint Professor (Habilitation/Privatdozent) for contracts, corporate law and banking and financial services regulation at the University of Berne Faculty of Law
2002 Senior Associate, Niederer Kraft Frey
2000 (Senior) Researcher and Senior Research Fellow, Law Faculty University of Berne (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wiegand)
1996 Associate with major Swiss business law firm
1993 (Senior) Researcher and Senior Research Fellow, Law Faculty University of Berne (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wiegand)
1989 Assistant clerk to the district court of Interlaken

German

English

French

Deals & Cases

03.11.2023

Coop launches Coop Finance+

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Market Perception

«Sandro Abegglen is a long-standing, reliable and very knowledgeable partner for legal and regulatory topics around financial services.»
Chambers Global 2023
«Sandro Abegglen enjoys an outstanding reputation in the market thanks to his experience advising and representing major clients on investment fund law and asset management. »
Who’s Who Legal 2022
«Working with Sandro Abegglen means working with someone who understands our business very well, can connect the dots and does not look at things in silos but can provide guidance in a more holistic manner where appropriate. »
Chambers Global 2022
«Sandro is very quick in understanding, incredibly knowledgeable and on top of all developments in the regulatory environment. He has an ability to simplify complexity and find pragmatic solutions without ever compromising on quality. »
Chambers Global 2021

Events

23.11.2021

Vermögensverwaltung XV: “Crossroads” und Chancen nach der Krise

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30.06.2020

FIDLEG im Zusammenspiel mit DSG/DSGVO

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Awards & Rankings

14.09.2023

NKF ranked top-tier firm in six practice areas by IFLR1000 2023

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16.06.2023

NKF recognised as “Law Firm of the Year” for Mergers and Acquisitions Law by Best Lawyers/…

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08.05.2023

Two NKF partners recognised as Lawyers of the Year at the Legalcommunity Switzerland Awards 2023

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Publications

21.06.2023

Kommentierung Art. 27 FIDLEG

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21.06.2023

Kommentierung Art. 25 FIDLEG

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21.06.2023

Kommentierung Art. 38–40 FINIG

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Speaking Engagements

09.12.2022

Angebotsbegriff gemäss FIDLEG/KAG

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30.11.2022

Beziehung Bank – externe Vermögensverwalter / Anlageberater: (Neue) Formen der Zusammenarbeit u…

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14.06.2022

Retrozessionen – Neuste Judikatur zu Art. 400 Abs. 1 OR und Gedanken zum Anwendungsbereich von A…

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Newsletters & Alerts

12.07.2023

Teilrevision der Kollektivanlagenverordnung (KKV) – Änderungen nebst dem L-QIF

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25.08.2022

New Self-Regulation for Financial Service Providers on the Integration of ESG Preferences at the Point…

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07.12.2021

New AML duties with need for clarification

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