Asset class
Structured products in Switzerland
A structured product wrapped in a Swiss insurance policy is not held directly by the investor. The insurer holds the underlying instrument through its own custody chain, and the policyholder's claim runs against the insurer, not against the security itself. Whether that claim survives a refusal to pay depends on how the policy and the custody arrangement are documented, not on the jurisdiction alone.
Register and custody layer
Two layers sit between the investor and the underlying asset. The insurer keeps a policyholder register, usually not public, recording who holds the policy and its current value. Behind that, the structured product itself sits in a custody chain identified by ISIN, held on the insurer's own account or through a custodian network. Neither layer is visible to the policyholder in the ordinary course of the relationship.
When performance is refused, the question is which layer actually controls the asset: whether the insurer holds the underlying instrument on its own balance sheet, exposing the policyholder to the insurer's general creditors, or in a segregated account that would survive an insolvency. This is decided by the custody agreement and the policy conditions, not by the term "structured product" in a marketing brochure. Enforcement into Switzerland starts from establishing which of these two records the claim actually rests on.
The document rarely handed over
Most policyholders receive a policy certificate and a periodic value statement. What they rarely receive is the custody confirmation showing where the underlying structured product actually sits, and whether it is booked as a segregated asset or as part of the insurer's own portfolio.
That single document decides whether a refusal to pay is a contractual dispute with the insurer, or a question about assets that should never have been exposed to the insurer's own risk. Without it, any assessment of the claim rests on the policy wording alone, drafted by the insurer's side. How ownership of structured products is actually recorded sets out the mechanics behind this gap.
What belongs in a pre-deal report
- The policy contract and all riders, including the annex naming the wrapped instrument by ISIN.
- Custody statements covering the period from subscription to the first missed payment.
- Confirmation of whether the underlying asset was booked as segregated or as part of the insurer's general account.
- The legalisation route for any document issued outside Switzerland. Switzerland applies the Apostille Convention, with a reservation on file at position 6, in force since 11 March 1973; the correct route for a given document still depends on where it was issued.
- Any prior written exchange in which the insurer or distributor addressed the missed payment.
A paid pre-deal assessment checks these points against the actual file before any claim is drafted or sent, rather than against a summary given verbally. Before instructing anyone to act on the file, verify who is being engaged, and confirm what a first review covers through the structured products and insurance desk.