ETP, nETP, AMC and L-QIF.

How they differ, and what the choice depends on.

Side-by-side
Question
ETP Listed · SIX
nETP UNLISTED · SWISS LAW
AMC Active certificate
L-QIF Fund · CISA
Listing required?
Yes. SIX listing.
No.
Optional.
No.
Prospectus regime
Base prospectus approved by SIX Exchange Regulation (Swiss prospectus regime under FinSA)
Base prospectus approved by SIX Exchange Regulation (Swiss prospectus regime under FinSA)
May be exempt for professional investors
Constituting documents under CISA
Retail-eligible?
Yes (with KID)
Yes (with KID, eligible underlying)
Yes (with KID, eligible underlying)
Professional investors
Bookable through most banks?*
Yes
Yes. Swiss ISIN
Depends on issuer / placement
Distribution restricted to professional investors
Discretion / active management?
Rule-based or passive
Rule-based, passive, or via licensed AM
Yes, discretionary by definition (FinIA AM)
Yes, fund manager (FinIA)
Collateralisation
Fully collateralised · ring-fenced per product · independent Security Agent
Fully collateralised · ring-fenced per product · independent Security Agent
Helveteq AMC: same framework as ETP/nETP. Bank AMC: unsecured, bank issuer credit. Offshore AMC: may be collateralised, enforcement offshore.
Statutory fund segregation under CISA
Indicative time-to-market
~2 weeks + SIX listing
~2 weeks
Depends on issuer
~12–20 weeks
Helveteq's role
Issuer · Structurer
Issuer · Structurer
Issuer · Structurer
Partner referral

Indicative timing assumes a clean underlying and standard counterparty due diligence. Actual time-to-ISIN depends on structure complexity and case-specific factors.

*Every product carries a Swiss ISIN and can, in principle, be booked through your bank like any other security. Whether a particular bank accepts a given ISIN, especially for non-listed products, is at that bank’s discretion.

A note on the AMC column

"AMC" covers three substantively different products. Helveteq AMCs sit on the same Swiss-law collateralised framework as Helveteq ETPs and nETPs, ring-fenced per product, independent Security Agent. Bank AMCs are unsecured bank-issued certificates carrying full bank issuer credit risk. Offshore AMCs may be collateralised but enforcement and creditor-protection sit outside Swiss law. The column above uses the generic AMC framing; the Collateralisation row makes the distinction explicit.

Deep dive

The four structures, compared in detail.

01

What each is

  • ETP — Swiss-listed, fully collateralised tracker certificate issued under a FinSA prospectus approved by SIX Exchange Regulation.
  • nETP — the same structure, unlisted: same collateral, ACA, Security Agent and prospectus; non-recourse (claims limited to the product's collateral pool).
  • AMC — actively managed certificate issued on a bank's balance sheet or an offshore SPV; typically unsecured and dependent on issuer credit.
  • L-QIF — Swiss fund for qualified investors only; statutory asset segregation and full fund governance.
02

Licensing

  • Regulation is triggered by discretion, not by format.
  • Passive (index replication) and rule-based (fully predetermined rules) → no FinIA licence.
  • Discretionary management → FinIA asset-management licence required for the manager.
  • Issuer ≠ manager.
03

Collateral & enforcement

  • ETP / nETP — Swiss-law pledge + ACA + segregated Swiss custodian accounts; enforcement via an independent Security Agent; non-recourse.
  • Bank AMC — no segregation; unsecured; investors rank as unsecured creditors in bank insolvency.
  • Offshore AMC — may be collateralised, but enforceability relies on offshore trust law and offshore courts; not supervised under FinSA/FinIA.
04

nETP → ETP upgrade path

  • nETPs use the same prospectus and collateral structure as ETPs.
  • Listing possible with minimal adjustments.
  • Requires a SIX-eligible underlying.
Interactive

Five questions. One structural match.

Question 1 / 5. Listing
Do you need the product to be listed on SIX?
Question 2 / 5. Investor base
Who are the target investors?
Question 3 / 5. Strategy
How is the strategy run?
Question 4 / 5. Speed
How fast do you want to be live?
Question 5 / 5. Seed funding
Seed funding secured?
Structural match

- -

Answer the questions above to see which structure fits.