Privacy policy

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1. Who are we?

Marcuard Family Office (“Marcuard”) is a family office based in Switzerland that provides various services to its clients. Marcuard owns a subsidiary, MFO Capital Ltd., which is domiciled in the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”), which in turn owns a subsidiary, also domiciled in BVI, MFO IDF I GP Ltd.

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2. What is the purpose of this privacy policy?

In connection with the services we provide, the protection of your personal data is of particular concern to us.

We therefore process your data in accordance with the applicable legal provisions, namely the Swiss Data Protection Act (“DPA”) and – where applicable – the European Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) as amended from time to time (DPA and GDPR together “Data Protection Laws”).

With this data protection declaration, we would like to inform you:

  • what personal data we process and for what purpose when you use our services;
  • how we process this data;
  • to whom we may disclose the personal data;
  • what your rights are in connection with the processing of your data.

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3. What principles do we observe when processing personal data?

When processing personal data, the data protection principles must be observed. All personal data must be:

  • processed lawfully, fairly and in a manner that is transparent to you, the customer;
  • collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a way incompatible with those purposes;
  • processed in a manner that is adequate and substantial for the purpose and limit processing to that which is necessary for the purposes of the processing;
  • kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes of the processing;
  • processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of personal data, including appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage;
  • factually correct and up to date. Personal data that is incorrect with regard to the purpose of its processing will be deleted or corrected.

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4. What is the reason for processing personal data and the legal basis?

Marcuard processes and stores your data in accordance with the applicable regulations, in particular:

  • in the context of the performance of contractual obligations or the fulfillment of a contract. The purpose of data processing here is primarily based on the product or service in question;
  • in the case of compliance with legal requirements (e.g. FATCA, AIA/CRS, prevention of money laundering and corruption) or in the public interest;
  • based on your consent, for example, if you have given us your consent to use your personal data for the purpose of sending you customized marketing materials. You have the right to withdraw the consent you have given us at any time;
  • In the case of possible future customers of Marcuard, for the purpose of correspondence regarding a possible collaboration and for sending general information (such as information about Marcuard events);
  • for the protection of legitimate interests of Marcuard or third parties, unless such interests are overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms requiring the protection of personal data.

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5. What types of data do we collect?

The personal data that we collect, store, use and process includes namely the following (the list is not exhaustive):

  • Personal information (e.g. surname, first name, address and other contact details, date and place of birth, and nationality, CV);
  • Identification information (e.g. details of your ID or passport);
  • Authentication information (e.g. specimen signatures);
  • Financial information (e.g. creditworthiness, source and amount of assets, spending habits);
  • Documentation (e.g. minutes of meetings);
  • General information that Marcuard needs to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Special categories of personal data, such as information about political opinions or affiliations, religious or philosophical beliefs, genetic or biometric data, and health data, will only be processed if Marcuard is legally required to do so or if you share such data with Marcuard in the course of the business relationship.

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6. What sources do we use to collect personal data?

We collect and receive the aforementioned information either:

  • directly from the data subjects themselves (e.g. when you contact us), be they customers/potential customers;
  • through the use of publicly available sources (e.g. SECO or OFAC sanctions lists, Worldcheck, AML Spotter, LexisNexis);
  • from other third-party sources (e.g. credit reports) lawfully provided to us.

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7. Who will receive your data?

Marcuard is generally bound by the confidentiality agreement with its customers. In principle, your personal data will only be disclosed to subsidiaries of Marcuard and to service providers and agents (if necessary, also during a negotiation/testing phase) of Marcuard or you as well as other third parties, if this is necessary for the fulfillment of contractual (including execution of customer orders such as payment and securities orders) or legal or regulatory obligations or due to outsourcing by Marcuard.

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8. Will your data be transferred abroad?

Under certain circumstances, we may transfer your personal data abroad. For transfers to countries that have an adequate level of data protection, your personal data will be transferred on that basis. However, in certain cases, for example, in connection with a securities purchase for a client or for regulatory reasons, Marcuard may transfer data to other countries, for example, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Cayman Islands, Singapore, the United States, or other countries around the world, as appropriate. These may include countries that do not provide an adequate level of data protection comparable to Swiss data protection.

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9. How long will your data be stored?

We store your personal data for as long as required by applicable law for the contractual and legal purposes for which it was collected. In some cases, we may store your personal data for longer periods, for example, if there are legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or mandatory technical requirements.

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10. What data protection rights do you have?

You have the following rights under data protection legislation:

  • You have a right of access to the data that Marcuard has stored about you;
  • If necessary, you may request the correction of inaccurate personal data;
  • Right to erasure;
  • Right to restriction of processing;
  • Any data subject has the right, where data processing has been carried out on the basis of your explicit consent to Marcuard (e.g. subscription to a newsletter), to withdraw it (right of withdrawal);
  • Furthermore, there is a “case-by-case” right of revocation. Here you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your data collected for reasons of public interest or to protect legitimate interests. However, we may be authorized to continue processing if there are compelling legitimate grounds for further processing and these override your interests, rights and freedoms; or they are for the purpose of asserting, exercising or defending legal claims;
  • In individual cases, your data will be processed for the purpose of direct advertising. You may object to this at any time. If you object, your personal data will not be further processed for the purpose of direct advertising;
  • You have the right to receive the personal data in a structured, common and machine-readable format (right to data portability);
  • If applicable, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority (right to lodge a complaint).

We would like to point out here once again that you have the right to revoke any consent given to us at any time.

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11. Do we perform profiling?

In general, we do not use automated decision making. If we were to do so, it would be on the basis of applicable legal and regulatory requirements (e.g. in the context of combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and asset endangering crimes, when we are legally obligated to evaluate e.g. payment transactions).

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12. Data protection impact assessment

Marcuard will, where required by data protection legislation, carry out a data protection impact assessment.

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13. Technical and organizational measures for data protection

Marcuard will ensure that all of its employees, contractors or other persons who process personal data for Marcuard apply and implement the appropriate technical and organizational measures.

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14. Who do we notify of data breaches and when?

All breaches of provisions on the protection of personal data must be notified to the affected customer without undue delay in writing or by email to the email address provided by the customer.

If a data breach occurs and is likely to pose a high risk to the personal rights and freedoms of the customer, Marcuard must ensure that the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (“FDPIC”) and, if applicable, the competent supervisory authority abroad, are notified without undue delay (EU: within 72 hours) after becoming aware of the breach. In the event of a breach of data security provisions, the FDPIC must be informed immediately.

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15. Publications

Via our website you can have one of our publications sent to you by providing your e-mail address. We require your consent for this service, as this will result in your e-mail address being stored by us. If you no longer wish your e-mail address to be stored by us, please contact info@mfo.ch

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16. Cookies

These are small data sets that are stored when you visit our website. We also collect personal data (e.g. email address) that you submit to us via our website (e.g. newsletter subscription). We use your data for statistical purposes, for technical evaluations, to determine the frequency of access and to draw conclusions for improving the user-friendliness and functionality of our website.

If you do not agree to the use of cookies, you must configure your browser so that cookies are no longer stored on the electronic device you are using. Please note that this may result in you no longer being able to use all the functions of our website.

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17. Analysis tools

In order to be able to analyze the information made available by means of cookies, how visitors use our website, we use so-called analysis tools. The data can be analyzed by third parties on our behalf or by ourselves.

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18. Applicable law and dispute resolution

This Privacy Policy is governed exclusively by Swiss law. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy, including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination thereof, shall be settled by mediation in accordance with the Swiss Rules of Mediation for Commercial Disputes of the Swiss Arbitration Centre. The version of the Mediation Rules in force at the time of service of the Notice of Arbitration shall apply. The seat of the mediation proceedings shall be Zurich. The language of the mediation proceedings shall be German.

If the dispute(s), disagreement(s) or claim(s) cannot be fully resolved through the mediation process within 60 days after the confirmation or appointment of the mediator(s), they shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Swiss International Arbitration Rules of the Swiss Arbitration Centre. The version of the Arbitration Rules in force at the time of delivery of the Notice of Arbitration shall apply. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of one (1) or three (3) arbitrators. The seat of the arbitral tribunal shall be Zurich. The language of the arbitral proceedings shall be German. The arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Expedited Procedure.

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19. Who can I contact with questions regarding data processing?

Your first point of contact for all issues related to this privacy policy is:

Marcuard Family Office Ltd.
‍Bellerivestrasse 36
P.O. Box
8008 Zurich, Switzerland

You can reach us using the following email address: dataprotection@mfo.ch

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20. Final Acknowledgement

In the case of disparities between the English version of this Privacy Notice and the German version, the German version shall prevail.

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** April 2024

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About MFO
Marcuard Family Office was founded in Zurich in 1998 and is an independent, partner-led multi-family office.
Why?
As a family office, we take care of all relevant wealth issues, leaving you time for other things.
When?
Whether you are selling your business, restructuring the current situation, or overcoming difficult family circumstances, the associated challenges can be overwhelming. As experienced advisors, we professionally guide you through transition phases as well as through calmer periods.
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