I am not a Swiss resident but my grandson is and he is 2 yo.
Can I open an investment trust in his name?
I don’t have a specific answer, but someone else from this forum might. But to help you better, it would be helpful if you could describe what you want to achieve. Do you want to save for yourself or for your grandson? The former would not be a good idea. If it’s the latter, I would think carefully about whether you really want to do this. In many cases, it’s easier if you save under your own name and then give the money to your grandson as soon as he’s grown up (depending on the country, canton and amount, this may be tax-free). Otherwise, the money automatically belongs to him at 18, which can be a disadvantage if he’s not ready for it at 18.
I know people who would have been better off being given this kind of money when they were ~25. Before that, they would have simply spent the money on cars and alcohol.
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thank you for the quick answer.
I might not make it until he’s 18. I actually want him to have it for university.
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Does the grandson have parents too and are they resident in Switzerland?
To understand the situation better: do you want to avoid gifting this money to the child’s parents because you would not be sure that they are actually going to spend it on his university?
If yes, I think what might be possible is that parents open an investment account in the child’s name (the choice for these is much more limited than normal adult accounts but there are some, for example search for “child account” in this forum) and then you send the money directly to that account. The money will be in child’s name and can be used by the parents before he is 18 under certain conditions (ultimately it will be controlled by the banks and judges - so you might want to read a bit about that, to see if you feel they will sufficiently protect the child’s interests against parents’ interests or not).
If the legislative framework of your inheritance allows for it, maybe keeping the money but simply writing the grandson in your will does the trick? Then if you are still around - you will gift it personally, if you die before then - I believe the money then will need to go to an bank or investment account in child’s name (so it will force the parents to follow the situation described above)
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