Alternative investment holding with a Swedish trustee

The legal basis: a trustee, not a trust

Sweden is a civil law jurisdiction and has no trust law. There is no such thing as a Swedish trust, just as there is no Swiss trust. What Sweden does regulate is the activity of professional trust management, which falls under Swedish AML/CFT legislation implementing the EU anti-money-laundering directives.

A Swedish Trust Company is therefore a Swedish limited company registered as a regulated provider of trust management services, supervised for AML/CFT purposes. It acts as trustee. Each trust it administers is created by a trust deed governed by a law chosen by the settlor — typically a common law jurisdiction such as Jersey or England — as recognised under Article 6 of the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition.

Where a trustee fits in an investment structure

As trustee, the trust company holds legal title to assets for the beneficiaries on the terms of the trust deed. Common roles include:

• Holding shares, fund units or real estate for a family office
• Holding assets for a closed group of co-investors
• Acting as a neutral holder of assets subject to agreed release conditions
• Consolidating holdings across several jurisdictions under one trustee

Fund regulation is a separate question

A trustee holding assets is not the same as a fund manager. Raising capital from external investors and managing it under an investment policy can constitute an alternative investment fund under the EU AIFM Directive, requiring a registered or authorised fund manager depending on size and investor type.

The trust company does not replace that authorisation. We recommend fund-specific legal advice before any arrangement involving pooled third-party capital.

What the trust company does not do

A Swedish Trust Company is not a bank, credit institution, electronic money institution or payment institution. It may not take deposits from the public, extend credit as a business, or make payment services its core activity. Payments made on behalf of trust clients must remain incidental to trust management.

Where a business model needs money transmission, card issuing or IBAN accounts, those services are provided by separately licensed partners, or by adding a Montana MSB to the structure for US money services.

Questions