How can a private investor access regulated investing services in San Marino?

A private investor normally uses a provider listed in the BCSM Register of Authorised Entities, such as a San Marino bank, investment firm or fund management company, or an authorised foreign firm offering a branch or cross-border service. The provider may require customer classification, suitability or appropriateness checks, identity verification and anti-money-laundering documents.

What protection does the Investor Compensation Fund provide for investing through a San Marino provider?

The fund can provide up to EUR 20,000 per investor when a San Marino-established investment-services provider enters compulsory liquidation and cannot return money or financial instruments because of an asset-segregation breach. It does not compensate ordinary market losses, issuer failure, interest-rate changes, foreign-exchange losses, crypto losses or property losses.

Which checks should an investor complete before buying financial products in San Marino?

Check the provider's authorisation, the product prospectus or white paper, custody and asset segregation, ISIN or legal category, liquidity, redemption terms, total costs, tax treatment and realistic loss scenarios. For property, also verify title, acquisition permissions, taxes, rental assumptions and the difference between ownership and residence rights.

How are costs and taxes determined for investing in San Marino?

Retail costs depend on the contract and product and can include execution, custody, management, advice, spreads, fund charges, foreign-exchange costs and taxes; San Marino has no single established retail fee schedule. Dividends, interest, bond income, capital gains, withholding tax, treaties, tax residence and product structure require separate checks, including the reported 5% rate on dividends paid to private individuals.

Investing in San Marino

Q: Does San Marino have a local stock exchange or broadly accessible online broker for investing?

No directly confirmed, broadly accessible local stock-exchange or online-broker equivalent appears in the official BCSM structure. Investors generally use an authorised intermediary with access to a foreign trading venue, an approved fund or a San Marino government bond.

Investing in San Marino covers regulated financial assets, funds, government bonds, crypto-assets and selected real assets. Private investors usually access these products through an authorised intermediary, often using foreign trading venues or funds. Returns are not guaranteed, and provider, market, currency, liquidity and regulatory risks remain with the investor.

Tip

Choose the investment form according to your goal, time horizon, liquidity need and ability to absorb losses. An authorised intermediary and a diversified portfolio are usually safer starting points than concentrating money in one provider, one San Marino issuer, crypto-assets or illiquid property. Treat the Investor Compensation Fund as limited custody protection, not as protection against investment losses.

byFrancesca&Alessandro

The Banca Centrale della Repubblica di San Marino (BCSM) supervises banks, investment firms, fund management companies, insurers and relevant investor-protection arrangements. San Marino's Law 165/2005, known as the LISF, provides the main framework for investment services, while BCSM Regulation 2024-05, effective from 29 January 2026, incorporates adaptations related to MiFID II, MiFIR, IFD, IFR and CRR. The official Register of Authorised Entities, the Register of Independent Financial Advisers and the Register of Financial Promoters should be checked before signing a contract. Investment services can include receiving and transmitting orders, executing orders, dealing on one's own account, portfolio management, placing products and providing investment advice. Depending on the service, the provider may assess customer classification, suitability or appropriateness, and may require identity and source-of-funds information under anti-money-laundering rules. Available financial instruments include shares, bonds, money-market instruments, transferable securities and derivatives. San Marino has no directly confirmed, broadly accessible local stock-exchange or online-broker equivalent in the official BCSM structure. Investors generally use an authorised San Marino intermediary or an authorised foreign firm with a branch or cross-border service, combined with access to a foreign trading venue. The intermediary should explain custody, asset segregation, execution, redemption, liquidity, product costs and the treatment of corporate actions. The Elenco Fondi Approvati (EFA) currently lists 14 funds, including products such as SMART, SMART PLUS, SMART LIGHT, HIGH PERFORMANCE, BAC GLOBAL EQUITY, BAC GLOBAL BILANCIATO, BAC GLOBAL CAUTO, BAC GLOBAL DINAMICO, BAC GLOBAL PRUDENTE, BAC ABSOLUTE RETURN, NT DYNAMIC, NT TARGET RENDIMENTO, ODISSEO and LOAN MANAGEMENT. Availability and current status must be confirmed with an authorised provider, together with the fund rules, prospectus, dealing frequency, redemption conditions and total charges. San Marino government bonds are issued domestically and internationally. Three issues were planned for 2026 with a combined amount of EUR 450 million, comprising EUR 100 million domestically and EUR 350 million internationally; examples include coupons of 2%, 2.35%, 2.15% and 2.45% with maturities in 2026, 2027, 2030 and 2035. Each issue requires a separate check of its maturity, coupon, ISIN, repayment terms and secondary-market liquidity, because government, interest-rate and liquidity risks remain. Crypto-assets follow separate rules. Type-A tokens and related crypto-asset activities fall under BCSM Regulation 2024-03, while Type-B tokens are handled by the Institute for Innovation. Tokenised financial instruments remain subject to the LISF. An issuance, offer or admission may require a white paper, prior notification or approval, and a crypto-asset service provider must hold the required authorisation. A crypto product should therefore be checked for its legal category, authorised service provider, custody arrangement, loss scenario and ability to sell the asset. Real-estate investing is more fragmented and restrictive. The Council of XII deals with authorisations for foreign persons to hold real estate, and the Ufficio Registro e Ipoteche is relevant to title and registration matters. Current rules provide an exception for certain inheritance cases, while the earlier facilitated-acquisition provision under Delegated Decree 105/2019 should not be treated as generally current. Buying property does not automatically create residence rights. Elective residence connected with a property or financial investment is an immigration matter rather than an investment product. A property review should cover title, authorisations, taxes, rental assumptions, financing and liquidity. A sound plan starts with the goal, time horizon, liquidity need and ability to tolerate losses. Global diversification through authorised funds or external markets can reduce concentration in San Marino government bonds, local issuers, one provider, crypto-assets or illiquid property. Compare custody, execution, management, advice, spreads, fund charges, foreign-exchange costs and taxes; no uniform retail fee schedule has been established. BCSM market-entry fees charged to providers, such as EUR 5,000 plus EUR 1,250 for an investment-firm authorisation and enabling fee, are not the investor's retail charges. The tax treatment of dividends, interest and bond income, capital gains, withholding tax, treaties, tax residence and product structure must be checked separately; the Chamber of Commerce identifies a 5% rate on dividends paid to private individuals, while the ordinary corporate income-tax rate is 17% and a new-business rate of 8.5% applies only to qualifying companies in years one to five. The Investor Compensation Fund can cover up to EUR 20,000 per investor only when a San Marino-established investment-services provider enters compulsory liquidation and fails to return money or financial instruments because of a breach of asset-segregation duties. It does not cover market, issuer, interest-rate, foreign-exchange, crypto or property losses, and it is not a deposit-guarantee scheme. Other risks include dependence on foreign venues and providers, counterparty and custody failures, regulatory changes, concentration, illiquidity, crypto volatility, property-approval problems and tax or residence complexity.