France’s AMF turns to investors in order to get extra info about marketing of financial products

Maria Nikolova

The panel of investors will help the AMF get access to information disseminated to by investment service providers and asset management companies to their clients.

France’s financial markets authority AMF is aiming to tighten its control over marketing of financial products. For that purpose, the French regulator is seeking to use a new means – a panel of investors. This panel will be comprised of non-professional investors who hold various portfolios (equities, investment funds, etc).

The aim of the regulator is to get access to information that is disseminated by investment services providers and asset managers to their clients. The data provided by the panel will also be used by the Households Savings Observatory.

Let’s recall that, in October 2018, the AMF published a summary of the findings stemming from five checks related to the knowledge and experience of clients of investment firms. The checks, carried out early in 2018, were conducted under a new AMF program called SPOT. The checks uncovered both good and bad practices, but the regulator underlines that, overall, the practices related to checking clients’ knowledge of financial products have improved.

More precisely, the regulator has identified a number of good procedures. For instance, the firms are now asking their (potential) clients various questions, depending on the type of financial product offered to the client. There are bad practices that the AMF has uncovered too. For instance, some firms have asked questions that had no possible answer for “no knowledge”. Instead the options were low / medium / good knowledge. In addition, some firms still allow clients choose their profile by self-assessment.

Early in January, the AMF outlined its supervisory priorities for 2019. A great part of the AMF supervisory role is performed via inspections of regulated entities. The regulator said it aims to conduct 65 such checks in 2019. This marks a small change from 63 checks carried out in 2018.

The AMF says that the inspections are of two main kinds:

  • “Classic” checks – they target major players or ones posing particular risks or ones mentioned in alerts.
  • Thematic checks – they cover groups of companies as the regulator tries to assess how the entities comply with new rules.

Read this next

Retail FX

Banxso announces 8.7% interest rate on deposits in South Africa

“With Banxso, they can enjoy the benefits of both worlds – earning competitive interest and having the freedom to trade, all within the same platform.”

Industry News

FINRA to publish transaction details in U.S. Treasury securities

“Consistent with our longstanding practice, FINRA is introducing greater transparency in a calibrated and careful manner, benefiting liquidity and resilience in this critical market while also mitigating potential information leakage concerns.”

Institutional FX

OpenYield launches “cheap and easy” fixed income trading for brokers

“We’re on a mission to make bonds cheap and easy to trade, and are excited about the opportunity to build generational capital markets infrastructure.”

Digital Assets

Sumsub and Mercuryo publish a guide for VASPs: “Mastering Travel Rule Compliance”

“At Sumsub, we’ve concentrated our efforts on filling the gap in understanding the complexity of Travel Rule regulation and helping organizations find the best solution to stay safe and compliant while minimizing costs and avoiding potential risks of non-compliance. This guide we created with Mercuryo, our trusted partner, is the ultimate navigation tool all VASPs can consult.”

Digital Assets

Bitget Wallet Leads with Record Swap Volume & New Crypto Innovations

This week, Bitget Wallet achieved a milestone by surpassing Metamask with a record 388,757 Swap order transactions, securing the global lead. The significant 7-day trading volume, almost 68,000 more than its rival, underscores its liquidity and user trust. This robust activity signals Bitget Wallet’s prominent role and reliability in the dynamic crypto market.

Digital Assets

Embarking on a Digital Currency Journey

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a treasure map, leading you to untold riches hidden in the vastness of the internet. Instead of gold coins and jewel-encrusted goblets, this treasure comes in the form of digital currencies, the modern-day loot coveted by many.

Reviews

Traders Union Experts Share The Trading Analyst Review For 2024

Navigating options trading in rapidly shifting markets poses a considerable challenge. This is where options trading alert services become invaluable. They aid traders in keeping abreast of evolving opportunities and market trends. In this assessment, Traders Union experts scrutinize The Trading Analyst alert service to ascertain its efficacy. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Achieves $9.9M: Aiming For A 5000-Fold ROI As Cardano’s Price Rises And Fantom Launches Sonic

Explore Cardano’s surge, Sonic’s efficiency, and why BlockDAG’s growth makes it the top crypto choice. A deep dive into the future of blockchain investments.

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

<