AMF Enforcement Committee fines a financial investment advisor and its director for breach of professional obligations
Executive Summary
The AMF Enforcement Committee imposed a five-year ban on financial investment advisor DCT (formerly Didier Maurin Finance) and its director Didier Maurin from practicing, plus fines of €150,000 on the firm and €200,000 on the director, for recommending unauthorized Samoan AIF investments to 64 clients, failing to manage conflicts of interest (e.g., no conflicts register), and breaching duties of competence, care, and diligence in clients' best interests. This matters as it reinforces AMF's strict enforcement on CIFs (Conseillers en Investissements Financiers) for product authorization checks, conflicts management, and client-centric obligations under MiFID II transposition in France, signaling heightened scrutiny on advisory integrity amid rising sanctions. The Conseil d'Etat upheld the decision on 9 September 2024, dismissing appeals and confirming sanctions. #
What Changed
This is an enforcement decision, not a new regulation, but it clarifies and reinforces existing requirements for CIFs: - Product marketing authorization: CIFs must verify that recommended investments (e.g., AIFs) are authorized for sale in France before advising clients; recommending unauthorized products breaches professional obligations regardless of client outcomes. - Conflicts of interest management: CIFs must maintain an effective conflicts register, identify risks (e.g., personal benefits), and implement operational procedures; absence or failure constitutes a breach. - No aggravating factor for incomplete disclosures on unauthorized products absent specific rules, but core diligence duty remains absolute. These align with AMF Position-Recommendation DOC-2017-15 on CIF professional o
What You Need To Do
- Immediate audit
- Conflicts policy enhancement
- Training and documentation
- Director accountability
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: High - This upheld decision (post-2024 appeal) exemplifies AMF's pattern of escalating fines/bans on CIFs for conduct failures (e.g., €2.5M on Carat GP in 2025; €120K-€150K on Capexis upheld 2025), amid 2024-2025 enforcement wave on professional obligations. Matters for CIFs as it heightens personal liability for directors, risks business bans, and underscores client-best-interest primacy
Who is Affected
Summary
Sanctions & settlements professional obligations Investment advice Other professionals Journalists AMF Enforcement Committee fines a financial investment advisor and its director for breach of professional obligations