The AMF Enforcement Committee fines an asset management company for breaches of its professional obligations
Executive Summary
The AMF Enforcement Committee fined an asset management company €400,000 on 9 September 2025 for multiple breaches of professional obligations, including deficient marketing disclosures, inadequate conflict of interest systems, non-operational valuation procedures, failure to oversee external experts, and deficient AML/CFT systems in managing AIFs and club deals. This enforcement action underscores the AMF's focus on operational robustness and investor protection in asset management, serving as a critical reminder for firms to ensure procedures are not only documented but fully operational and effective. Compliance teams should review this to benchmark internal controls, as it highlights personal accountability for senior managers and recurring AMF priorities in recent sanctions. #
What Changed
This is an enforcement decision, not a regulatory change introducing new rules; it enforces existing professional obligations under AMF jurisdiction for asset managers. Key requirements reaffirmed include: - Providing comprehensive, accurate, and understandable information to investors on fee retrocessions to distributors in AIF marketing. - Implementing effective systems for preventing and managing conflicts of interest, particularly in joint investments like club deals classified as Other AIFs. - Maintaining operational procedures for valuing real estate assets, including formalizing independent valuer work. - Adhering to programs of activity for selecting, evaluating, overseeing, and periodically assessing external experts. - Ensuring fully operational AML/CFT procedures, risk mapping,
What You Need To Do
- Verify investor disclosures on fee retrocessions are comprehensive and understandable; update marketing materials for AIFs and club deals accordingly
- Formalize independent valuer roles and implement monitoring for external experts per activity programs
- Enhance AML/CFT due diligence on fund assets/liabilities, including risk mapping and procedure testing
- Senior managers
- Test procedures via internal audits; remediate deficiencies proactively to mitigate enforcement risk
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: High – This recent (2025) decision aligns with a pattern of AMF fines on asset managers for similar operational and AML failures (e.g., €1.3M on Altaroc Partners for lacking investment procedures and AML due diligence; €200K+ on M Capital for non-operational systems and AML deficiencies). It matters because AMF increasingly attributes breaches to individuals, escalating personal liability
Who is Affected
Summary
Sanctions & settlements professional obligations Journalists Investment management companies The AMF Enforcement Committee fines an asset management company for breaches of its professional obligations