The AMF Enforcement Committee fines the Association Nationale des Conseillers Financiers-CIF for breaches of its professional obligations
Executive Summary
The AMF Enforcement Committee fined the Association Nationale des Conseillers Financiers-CIF (ANACOFI-CIF), a professional association approved for investment advisors (CIFs), €250,000 with a warning, and its former president €20,000 with a warning, for breaching professional obligations in membership vetting, controls, archiving, and conflicts of interest management. This decision, dated September 5, 2023, underscores AMF's scrutiny of professional associations' gatekeeping and oversight roles in ensuring CIF compliance. It matters as it signals heightened enforcement against associations failing to uphold regulatory standards, potentially impacting CIF ecosystem integrity and prompting reviews of similar bodies. #
What Changed
This is an enforcement action, not a new regulation, but it reinforces existing obligations under French Monetary and Financial Code (CMF) for approved professional associations like ANACOFI-CIF. Key breaches highlighted include: - Failure to verify quality of CIF membership application dossiers and non-compliance with internal adhesion procedures. - Non-respect of procedures for member controls, sanctions, and proper archiving of control dossiers. - Violation of internal rules on conflicts of interest management. No new requirements were introduced; the case reiterates enforcement of CMF Articles L.541-8 and L.541-8-1 on documentation, archiving, and due diligence for CIFs and associations. #
What You Need To Do
- Review and strengthen internal procedures for CIF membership vetting, ensuring dossier quality checks align with approved protocols
- Implement robust systems for member controls, sanctions processes, and secure archiving of all dossiers per CMF L
- Update conflicts of interest policies and registers to fully comply with internal rules and CMF obligations, documenting all identifications
- Conduct gap analyses on governance, documentation, and AML/KYC for CIF activities, training staff on operationalizing procedures
- For CIF members
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - This 2023 decision is not imminent but remains highly relevant given ongoing AMF focus on CIF compliance (e.g., 2025 sanctions for similar breaches like archiving and AML failures). It matters for preventing fines, bans, or reputational damage, as AMF targets systemic weaknesses in associations and CIFs, amplifying risks for non-compliant entities in a post-MiFID II enforcement e
Who is Affected
Summary
Sanctions & settlements professional obligations Journalists The AMF Enforcement Committee fines the Association Nationale des Conseillers Financiers-CIF for breaches of its professional obligations