Financial Markets Authority France (AMF) issued a statement regarding the rise of digital investments and the need for high-quality information from the platforms used by retail investors.
The statement reflected the AMF’s SPOT (Operational and Thematic Supervision of Practices) audits, in which it examined the practices of four platforms providing regulated investment services.
The AMF said the services offered vary significantly from one institution to another: for two of the supervised institutions, it is not possible to open a securities account, or PEA, directly online, as the initial contact and collection of customer information is carried out in a branch, while the digital service is focused on ordering.
A separate organization has seen a gradual increase in the number of financial instrument accounts opened online, but it does not yet constitute a majority of such accounts.
Only one institution offers users a completely online experience.
AMF said digital opportunities for retail customers are among its supervisory priorities for 2025.
The AMF highlighted many weak points during its inspections.
- Providing customers with comprehensive, easy-to-read information: Among the providers examined, the AMF found that some key information, such as the nature of the services offered online, was incompletely presented or difficult to understand. Furthermore, where only the service of receiving and transmitting orders is offered online, the use of customer surveys covering all investment services may create confusion as to the nature of the service offered;
- Strengthening the robustness of customer surveys: Systems used to evaluate investor profiles vary significantly. Certain information gathering practices, such as a small number of questions about complex products offered or an insufficient level of detail in the questions, appear to limit the reliability of the process of assessing the suitability of the proposed financial products to the investor profile. Additionally, the AMF noted that in some cases, in the absence of adequate supervision, customers were free to frequently change their survey responses, weakening their protections;
- Increasing the effectiveness of warnings: Warning messages about nonconforming products can sometimes be vague. In some cases, the way they are worded may minimize the impact of the warning, risking undermining the client’s understanding;
- Adapting control systems: Although the autonomy enjoyed by online customers is a key risk area, internal controls at the organizations in the panel are still inadequately adapted to the specific characteristics of digital customer journeys.
It is interesting to note that interest in investing in stocks and other assets In France it is rising, only 15% of the population invests directly in stocks. In the US, approximately 62% of the population directly owns stocks.
Creating a culture of equity is difficult, but it is important for individuals to save for retirement and other life events. France, like most other countries, could do more to encourage investment and direct share ownership, including tax incentives that reduce the cost of capital gains, distributions, or investment in general.
Additionally, in the United States, the majority of investing, account management, and financial activities are conducted online, and face-to-face advising is the exception rather than the rule.
