The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in France has issued a statement regarding the rise of digital investments and the need for high-quality information from platforms used by retail investors.
The statement reflected the SPOT (Operational and Thematic Supervision of Practices) inspections, in which the AMF examined the practices of four platforms providing regulated investment services.
The AMF said the services offered vary considerably from one institution to another: for two of the institutions inspected, it is not possible to open a securities account or PEA directly online, as the digital service remains focused on order placement, while the initial contact and collection of client information is carried out in a branch.
A separate entity has seen a gradual increase in the number of financial instrument accounts opened online, but it does not yet account for the majority of such accounts.
Only one institution offers a completely online experience for users.
The AMF said that digital opportunities for retail clients are among its supervisory priorities for 2025.
The AMF highlighted several areas of weakness during its inspections.
- Providing comprehensive, easy-to-read information to clients: of the providers inspected, the AMF found that some essential information, such as the nature of the services offered online, was presented in an incomplete manner or was difficult to understand. Furthermore, the use of client questionnaires covering all investment services when only the service of reception and transmission of orders is offered online may create confusion as to the nature of the service provided;
- Strengthening the robustness of client questionnaires: the systems used to assess investor profiles vary considerably. Certain information-gathering practices, such as a small number of questions about the complex products offered or the insufficient granularity of the questions, appear likely to limit the reliability of the process for assessing the suitability of the envisaged financial products for the investor’s profile. In addition, the AMF has noted that, in some cases, in the absence of sufficient supervision, clients are free to change questionnaire answers frequently, which weakens their protection;
- Improving the effectiveness of warnings: warning messages about inappropriate products are sometimes ambiguous. In some cases, the way they are worded may minimise the impact of the warning, at the risk of undermining the client’s understanding;
- Adapting control systems: at the institutions on the panel, internal controls are still insufficiently attuned to the specific features of digital client journeys, even though the autonomy enjoyed by online clients is a major area of risk.
It is interesting to note that while interest in investing in stocks and other assets is rising in France, only 15% of the population invests directly in stocks. In the US, around 62% of the public owns equities directly.
Creating an equity culture is difficult but important for individuals to save for retirement and other life events. France, like most other countries, can do more to encourage investing and direct share ownership, including tax incentives that reduce the cost of capital gains, distributions, or investing in general.
Additionally, in the US, the majority of investing, account management, and financial activity is handled online, and an in-person consultation is the exception and not the rule.