AMF’s Warning Surge! 35 Unregulated Entities Added into Warning List

The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) expanded its warning list on Wednesday, adding 35 new unregulated entities. The regulator flagged these firms for offering derivative instruments based on Forex and cryptocurrencies without the necessary authorization.

This update represents one of the largest for the AMF's warning list, surpassing the combined additions throughout 2023, which included 66 unauthorized entities from the Forex market and 11 from the crypto market. Notably, this single update accounts for almost half of last year's total activity, with the last significant update occurring in September when over 20 entities were added to the list.

The list of warned entities encompasses various names such as activefinancial.trade, akselinvest.pro, algo-management.co, baccocapital.pro, brown-fin.com, and byou360invest.com. In the realm of cryptocurrencies, entities like aeexc.lat, bitecx.com, bitoasis.ai, cybercapital.ltd, and elitetrader.io also made the cautionary list.

Information derived from the AMF website: https://www.amf-france.org/en/news-publications/news-releases/amf-news-releases/amf-and-acpr-warn-public-against-activities-several-entities-offering-france-investments-forex-and-6

In November, it was reported that AMF took serious actions against Immediate Connect, an automated trading service aggressively promoted online using fake articles and celebrity endorsements.

As part of their commitment to safeguarding retail traders, the AMF introduced a guide for financial professionals, featuring standardized commission terminology. This initiative aims to provide educational resources and tools to help retail investors comprehend the costs associated with trading and financial products.

The AMF Chairwoman, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, emphasized that investor protection is their top priority. She stressed that clear, detailed, and accurate information on fees is essential for investors to compare and make informed choices, especially in a context of inflation. Barbat-Layani encouraged professionals to utilize the glossary, viewing it as a significant step forward for retail investors.

A recent AMF survey revealed that over half of French retail investors find assessing the impact of fees on their investment returns challenging. This lack of clarity is concerning for the regulator, given the significant influence fees can have on investment outcomes. Furthermore, an AMF investigation highlighted the inconsistent presentation of fee information across various asset classes, contributing to difficulties in informed decision-making for investors.

Despite a slight decrease in active investors from the previous year, France experienced a rise in individual investor participation in 2022. Over 1.5 million active investors engaged in the country's stock markets, with nearly 195,000 new investors entering the market, indicating a growing interest in investing among the French public.