Section 2: Conditions governing access to the business and organisational rules for financial investment advisers

Financial investment advisers who are natural persons, as well as natural persons with the power to manage or administer legal persons authorised as financial investment advisers, must meet the age and good repute requirements set by decree, as well as the professional competence requirements set by the general regulations of the Autorité des marchés financiers. Financial investment advisers must be ordinarily resident or established in France.

All financial investment advisers must be able to provide evidence at all times of the existence of an insurance policy covering them against the financial consequences of their professional civil liability in the event of a breach of their professional obligations as defined in this chapter. The minimum level of cover that must be provided by professional indemnity insurance is set by decree, depending on the legal form in which…

I.-Any financial investment adviser must become a member of an association responsible for monitoring the individual professional activities of its members, representing them collectively and defending their rights and interests. II -With a view to the financial investment adviser becoming a member, the association will check that the adviser has a programme of operations. It shall assess the quality of this programme of operations in the light of the obligations…

Financial investment advisers as defined in article L. 541-1 are registered in the single register mentioned in article L. 546-1.

Financial investment advisers must comply with the provisions of this subsection at all times. Financial investment advisers shall inform the association to which they belong of any change in the information concerning them and of any event which may have consequences for their membership as financial investment advisers.

I.-Financial investment advisers may not receive financial instruments from their clients. They may not receive funds from their clients other than those intended to remunerate their activity. II -Financial investment advisors may not claim the benefit of the provisions of articles L. 532-23 and L. 532-24.

Financial investment advisers are subject to the disqualifications set out in article L. 500-1.