The French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) today (Wednesday) added 35 new unregulated entities to its warning list. According to the regulator, these firms offer access to derivative instruments based on Forex and cryptocurrencies without having the necessary authorization.

AMF Warning List Expands

For the AMF, this is one of the largest updates to its warning list in some time. To put it in perspective, throughout the entire year of 2023 it added 66 unauthorized entities from the Forex market and 11 from the crypto market. This current update alone accounts for nearly half of all the activity seen last year. The last major update took place in September when the AMF added over 20 entities to the warning list.

The AMF has issued warnings regarding several entities (the complete list available here), including activefinancial.trade, akselinvest.pro, algo-management.co, baccocapital.pro, brown-fin.com, and byou360invest.com. As for the cryptocurrency entities, the list was supplemented by aeexc.lat, bitecx.com, bitoasis.ai, cybercapital.ltd, and elitetrader.io, among others.

Finance Magnates last reported on AMF's actions at the end of November, when the agency warned against the automated trading service offered by Immediate Connect. The service was aggressively promoted online using fake articles and celebrities.

AMF Aims for Trading Fees Simplification

In a separate move to build better retail traders' protection, the AMF has issued a guide for financial professionals, which includes standardized commission terminology. This is part of a larger effort to provide educational resources and tools that assist retail investors in understanding the costs related to trading and financial products.

"Investor protection is our top priority. Clear, detailed and accurate information on fees is essential for investors to be able to compare and make informed choices, particularly in a context of inflation," said the AMF Chairwoman, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani. "We encourage professionals to use this glossary, representing a real step forward for retail investors."

A recent AMF survey discovered that more than half of French retail investors find evaluating the impact of fees on their investment returns challenging. This misunderstanding is a concern for the regulator, as fees can significantly influence investment outcomes. Additionally, an AMF investigation noted that fee information is often presented inconsistently across various asset classes, complicating informed decision-making for investors.

According to AMF data, France is experiencing a rise in individual investor participation. In 2022, over 1.5 million active investors were present in the country's stock markets, a slight decrease from the previous year but an improvement from 2020. Notably, last year, the market saw the entrance of nearly 195,000 new investors, demonstrating a growing interest in investing among the French public.