The Annett Consultancy is directed by Michael Annett (see ‘About us’), who, in addition to being UK professionally qualified in accountancy and taxation, is a qualified UK Independent Financial Adviser, still with the Chartered Insurance Institute, The Personal Finance Society and, until they were amalgamated into the aforementioned, The Society of Financial Advisers and the Life Insurance Association. The French regulatory requirements ensure a high standard of entry to the one of the six professional associations before membership is granted. The French ‘Association National des Conseils Financiers’ then require a guaranteed minimum number of hours of specific and dedicated professional development to be followed, which training is provided by professional training organisations and the ANACOFI themselves … all to ensue that membership is maintained. In this way, professional certification and standards in France are maintained in a more formal and structured maner.

The Annett Consultancy is a French practice of ‘Conseillers en Gestion de Patrimoine Indépendant’, as ‘Conseillers en Investissement Financiers’, ‘Courtiers d’Assurance Vie’, ‘Intermédiaire en Opérations de Banque’, and ‘Démarchage bancaire ou Financier’, meaning that we are regulated, professionally insured, and have the relevant financial guarantees to be able to engage in the following activities:

• Independent financial advisers and wealth management
  • investment advice
  • life assurance brokerage
  • intermediaries in banking operations
  • financial and banking advisers

The Annett Consultancy is independent of any peer organisation. When necessary, through mandates with other more specialised French appropriately-regulated financial practices, The Annett Consultancy can independently offer all other forms regulated financial advice and access to specialised ‘defiscalisation’ and property schemes available in France.

The term ‘Conseiller en Gestion de Patrimoine’ is a financial title that is seen in France, but, contrary to its incorrect use by some, this is not an official title, and, therefore, not one that can be, or is, either recorded, registered or even regulated.

The term literally translated means ‘adviser in wealth (or estate) management’. As it is not possible to advise on a client’s overall estate or wealth whilst falling under only one Regulator, by definition the activity requires and necessitates multi-regulation. Accordingly, the title refers to practitioners offering the wider professional activity and is used to identify those that, due to their diverse financial consultancy and intermediary activities, fall under several Regulators.

However, on an administrative note, there is also an implication in the classification of the business activity for the practitioner in France as, for example, only being regulated under ORIAS defines the intermediary’s business activity of brokerage as ‘commercial’. Conversely, the multi-regulated adviser, the ‘Conseiler en Gestion de Patrimoine’, would be considered to be a ‘profession libéral”.

Where the ‘Conseiller en Gestion de Patrimoine’ is seen to be truly independent, thus having access to more than a few set providers of investment mediums and contracts, his statute is elevated to that of ‘ Conseiller en Gestion de Patrimoine Indépendant’.

Please find below our statutory identifications under the various Regulators:

• ORIAS - 07 034 696 Category B
• ANACOFI-CIF - E001306
• UK FSA passport - 479122
• Banking operations are regulated by the banks individually, who each issue us with a ‘carte professionnelle’ (art. 341-8 Code Monétaire et Financier)
• The activities covered by our Professional Indemnity Insurance include the following:
  • Financial and investment advice (article L541-1 to L541-7 Code Monétaire et Financier)
  • Intermediation in banking operations (article L519-1 to L519-5 Code Monétaire et Financier)
  • Banking or financial prospection (article L341-1 to L341-9 Code Monétaire et Financier
  • please note that because we do not accept client investment or premium monies (see our Terms of Business), we are not covered to hold client funds
• … for which we are covered to the extent of of 1 525 000€ per claim and 3 050 000€ per year, and a professional public liability cover of 1 150 000€. As we hold no client funds, we are dispensed with having to hold a financial guarantee.

Our Professional Indemnity and Financial Guarantee are provided by Allo Assurance, 26958 Valence.

Financial Regulation in France stems from:

• the ‘Autorité des Marchés Financiers’ (AMF) - for financial advisers and intermediaries, and from
• the ‘’Autorité de Controle des Assurances et des Mutuelles (ACAM) - for the providers of assurance contracts.

Only the AMF is directly relevant to our activity as financial and investment consultants, advisers and intermediaries, the AMF then delegating their regulatory role to different organisations as under:

• For the act of brokerage of assurance and insurance (‘assurance’ only in French) products:
  
  This is done through the ‘Codes des Assurances’, requiring all brokers (otherwise referred to as financial intermediaries) to be registered with the assurance regulator: ‘l’Organisme pour le Registre des Intermédiaires en Assurance’ - otherwise known as ORIAS.
  
  Whilst the ‘Code des Assurances’ deals with everything to do with assurance and insurance (the French only using the term ‘assurance’), it is Section V of the code which deals with intermediaries, stating in article L.511.I that intermediation is the act of ‘… presenting, proposing, or aiding to conclude a life assurance (/insurance) contract.’
  
  
• For financial advice, other non-assurance financial products and management:
  
  This is effected through the ‘Code Monétaire et Financier’. This code delegates the regulatory activities to one of six authorised regulators, which, apart from each having a slightly differing ideology, all perform exactly the same regulatory function:
  • Association Nationale des Conseils Financiers (ANACOFI-CIF)
  • Association des Analystes Conseillers en Investissements Financiers (AACIF)
  • Compagnie des Conseils en Investissements Financiers (CCIF)
  • Chambre des Indépendants du Patrimoine (CIP)
  • Conseils en Gestion de Patrimoine Certifiés (CGPC)
  • Chambre Nationale des Conseillers en Investissements Financiers (CNCIF)allows
• The ‘Code Monétaire et Financier’ specifically confirms:
  • article L.321.1 - the code’s application, to, inter alia, the reception and transmission of orders on behalf of third parties; the execution of orders on behalf of third parties; negotiation; the financial management of third party investment portfolios; the provision of investment advice; investment into guaranteed instruments; investment into non guaranteed instruments.
  • article L.541-2 - the need for the investment adviser to be resident in France.

Accordingly, it is clear that is not possible for a practitioner to exercise as a financial adviser without being regulated by both the ‘Code des Assurance’ and the ‘Code Monétaire et Financier’.

The public can check the regulatory status of practitioners by connecting to the relevant regulator’s web site as follows:

• ORIAS - then insert the details as relevant in the column on the left
• ANACOFI - then ‘nos adherents CIF’ on the left, then insert details

The AMF web site also reproduces the complete list of all advisers regulated by any one of the six authorised professional associations under the ‘Code Monétaire et Financier’, but unfortunately the cross linking of details from the individual associations is not without some errors.

• AMF - then ‘CIF et démarchage’ on the left, then ‘fichiers de CIF/Associations agréées’, then insert details

Under the EU Directive IP/02/1390 effective from 15th January 2005, the financial services of one country are now available to the citizens of another country. Accordingly, whilst a regulated adviser can provide his home country regulated advice and products to foreigners in his home country, the financial adviser can now also export his home country's regulated services and products to another EU country and their citizens – to the extent that these are permitted and suitable in that other country.

This exporting is effected by 'passporting' home country financial regulatory rights into another country, since it is now the country in which the consultant’s practice is situated that dictates the country of regulation, and not the place from which advice is provided.

As a result, however, 'Passporting' does NOT allow the regulated adviser of one country to provide regulated financial advice or services concerning another country ... the adviser then needing to be directly regulated in that other country by that other country's Regulator, and having that other country's appropriate professional indemnity insurance and financial guarantees.

Initially the aim was to enable a financial consultant of one country to continue advising their expatriate client who had moved to another EU country. The EU market expansion rules then expanded this further to now regulate and enable a resident of one country to seek advice from another EU country - but it is NOT designed to regulate an adviser of one country to advise a resident already in - or moving to - another country on that other country’s financial laws or products.

To confirm this, consider that all practitioners have to be regulated in order to be professionally insured. If regulated in the UK on UK law, UK tax and UK investment and other contracts, the professional indemnity insurance will only cover claims falling under these UK areas - and not claims for advice relating to another country. Likewise, if regulated in France on French law, French tax and French investment and other contracts, the professional indemnity insurance will only cover claims falling under these French areas - and not claims for advice relating to another country. Indeed, the UK FSA Ombudsman web site itself confirms that only claims falling under its remit can be considered, resulting in that only claims which fall under UK Financial Services Authority area of cover can be considered … thus excluding claims concerning advice of all non-UK matters. This situation applies to other countries: accordingly, for your protection, you should only seek financial advice concerning a country from those professionals who are regulated in that same country.