Visites mystère en agences : des progrès accomplis dans le questionnement du client mais des améliorations nécessaires dans l’information fournie

The AMF issued a press release about its mystery shopping campaign which was conducted as part of a larger European exercise coordinated by ESMA. Ten other regulators from across Europe participated in the exercise, which focused on the costs and charges of financial products.
Between June and October 2022, 210 mystery visits were made to 11 major retail banks in France. The visits were conducted by a specialized institute based on scenarios defined by the AMF, which looked at market practices from the point of view of retail investors and at the proper application of the regulations stemming from the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
The mystery visits were conducted using two typical investor profiles: a „risk-loving“ investor, with a relatively high income and willing to take risks, and a „risk-averse“ investor, with a slightly lower income and less open to risk. In both cases, the mystery visitor was around 40 years old and seeking investment advice after receiving a donation of up to €50,000, with the aim of increasing the value of their savings over a ten-year period in preparation for retirement.
The AMF’s mystery shopping campaign found that institutions have improved how they question clients about their financial situation and ability to bear losses, but there is still work to be done on asking about clients‘ knowledge and experience, risk tolerance, presenting information about fees and providing a suitability report to investors. Sustainability preferences are starting to be mentioned, but only in a general way.
The AMF has been conducting mystery shopping campaigns since 2010 to monitor marketing practices and ensure compliance with MiFID II regulations. While the latest campaign shows some improvements in the way institutions take MiFID II obligations into account, there is still significant work to be done on how fees are presented and on providing clients with the suitability report. The AMF plans to report the results of the campaign to the institutions visited and the sector’s professional associations in the coming weeks.