How can you verify that a wealth management advisor is properly licensed?

Written by Alexis Sagnier, financial and real estate investment advisor, insurance broker, AMF certified, founder of Balmont Conseil (Lyon). ORIAS 13003497. Last reviewed: 23/10/2026.

How can you verify that a wealth management advisor is properly licensed?

Check their registration with the ORIAS register, then their membership in a professional association approved by the AMF: this is what authorizes them to practice. One important point of terminology: a financial investment advisor is not themselves approved by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF), and they should not present themselves as such.

Here are the checks, in order:

1. Look for it on orias.fr. ORIAS maintains the official register of insurance, banking, and finance intermediaries. Use "Find an intermediary" or "Advanced search".
2. Check the category. Three statuses most often apply to you: financial investment advisor (providing investment advice), insurance intermediary (with the designation "insurance broker" for a broker), and intermediary in banking and payment services (for example, for a mortgage). The same person can hold several registrations: check which one corresponds to what you are purchasing.
3. Check that the registration is in progress. It is valid until the end of February of the following year and is renewed annually, no later than March 1st. A deregistered professional is no longer registered.
4. Compare the identity. The name and registration number must be those provided by the advisor. Upon establishing a relationship, they must give you a document indicating, among other things, their identity, status, registration number, professional association, and whether or not they provide independent advice. The ACPR (French Prudential Control and Resolution Authority) warns against impersonating an authorized professional.
5. Call AMF Savings Info Service. You can ask him if someone can legally advise you: 01 53 45 62 00.
6. Check the blacklists. The AMF publishes blacklists and warnings. The ACPR publishes its own list for loans, savings accounts, payment services, and insurance policies offered without authorization. These lists are not exhaustive, and the absence of a name does not prove that it is authorized: verification in the register remains necessary.

The professional association monitors its members, and the AMF can monitor, and even sanction, an advisor. In case of disagreement, first send them a written complaint; you can then contact the AMF mediator.

Independent or non-independent wealth management firm: what's the difference for an expatriate?

An independent advisor cannot keep the commissions paid by product providers and must pass them on to you in full, whereas a non-independent advisor can be paid by them, provided they inform you and improve the quality of their service. The difference lies in who pays the advisor: you alone, or you and the product provider.

This framework stems from the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), which is incorporated into the AMF's general regulations. Your advisor should tell you which one they apply.

• Independent advice: The advisor evaluates a sufficiently broad range of products on the market, without limiting themselves to their own or those of related entities. They must not be paid by the company that manages the product, and they remit in full any sums they receive from third parties. However, they may charge you an advisory fee.
• Non-independent advice: The advisor may be paid by the company that manages the product. In return, they must improve the quality of their service, for example by regularly monitoring the suitability of your investment to your situation. Before providing the service, they must inform you of the existence, nature, amount, and method of calculation of these fees.

What this changes for an expatriate. Two points.

1. Etiquette says nothing about your knowledge of your host country. Independent or non-independent advice does not exempt either party from verifying local law. Ask the question in both cases.

2. The follow-up becomes the point to verify. When you live abroad, a non-independent advisor who is paid annually based on your assets must be able to explain exactly what the monitoring entails: frequency, content, and channel. This is the quid pro quo cited by the AMF (French Financial Markets Authority) to justify this remuneration. When dealing with an independent advisor, ask what range of products they have actually assessed for your country of residence.

Neither model is inherently better. The key criterion is what you read in writing: who pays, how much, and for what kind of follow-up. Balmont Conseil operates as a non-independent consultancy and receives commissions from product suppliers.

For the technician. Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593, Article 11 (an advantage is acceptable only if it improves the quality of service and does not cause any distortion) and Article 12 (independent advice: all rights, commissions, and financial benefits received from third parties are transferred to the client as quickly as possible after receipt). AMF General Regulation: Article 325-16 applies to financial investment advisors and refers to Articles 314-13 to 314-17 for non-independent advice, and to Articles 314-18 to 314-20 for independent advice. Article 314-14 sets out the conditions for improving the quality of service, and Article 314-17 sets out the requirements for informing the client in advance.

How is a wealth management advisor remunerated (fees or commissions)?

A wealth management advisor is compensated in three ways: through fees you pay them, through commissions (also called rebates) paid by the product provider based on the fees you incur, or through a combination of both. No service is free: ask who pays, how much, and read it carefully before signing.

• Fees: You receive an invoice, with an amount in euros. Ask what it covers.
• Commissions: No invoice arrives. The commission is included in the contract or product fees: fees charged upon entry or exit, management fees charged annually. Ask for the rate and the advisor's share.
• Mixed: An invoice and fees are included in the contract. Ask for the total in euros for the first year, and then for subsequent years.

What the AMF figures say. For 2024, in the wealth management advisory segment, the income of financial investment advisors is distributed as follows: 60 % in entry and exit fee rebates, 28 % in management fee rebates, and 12 % in professional fees. Rebates therefore represent 60 % + 28 % = 88 % of this segment's income. In the institutional advisory segment, professional fees represent 96 % of income. If your advisor belongs to the first segment, assume that the majority of their compensation is derived from product fees.

What the advisor needs to tell you. Before providing any advice, the advisor will give you an engagement letter. This letter describes the service (specifying whether the advice is independent or not), the methods of communication, general information on the investments that may be offered and their associated costs, and the advisor's remuneration. For a assurance-vie contract, the proposed contract groups all fees under a single heading. The insurer publishes a standard fee schedule on its website and informs you annually of the fees charged on unit-linked funds and any potential commission rebates.

How to read a letter of assignment. Find five lines:

1. The independent or non-independent nature of the council, written in full.
2. Fees, if any, in euros and with their scope.
3. Commissions: their existence, their nature, their amount or their method of calculation.
4. The costs of the products that may be offered.
5. The follow-up provided after subscription, which justifies a commission paid each year.

If a line is missing, ask for it before signing, and keep your copy of the letter of assignment.

To go further

For details on costs abroad, read How much does a wealth management advisor cost for an expatriate?. To choose a practice before you leave, read How to choose your wealth management advisor before moving abroad?.

Where we stand

Alexis Sagnier, founder of Balmont Conseil (Lyon, for almost 14 years), is a financial investment advisor and member of the National Association of Financial Advisors (ANACOFI), as well as an insurance broker (ORIAS registration number 13003497). The firm is not independent in the regulatory sense and receives commissions from product providers on the contracts sold. If you wish to discuss your situation with us, the first step is an initial consultation: you tell us your current situation, and we tell you if and how we can help.

Sources

• AMF, "Choosing a professional: financial investment advisors"«
• AMF, educational guide "Learning about financial investment advisors"«
• AMF, questions and answers on the regime applicable to financial investment advisors (DOC-2006-23)
• AMF, position-recommendation DOC-2013-10 on remuneration and benefits
• AMF, "MiFID II Regulations"«
• AMF, key figures for financial investment advisors 2024
• AMF, blacklists and warnings
• ACPR, blacklist and verification advice (loans, savings accounts, payment services, insurance)
• ORIAS, register of intermediaries in insurance, banking and finance
• ORIAS, frequently asked questions (validity and renewal of registration)
• EUR-Lex, Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593, Articles 11 and 12
• service-public.fr, fees for a assurance-vie contract