What is a French investment adviser — the CIF?
In France, giving investment advice is a regulated profession. An independent adviser holds the status of Conseiller en Investissements Financiers (CIF) — a Financial Investment Adviser. A CIF studies your situation and recommends, in writing, what to do with your money. Crucially, it gives advice only: it never holds your money and never places a trade without your approval. Below is what that means in practice, who supervises it, and how you stay protected.
This page explains the CIF status in general — it is not a statement about axplusb. axplusb is AXPLUSB SAS (SIREN 104 631 510), registered under APE/NAF code 70.22Z; we do not claim a CIF registration or an ORIAS number. Apply the checks below to us exactly as you would to any adviser: the registrations under which our advisory service is provided are published in our terms of use as soon as they are confirmed.
A regulated status
The CIF status is defined in French law — the Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) and the General Regulation of the AMF. Only registered professionals may use it and advise the public.
Advice, not custody
A CIF only advises. It never holds your cash or securities and never acts on its own initiative. Your assets stay in your name at your bank or broker, and you confirm every recommended trade.
Independent and accountable
A CIF must act in your best interest, disclose its fees, and stand behind its advice. It appears on a public register, is supervised by the market authority (AMF) and carries mandatory liability insurance.
Where the CIF sits in the financial system
The CIF is the adviser between you and the financial world. Banks, brokers, fund companies and insurers hold your assets or build the products; the CIF is the independent voice that helps you choose — and is watched over by the regulators above it.
Unlike a bank, broker, asset-management company or insurer, the CIF never holds your money or manufactures the product — it independently guides your choices and answers to the regulators above.
What a CIF can — and cannot — do
A CIF has clear powers and equally clear limits. It owes you strong duties, offers advisory services, and is barred from anything that would put your money out of your control.
Is allowed to
- Analyse your full situation
- Recommend a suitable strategy
- Select and advise on products
- Issue a written recommendation
- Monitor and advise over time
Must (obligations)
- Know its client (KYC)
- Check suitability (adéquation)
- Put your interest first (AMF Art. 314-3)
- Disclose all costs, upfront and after
- Keep written records
Services
- Investment advice
- Financial & retirement planning
- Portfolio construction guidance
- Help choosing banks & brokers
May not
- Hold or move your money
- Trade without your approval
- Guarantee a return
- Advise on products it doesn't understand
- Hide fees or conflicts of interest
Your responsibility
- You confirm every trade
- Assets stay in your name
- Give accurate information
- The final decision — and its risk — is yours
The dividing line is simple: the CIF recommends, you decide. Everything that touches your money stays under your control.
How a CIF is regulated
Protection is built in layers — from European rules down to the individual adviser's training, insurance and day-to-day conduct. Each step below adds a safeguard on top of the last.
MiFID II sets the European baseline for investor protection.
The Monetary and Financial Code turns it into national rules.
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers supervises markets and conduct.
Every CIF must be listed on this public register, renewed yearly.
An AMF-approved professional body approves and monitors each CIF.
A finance degree (Bac+3) or equivalent professional experience.
Around 150 hours of certified training plus the AMF exam.
Professional liability cover — at least €300,000 per claim.
Act fairly and clearly, always in the client's best interest.
Gather your situation, goals, knowledge and capacity for loss.
A written suitability report and clear ex-ante / ex-post costs.
The association and AMF audit and can sanction any breach.
How to check an adviser's registration
Anyone can verify a CIF in a few minutes, for free — a quick way to make sure you are dealing with a genuinely authorised adviser.
Ask for the ORIAS number
Every CIF has a unique ORIAS registration number that must appear on its documents and website.
Search the ORIAS register
Enter the number — or the firm's name — on the free public register at orias.fr to confirm it is active.
Confirm the AMF status
Check the AMF-approved professional association the adviser belongs to; it can be cross-checked on the AMF website.
How working with a CIF unfolds
The relationship is structured and written down from the start, so you always know the scope, the costs and the reasoning behind each recommendation.
Engagement letter
A lettre de mission sets out the scope, the service and the fees in writing before anything begins.
Know-your-client & suitability
The adviser learns your goals, horizon and capacity for loss, then checks that each recommendation genuinely fits.
Written advice & follow-up
You receive a justified written report, approve trades yourself, and get clear cost statements and ongoing reviews.
How you are protected
Several independent mechanisms work together so that advice stays honest, suitable and answerable.
Suitability & best interest
Advice must fit your profile and put your interest first (AMF Art. 314-3). Risks and costs — including the standardised KID / DICI documents under PRIIPs — are disclosed clearly.
Insurance & public register
Mandatory professional liability insurance of at least €300,000 per claim, plus a public ORIAS register you can check at any time.
Supervision & recourse
The AMF and the professional association audit advisers and can impose sanctions; an independent ombudsman (médiateur) can step in to resolve disputes.
Frequently asked questions
The essentials about the CIF status, in plain language.