SEC and AMF Announce Supervisory MOU To Enhance Cooperation for Investment Advisers and Investment Service Providers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) designed to facilitate consultation and information-sharing in the supervision of certain investment advisers and investment companies regulated by the SEC and investment service providers supervised by the AMF.

The MOU establishes a comprehensive framework for consultation, cooperation, and the exchange of information between the SEC and the AMF in connection with investment service providers, investment advisers, and investment companies that operate in the U.S. and in France and are overseen by either the SEC or the AMF.

In particular, the MOU facilitates the SEC’s registration and supervision of AMF supervised asset management companies wishing to conduct business in the United States as investment advisers. The SEC will process new and pending registration applications by AMF supervised asset management companies in the light of this arrangement.

“This MOU exemplifies the necessary spirit of cooperation in securities regulation to expand opportunity and ensure our global markets thrive in ways that are flexible, innovative, and protective of investors worldwide,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “I thank our French colleagues for their cross-border collaboration and cooperation.”