France’s markets watchdog the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has published the findings of three supervisory initiatives on sustainable finance. As part of its supervisory priorities for the 2023-24 period, the AMF had set itself the objective of stepping up efforts to promote more sustainable finance – both in terms of products and marketing. As part of this effort, the watchdog assessed a panel of asset managers on how they have structured themselves to take account of sustainability risks, and looked at the marketing materials of funds incorporating non-financial aspects – as well as the role played by distributors. “While integrating the topic of sustainable finance into [our] traditional inspections, [we are] continuing [our] thematic inspections with a pedagogic aim, given the recent nature of European regulations and the need to provide support to market participants,” the AMF said in a statement. The watchdog focused its analysis on two specific aspects: asset managers’ implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR); and the marketing materials of French and foreign Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs) published by distributors in France. Two other series of short thematic inspections have either been or will be initiated this year in the field of sustainable finance, the AMF said. One will assess how investment service providers take account of clients’ sustainability preferences, while the other will examine asset managers’ voting and shareholder engagement policies. “The AMF has made sustainable finance one of its six strategic orientations, and is increasingly integrating it into its supervisory framework,” said AMF Chair Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani. “However, the recent and complex nature of the regulations continues to require a great deal of pedagogy: the aim of this work is to clarify good and bad practices and the regulator’s expectations.”
