TO THE EUROPEAN SECURITIES MARKETS AUTHORITY (ESMA) INPUTS-CONSULTATIONS

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1 TO THE EUROPEAN SECURITIES MARKETS AUTHORITY (ESMA) INPUTS-CONSULTATIONS Madrid, 10 July 2015 Ref: Consultation Paper-Draft guidelines for the assessment of knowledge and competence I. Introduction The Spanish Association of Independent Financial Advisors (ASEAFI) was incorporated on 20 March 2010 and comprises 62 of the 149 Spanish Independent Financial Advisors which are registered and authorized by the CNMV. Please find attached a list as Annex 1. ASEAFI is committed with the CNMV in participating in this type of processes and really appreciates the opportunity provided by ESMA. Having said that, please find below our answers to your questions: Questions: 1. Do you think that not less than five consecutive years of appropriate experience of providing the same relevant services at the date of the application of these guidelines would be sufficient to meet the requirement under knowledge and competence, provided that the firm has assessed their knowledge and competence?. We do not agree with the approach of requesting a minimum number of years of experience to meet the requirement of competence established under article 25 of MiFID II. ESMA should bear in mind that both, MiFID I and MiFID 2, expressly establishes when it is necessary to have experience and, in this specific case (for personnel), article 25 of MIFID II is not requesting experience. Investment firms when evaluating their personnel should take into account the following requirements: their knowledge and/or competence. We consider that these requirements are independent and an employee that has a good knowledge but without experience should be able to give investment advice or information about financial instruments. This assessment must be carried out by investment firms under the principle of proportionality and they are responsible for proving before the supervisors that their employees have enough knowledge/competence to develop their activities. 1

2 If ESMA requires a minimum years of experience without taking into account any other requirement, in practice there could be a problem with EAFIs that have obtained their license during the last 5 years because they could not meet this requirement. This is not the purpose of article 25 of MiFID II. 2. ESMA proposes that the level and intensity of the knowledge and competence requirements should be differentiated between investment advisors and other staff giving information on financial instruments, structured deposits and services to clients, taking into account their specific role and responsibilities. ASEAFI agrees with ESMA s proposal. 3. What is your view on the knowledge and competence requirements proposed in the draft guidelines set out in Annex IV? ASEAFI agrees with the approach of the knowledge requirement proposed in Annex IV. The National Competent Authorities should publish a list of appropriate qualifications or at least the criteria to help investment firms to assess this requirement. As previously stated, we do not agree with the approach of the competence requirement proposed in Annex IV. We believe that competence is a wide concept that comprises knowledge, commercial skills, reputation, etc but not necessarily experience and investment firms should have the ability of evaluating this requirement. 4. Are there, in your opinion, other knowledge or competence requirements that need to be covered in the draft guidelines set out in Annex IV? No, there are not. ASEAFI believes these guidelines should be redrafted in the following terms: 1. Personnel of investment firms should have appropriate knowledge and/or competence. 2. ESMA should define the minimum criteria to meet both requirements and investment firms will be the entities in charge of evaluating these requirements. 3. Competence does not mean experience. The experience requirement is not foreseen in MiFID 2 for personnel of investment firms. 2

3 5. What additional one-off costs would firms encounter as a result of the proposed guidelines? Please see answer to question What additional ongoing costs will firms face a result of these proposed guidelines? In the event that ESMA requires a minimum of 5 years of experience, investment advisors with less experience than 5 years should request a new approval by the supervisory bodies. This decision may force some of these companies to close. In addition to this, if the experience is always required, these companies will need to review their business plans because they will be forced to hire only people with experience. 3

4 Annex I Financial Independent Advisors registered with ASEAFI - ABANTE CONSEJEROS FINANCIEROS INDEPENDIENTES EAFI, S.A. CNMV registration number: 1 - JAVIER KESSLER SAIZ EAFI CNMV registration number: 2 - TROY CONSULTORES ASICIADOS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 4 - WEALTH SOLUTIONS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: CORA EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 7 - VALOR ÓPTIMO EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 8 - QUANTICA Eª ASESORAMIENTO FINANCIERO INDEPENDIENTE EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 9 4

5 - AFI INVERSIONES FINANCIERAS GLOBALES EAFI, S.A. CNMV registration number: 10 - C2 ASESORES PATRIMONIALES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 11 - LF CASTAÑEDA EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 12 - SALVADOR CERVILLA GARCÍA EAFI CNMV registration number: 13 - DIVERINVEST ASESORAMIENTO EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 15 - SUMMA PATRIMONIA EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 17 - JOHN SISKA GOYTRE EAFI CNMV registration number: 18 - LORENZO DÁVILA CANO EAFI CNMV registration number: 19 5

6 - ÁNGEL OCHOA CRESPO EAFI CNMV registration number: 24 - ALITAN INVERSIONES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 25 - PROFIM ASESORES PATRIMONIALES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 26 - ARCANO WEALTH ADVISORS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 28 - SANTIAGO ARRIBAS GONZÁLEZ EAFI CNMV registration number: 31 - EXPERT TIMING SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 33 - EUROCAPITAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT EAFI, S.L.U. CNMV registration number: 34 - AMOROS ARBAIZA INVERSIONES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 35 6

7 - ALTERAREA EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 37 - M&M CAPITAL MARKETS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 39 - ETICA PATRIMONIOS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 40 - FAMILIA Y NEGOCIO CONSULTORES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 42 - FREDERICK E. ARTESANI EAFI CNMV registration number: 43 - JUAN MANUEL VICENTE CASADEVALL EAFI CNMV registration number: 44 - GCAPITAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 48 - SERFIEX INVESTMENTS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 54 7

8 - ÁGORA ASESORES FINANCIEROS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 57 - LEX CENTRO DE ASESORES TÉCNICO FINANCIEROS EAFI, S.A. CNMV registration number: 61 - FRANCISCO JAVIER CONCEPCIÓN PERERA EAFI CNMV registration number: 65 - ARGENTA PATRIMONIOS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 70 - GETINO FINANZAS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 71 - C&R INVESTMENT FINANCIAL ADVISOR EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 74 - RAMÓN DÍAZ ZÁRATE EAFI CNMV registration number: 75 - I CAPITAL AF EAFI, S.A. CNMV registration number: 85 8

9 - ALTAIR FINANCE, EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 95 - BISSAN VALUE INVESTING EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 96 - SANDAM CAPITAL ADVISORS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 97 - DIDENDUM EAFI, S.L.U CNMV registration number: 98 - AVALON ASESORES DE PATRIMONIO EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: BUY & HOLD ASESORES EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: ARACELI DE FRUTOS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: CROSS CAPITAL EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: 110 9

10 - GINVEST PATRIMONIS, EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: BULL4ALL ADVISORS, EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: CARLOS DE FUENMAYOR BARROSO EAFI CNMV registration number: HALTIA CAPITAL EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: ÁUREO WEALTH ADVICE EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: DPM FINANZAS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: ATHENEA CAPITAL, ADVISORS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: RAÚL AZNAR GONZÁLEZ EAFI CNMV registration number:

11 - PI ASESORES FINANCIEROS EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: AVANTAGE CAPITAL EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: FEELCAPITAL EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: GUILLERMO RAMÓN GREGORI EAFI CNMV registration number: COREFINANCE EAFI, S.L. CNMV registration number: SÁNCHEZ CASAS ASESORES EAFI, S.L.U. CNMV registration number: JUAN MARÍA SOLER RUIZ EAFI CNMV registration number: