The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has just issued a public warning regarding the activities of the website https://epargne-eco.fr/, proposing savers to invest in various projects and pretending to be a crowdfunding advisor (CIP) – or about to be registered.
The website https://epargne-eco.fr/ offers investors the opportunity to invest in different kind of projects as a crowdfunding platform. This website claims to be a crowdfunding platform awaiting regularization by the French authorities. Moreover, according to its « terms and conditions », this platform is supposed to be a crowdfunding advisor (CIP).
However, this platform is not subject to the legal framework applicable to the crowdfunding and does not have the legal status of CIP or investment services provider (ISP).
The AMF has recommended that investors do not take up its solicitations and do not communicate them to third parties, in any form whatsoever.
Lastly, the AMF has reminded investors and individuals to follow these safety guidelines before making any investment:
- no advertising materials should make you overlook the fact that high returns always involve high risk;
- learn as much as you can about the company or intermediary trying to sell you a product (authorization/certification, company history, location of head offices, etc.);
- only invest in a product you understand;
- ask yourself how, and by whom, the purchase price or selling price of the advertised product is set, and find out the precise terms and timeline for selling the product, especially in cases where the product invests in an asset class with low liquidity.
The official warning can be seen here.