Andbank holds training session 
for independent financial advisors

Andorra, 8 November 2019. On 5 November, Andbank held its second training session for independent financial advisors (IFAs), following on from the session held in March. This edition was attended by 15 Andorra-based professionals.

On this occasion, the IFAs who attended the session received specific training from Ivan Rodríguez, Andbank’s Head of Regulatory and Market Compliance, on the implications that the European MiFID II legislative framework, which has been in force in the EU member states since 2008, but which will come into force in Andorra on 31 December 2021, will have on their work.

As an introduction, the session began with an analysis by Alex Fusté, Andbank’s Chief Economist, who carried out a general assessment and a projection exercise on the behaviour of the main global financial markets over the next few years.

The main section, titled “MIFID II: An Opportunity?”, provided an overview of this new regulation, which is designed to address, for example, the relationship between clients and financial entities, but which dedicates a large section to advisors and makes a precise distinction between those who are associated with an entity and those who work independently. The latter will be subject to a series of requirements when it comes to, for example, collecting premiums or incentives from companies that issue financial products, with a view to guaranteeing genuine independence. They will also be required to prove that they have received a certain level of financial training.

According to Rodríguez, “The essential aim of MiFID II is to enhance the protection provided for investors under the previous regulation, MiFID I, and the transparency requirements will naturally affect every level of financial advice. In the case of IFAs, these go beyond the collection of incentives from companies that sell financial products, perhaps the best-known aspect of the profession; they also, for example, impose obligations to record certain communications with entities and clients and to report specific post-contractual information. The aim of this session was to provide independent advisors based in Andorra with detailed information about the implications of all these changes for their work, to ensure that they quickly and successfully adapt to the new regulatory framework, which will be mandatory in less than 26 months”.

After addressing the implications of MiFID II for IFAs, the session concluded with a section on “New Investment Proposals” by Jordi Riera, the General Manager of Andbank Asset Management, and Paras Bhagtani, the entity’s Product Manager & Investment Analyst, who discussed how to continue offering products with attractive returns in a context characterised by very low interest rates, through, for example, funds from the Andbank SIGMA Short-Mid Term (euro), SIGMA Balanced or Andbank Patrimoni.