Complaints from retail investors to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers mediator rose 37% in 2025, the sharpest annual increase since the mediator began tracking the data.

The AMF mediation service received 3,010 new requests and closed 2,772 cases, up 41% from 2024. Its backlog also rose to 693 cases from 455 a year earlier.

PEA Transfers Drive Complaints

The Plan d'Épargne en Actions (PEA), France's tax-advantaged equity account, was the largest source of complaints.

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Closed PEA-related cases rose 150% to 462. Transfer delays accounted for almost three quarters of them. The mediator linked the increase partly to foreign brokers entering the French PEA market from late 2024, with some using transfer procedures unfamiliar to French custodians.

Foreign brokers were involved in 151 transfer complaints. The mediator declined jurisdiction in 97 cases because the brokers' terms directed clients to other dispute-resolution arrangements.

Order Execution Disputes

Retail investors also raised complaints about order execution.

One case involved a trailing stop order that did not trigger at the level initially set. The broker explained that the threshold adjusts as the market price rises. The mediator found the execution correct.

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Another case involved a leveraged-product trade that was cancelled after a dividend adjustment resulted in a mispriced execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Read this Term. The mediator upheld the decision under the venue's rules.

Trading Access Delays

A separate case involved a technical problem that delayed a retail investor's trading-account access from April 9 to May 8, 2025.

The investor had planned to buy shares that rose significantly during the delay. The mediator secured compensation based on the relevant price difference, rejecting the broker's attempt to exclude liability under its general terms.

Crypto Complaints Rise

Complaints involving crypto-assets increased 38% to 148 cases, although only about 30% were admissible for mediation.

The main issues involved accounts being frozen during anti-money-laundering Money Laundering Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Money laundering is a blanket term to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to be derived from a legitimate source.Money laundering is an issue that traverses countless industries and sectors, which includes the financial services space. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, billions of dollars’ worth of criminally derived money are laund Read this Term checks and disputes over transfers to external wallets. The mediator also noted cases where two-factor authentication had not been activated.

The AMF mediator linked much of the overall increase to “the entry of cross-border brokers into France's PEA market” and “growing retail exposure” to newer investment products.