Investment services provider (PSI)
An investment firm or credit institution authorized to provide investment services: order reception and transmission, portfolio management, advice. Depending on its main activity, a PSI is authorized by the ACPR or the AMF. The notion marks the financial perimeter that goes beyond the plain credit-intermediary status.
Key points
- Investment firm or credit institution authorised to provide investment services.
- Authorisation granted by the ACPR or AMF depending on the services provided.
- Includes portfolio management, order receipt/transmission and investment advice.
- Distinct from IOBSP: a PSI operates on financial markets, not in credit intermediation.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the PSI concept relevant to a mortgage broker?
A credit broker encounters the PSI concept when working with high-net-worth clients whose financial assets are managed by institutions with that status, or when expanding the firm towards a broader wealth-management offer. Understanding the boundary between their IOBSP scope and activities reserved to PSIs prevents inadvertently crossing a regulatory line. It is also a positioning issue: some brokerage networks are evolving towards multi-status structures including PSI authorisation.
What is the difference between a PSI and a CIF?
A CIF is a natural or legal person who habitually provides investment advice but does not directly manage assets or place market orders. A PSI, on the other hand, is an entity that can execute transactions on markets, manage portfolios and receive client orders for execution. The difference is essentially between pure advice and execution: the CIF recommends, the PSI can act directly on financial markets.
Can a credit broker become a PSI?
Yes, technically, but it is a demanding path: PSI authorisation requires significant minimum own funds, robust internal control systems, qualified executives and formal approval from the ACPR or AMF. In practice, brokers wishing to expand into financial markets tend to rely on a partnership with an existing PSI, or opt for tied-agent status (ALPSI), which offers a more accessible route while remaining under the PSI's responsibility.
In practice
A wealth-brokerage network wants to offer its affluent clients discretionary management of their cash savings alongside their property projects. Rather than seeking full PSI authorisation, the network signs a partnership agreement with a licensed PSI and trains its brokers as tied agents (ALPSI), allowing them to promote the management services without bearing their own financial liability.
Official sources
- Article L531-1 (investment service providers) · Légifrance — CMF
- The banking-operations intermediary (IOBSP) · ABE Info Service (Banque de France / ACPR)
- Single register of intermediaries · ORIAS