SEC and France's AMF Sign MOU on Investment Adviser Oversight

A supervisory memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a written cooperation agreement between regulators that sets out how they will talk to each other and share information about the firms they oversee. On October 20, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced one with France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), covering investment advisers and investment service providers.

Key takeaways

The SEC and the AMF, France’s markets regulator, have entered into a supervisory MOU, according to an SEC press release dated October 20, 2026.
The agreement is designed to facilitate consultation and information-sharing between the two agencies.
It focuses on investment advisers and investment service providers, the firms that manage money and provide investment services.
An MOU is a cooperation framework between agencies. It is not, by itself, a new rule for firms.
Separately, EDGAR showed fresh Regulation A activity the same day, including Form 1-A filings from Masterworks Vault 3, LLC and Timeplast, Inc.

What happened

The SEC said it and the AMF have signed an MOU to help the two agencies consult with one another and exchange information. The title of the announcement describes it as a “supervisory” MOU. It is aimed at cooperation on investment advisers and investment service providers.

The release was posted on the morning of October 20, 2026, and is numbered 2026-108 in the SEC’s press-release series. The excerpt of the announcement available to us does not spell out the full scope of the information-sharing, so the details of what the two agencies can request from each other, and when, are best read in the SEC’s full text.

How it works

Firms that operate across borders can fall under more than one regulator. A U.S.-registered adviser may have affiliates, clients or operations in France. A French investment firm may serve U.S. clients. Each regulator sees only its own part of the picture.

A supervisory MOU gives staff at both agencies an agreed channel for asking questions and sharing relevant information about such firms. In general, agreements of this kind are cooperation frameworks. They describe how regulators will work together within their existing legal authority. They do not usually create new obligations for the firms themselves.

For firms, the practical effect is that the two agencies are set up to talk to each other about oversight matters. That is not a change in the rules. It is a change in how easily regulators can coordinate.

Key terms

Memorandum of understanding (MOU): a written arrangement between agencies describing how they will cooperate.
Supervisory cooperation: regulators working together on the ongoing oversight of regulated firms, as opposed to one-off enforcement cases.
Investment adviser: a firm or person paid to give investment advice or manage portfolios.
Investment service provider: the term used in the announcement for firms providing investment services. It is the counterpart to the adviser category on the French and European side.
AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers): France’s financial markets regulator.

Also on EDGAR today

The SEC’s EDGAR database, the public system where companies file disclosure documents, also showed new activity under Regulation A. Reg A is the exemption that lets certain companies sell securities to the public using a simplified offering document called Form 1-A.

Masterworks Vault 3, LLC filed a Form 1-A on October 20, 2026 (accession number 0001493152-26-047712). The filing is about 5 MB.
Timeplast, Inc. filed a Form 1-A/A, an amendment to an earlier offering statement, stamped the evening of October 19, 2026 (accession number 0001104659-26-117021). The filing is about 4 MB.

These filings are unrelated to the SEC–AMF agreement. They are a reminder of how much of the SEC’s public output, from international agreements to small-company offering paperwork, appears on the same day. The amendment designation matters: a 1-A/A generally means a company is revising a document it has already put on file. Readers should consult the filings themselves for offering terms and risk disclosures.

What to watch next

The full text of the MOU. The SEC’s release and the agreement itself should show which activities and firm types are covered and how information requests will work.
Follow-on arrangements. Regulators often layer cooperation agreements over time. Any further announcements from the SEC or the AMF would show how this one is used.
Firm-level effects. Advisers with both U.S. and French operations may want to read the details to understand how supervisors could coordinate.

FAQ

Is the MOU a new law or rule? No. An MOU is an agreement between agencies on how they cooperate. The SEC announced it as a framework for consultation and information-sharing.

Who is affected? Directly, the two regulators. Indirectly, investment advisers and investment service providers whose activities touch both the U.S. and France.

Does this change anything for retail investors? The announcement describes cooperation between agencies, not new investor rights or products. Its significance lies in how regulators coordinate oversight of firms.

What is a Form 1-A/A? It is an amendment to a Form 1-A, the offering statement used in Regulation A. Companies file amendments to update or correct information while their offering is under review or after it is filed.