The Securities and Financial Ombudsman (ACF)

When you invest, your bank or financial intermediary must comply with many rules and act fairly towards you. However, there may be times when they don't, and filing a complaint proves ineffective. In these cases, you can submit a complaint to the Securities and Financial Ombudsman (Arbitro per le controversie finanziarie - ACF). This is a simple, fast, and free way to resolve your issue without going to court.

What is the Securities and Financial Ombudsman?

As the name suggests, the Arbitro per le Controversie finananziarie (ACF) is an ombudsman: a body made up of a panel of experts and a technical secretariat, which has the power to resolve disputes in its specialised area — in this case, investment services. Therefore, it is not a court judge but an alternative dispute resolution body. Like a judge, however, the ACF is independent and impartial.

The ACF's purpose is to protect investors from irregular or unfair conduct by those providing investment services. It was established in 2016 by CONSOB, the national authority responsible for supervising financial markets. Since the ACF is not a judge, it does not issue judgments but rather “decisions”; banks and other authorised operators are not legally obliged to comply, but they almost always do, partly because failure to comply is made public.

When can you turn to the ACF?

You can apply to the ACF in two cases. The first is if you have suffered harm because the intermediary breached its obligations towards you when providing an investment service or collective asset management service. For example, if you were offered risky and complex financial instruments without adequate information, or if an operation was carried out contrary to your instructions in managing your investments.

What obligations do intermediaries owe you?

• to act diligently: working carefully and thoroughly;
• to act fairly: working in your interest, not for secondary purposes;
• to be transparent: providing you with adequate information before and after the investment.

These obligations are breached, for example, when an intermediary fails to assess your investment knowledge, risk tolerance, and objectives (known as “profiling,” usually done via questionnaire) before offering services; or when it recommends a security based on its own interest rather than yours; or when it fails to clearly and fully inform you about a security before executing your purchase request.

Who can you bring a complaint against?

You can bring a complaint to the ACF against:

• banks;
• investment firms (SIMs);
• asset management companies managing mutual funds (SGRs, SICAVs, and SICAFs);
• Poste Italiane - BancoPosta services division;
• independent financial advisors;
• financial advisory firms;
• managers of crowdfunding platforms offering shares or equity in small and medium-sized enterprises.

What can you ask the ACF for?

You can ask the ACF to enforce a breached obligation (for example, to receive a specific document), to be compensated for damages caused by the breach, or to recover money owed to you.

Requirements for submitting a complaint

Your complaint must meet certain conditions. Check these carefully before submitting to avoid delays:

• the conduct you are complaining about must have occurred within the ten years preceding the complaint date;
• you must have sent a complaint to the intermediary who provided the service within one year of the complaint date. If more than one year has passed, you must submit a new complaint;
• the response to your complaint must have been unsatisfactory, or you have received no response within 60 days of your complaint;
• if you seek compensation, the amount requested cannot exceed €500,000, even if the damage is greater. The ACF cannot handle claims exceeding this amount;
• if you have already referred the same dispute to another alternative dispute resolution body, the ACF will not accept your case.

How to Submit a Complaint

Submitting a complaint is free of charge and does not require legal representation. The process is straightforward: you register on the ACF website, enter the investor section, and complete the online form following the guided procedure. If you prefer not to submit it yourself, you can also file the complaint through a representative or a consumer association.

For more information

If you need further details about the ACF, you can visit its official website.