Remunerated Financial Investment Consultant - permit

Anyone who intends to provide advice regarding financial investment products such as

• shares or stocks of domestic open-end investment funds, open-end EU investment products or foreign open-end investment products that are approved for sales pursuant to capital investment legislation,
• shares or stocks of domestic closed-end investment funds, closed-end EU investment products or foreign closed-end investment products that are approved for sales pursuant to capital investment legislation,
• asset investments within the scope of the Asset Investment Act
• investment consultancy in the sense of the Banking Act, without receiving payment from the product issuer or being otherwise dependent of them,

on a commercial basis, requires permission from the competent authority.

Staff members of financial investment consultants, who perform tasks in the area of remunerated financial investment consultation, must also be registered in the Register of Consultants.
The CCI Berlin is in charge of registrations for companies based in Berlin.

In the case of business partnerships (e. g. GbR, OHG, KG), each managing partners is considered a business person. In the case of legal entities (GmbH, UG or AG) permission is granted to the company.

Prerequisites

• Personal reliability
  
  Reliability is verified based on various documents. The applicant must submit an excerpt from the Federal Central Criminal Register (certificate of good conduct) and an excerpt from the Commercial Central Register.
• Orderly financial circumstances
  
  It is verified whether the applicant is in debt (of a private or public nature) or if there are any known insolvency proceedings.
• Sufficient insurance cover
  
  Proof of professional insurance cover for the business.
• Expertise
  
  Proof of successfully passed examination of competence before a CCI or a similar approved professional qualification.
• Note
  
  No verification of reliability and orderly financial circumstances will be performed, if a financial investment brokerage licence is presented, when applying for permission.
  If you hold this type of financial investment brokerage licence, it shall become invalid upon issuance of the new permission for the performance of remunerated financial investment consultancy services.

Documents required

• Personal document
  Identity card or other official identification document containing a photograph (not required for electronic applications).
  Residence permit, if the applicant is not an EU national
• Certificate of good conduct
  Certificate of good conduct from the German Federal Central Criminal Register for presentation to an authority (certificate type 0).
  The certificate must be applied for in the municipality of residence (in the case of Berlin at any Citizens’ Office) for presentation to an authority. This means that it will be sent directly to the competent Public Order Office for the place of business. The certificates must be no older than three months.
  They can also be applied for with the Federal Office of Justice.
• Excerpt from the Commercial Central Register - natural entity
  Statement from the Commercial Central Register for natural entities, for presentation to an authority (certificate type 9).
  The certificate must be applied for in the municipality of residence (in the case of Berlin at any Citizens’ Office) for presentation to an authority. This means that it will be sent directly to the competent Public Order Office for the place of business. The certificates must be no older than three months.
  They can also be applied for with the Federal Office of Justice.
• Excerpt from the Commercial Central Register - legal entity
  Statement from the commercial central register for legal entities, for presentation to an authority (certificate type 9).
  The statement must be applied for with the competent Public Order Office for the place of business.
  They can also be applied for with the Federal Office of Justice.
• Information from the record of debtors (central enforcement centre)
  Information regarding entries must be requested online from the central enforcement centre for the respective federal state.
• Information from the insolvency register
  • Two certificates are required for initiating insolvency proceedings for natural persons who are residents of Berlin. The first certificate for consumer insolvency proceedings must be applied for with the local court responsible for your place of residence, and the second one for regular insolvency proceedings is available from the District Court Charlottenburg Amtsgerichtsplatz 1, 14057 Berlin.
  • The District Court Charlottenburg, Amtsgerichtsplatz 1, 14057 Berlin is responsible for insolvency proceedings for legal entities and private trade companies based in Berlin.
  • Applicants residing / operating outside of Berlin please inform themselves about the respective responsibilities of the insolvency courts via the central place and court directory.
• Up to date excerpt from the Trade Register
  Registered companies are required to submit an up to date excerpt from the Trade Register when applying. Legal entities that are in the process of being established (GmbH, AG) are required to submit their partnership agreement or statutes.
• Third-party financial loss insurance
  Confirmation from an insurance company that the financial investment consultancy business is covered by professional liability insurance.
  The confirmation must be no older than three months.
• Proof of expertise
  Proof of CCI examination of competence or similar recognised professional qualification.

Forms

• Application for a licence pursuant to § 34h of the Trade Regulations GewO (remunerated financial investment consultant)
• Application for registration in the Register of Brokers - applicant: Natural entity / executive partner of a business partnership
• Application for registration in the Register of Brokers - applicant: Legal entity (e. g. GmbH, AG)
• Supplementary sheet additional legal representatives
• Amendment request for natural and legal entities in the Register of Brokers
• Application for registration of staff members of financial investment brokers

Fees

Legal basis

• Trade Regulations § 34 h section 1
• Regulation regarding financial investment brokerage (Financial Investment Brokerage Regulation)
• Derogation - § 2 section 6 sentence 1 no. 8 of the Banking Act
• Area of application - asset investments pursuant to § 1 section to of the Asset Investment Act
• Definition investment consultancy - pursuant to § 1 section 1a no. 1a of the Banking Act

Average time to process request

More information

• Information by CCI Berlin
• Fact sheet about derogation for brokerage of investment funds and asset investments
• Online insolvency information via the common justice portal for the federal states
• Determination of the competent court for a written record from the insolvency register
• CCI schedule of fees
• Information about privacy

Responsible authorities

The permit must be applied for with the competent Public Order Office for the place of business. If the place of business is not yet known, approval can also be applied for with Public Order Office that is responsible for the applicant’s place of residence.