On 25 July 2017, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) published the results of a consumer survey it held with respect to the regulations that are applicable to crowdfunding platforms (the Evaluation Report). The Evaluation Report describes the most important findings from two consumer surveys the AFM conducted in the past year.
The Evaluation Report shows that crowdfunding investors are, on average, experienced investors and have sufficient financial buffers. The AFM considers that the vulnerability of this group is limited. In addition, the AFM signals three risks:
- Although the risks of crowdfunding in the long term are still unclear, certain investors underestimate the risks of crowdfunding;
- An increasing number of investors ignore the advice to invest not more than 10% of their assets; and
- Because of the scarcity in the crowdfunding market, investors have to decide in short periods of time whether they want to invest or not. The AFM considers this a risk.
In addition, the AFM conducted research into the compliance and effectiveness of the regulations that apply to crowdfunding platforms. The AFM indicates that the quality of the implementation is not always sufficient and regulations are not always correctly applied by crowdfunding platforms.
View the AFM’s new item (Dutch only), 25 July 2017
View the AFM’s Report (Dutch only), 25 July 2017
