General Decision of the Financial Markets Council No. 19 of April 11, 2013 on the List of Activities Requiring a Professional Card and the Conditions for Its Issuance and Withdrawal

General Decision of the Financial Markets Council No. 19 of April 11, 2013 on the List of Activities Requiring the Holding of a Professional Card as well as the Conditions for Issuance and Withdrawal of this Card

The College of the Financial Markets Council,

Having regard to Law No. 94-117 of November 14, 1994 on the reorganization of the financial market as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts, particularly Articles 28, 31, and 48 thereof;

Having regard to the Collective Investment Scheme Code promulgated by Law No. 2001-83 of July 24, 2001, as amended and supplemented by subsequent texts, particularly Article 31 thereof;

Having regard to Law No. 2005-96 of October 18, 2005 on strengthening the security of financial relations, particularly Article 23 thereof;

Having regard to Decree No. 2006-1294 of May 8, 2006 implementing the provisions of Article 23 of Law No. 2005-96 of October 18, 2005 on strengthening the security of financial relations, as amended by Decree No. 2009-1502 of May 18, 2009, particularly Article 6 thereof;

Having regard to the Order of the Minister of Finance dated April 29, 2010 approving the Financial Markets Council's regulation on securities collective investment schemes and portfolio management for third parties, as amended by the Order of the Minister of Finance dated February 15, 2013, particularly Article 75 thereof,

Decides,

Article 1:
Natural persons acting under the authority of or on behalf of a securities portfolio management company for third parties, a portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, a credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or a variable capital investment company, must hold a professional card when exercising the following activities:

• individual portfolio management,
• management of securities collective investment schemes provided for in Chapters 1 and 2 of Title I of the Collective Investment Scheme Code.

Article 2:
The issuance of the professional card is subject to a favorable result from a professional aptitude examination.

This examination is organized by the stockbrokers' association, which establishes its syllabus and success conditions, and informs the Financial Markets Council accordingly.

Article 3:
The issuance of the professional card to a person is reflected by an entry in the registers maintained for this purpose by the stockbrokers' association. The stockbrokers' association must promptly inform the Financial Markets Council and the Tunis Stock Exchange of such entries.

Any holder of a professional card registered in the stockbrokers' association's registers shall automatically be issued a new professional card upon changing employers.

Article 4:
Holding the professional card implies the effective exercise of the activity for which it was issued with the securities portfolio management company for third parties, the portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, the credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or the variable capital investment company that made the request.

In case of the cardholder's inability to exercise their activity, they may be replaced by a person holding a card of the same category. The Financial Markets Council shall be immediately informed thereof.

Article 5:
The withdrawal of a professional card by the stockbrokers' association occurs in the following cases:

• when the Financial Markets Council decides, as a sanction, to temporarily or permanently prohibit the cardholder's activity;
• when the securities portfolio management company for third parties, the portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, the credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or the variable capital investment company suspends the cardholder for a period exceeding one month;
• when the person to whom the card was issued has not exercised the activity requiring the holding of this card within three months from its issuance, or has ceased exercising it for a period exceeding three months.

The withdrawal of the professional card is reflected by deregistration in the registers provided for in Article 3 of this decision. The stockbrokers' association must promptly inform the Financial Markets Council thereof.

Article 6:
The securities portfolio management company for third parties, the portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, the credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or the variable capital investment company may not claim the nullity of acts performed in its name by a person acting under its authority, should that person exercise an activity without holding the required card.

Article 7:
Natural persons acting under the authority of or on behalf of a securities portfolio management company for third parties, a portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, a credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or a variable capital investment company, and exercising at the date of publication of this general decision the activities provided for in Article 1 thereof, may obtain a specific professional card corresponding exclusively to the management of categories of securities traded on the Tunis Stock Exchange at the date of publication of this general decision, provided they meet one of the following conditions:

• Having effectively exercised one of the activities provided for in Article 1 of this decision for at least eight years during the last ten years, or
• Having exercised one of the activities provided for in Article 1 of this decision for at least five years during the last seven years and holding a master's degree or equivalent diploma.

To obtain this card, the securities portfolio management company for third parties, the portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, the credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or the variable capital investment company, transmits under its responsibility to the stockbrokers' association on behalf of each candidate a professional card issuance application signed by the candidate and accompanied by a file comprising:

• A copy of the candidate's identity document;
• A curriculum vitae detailing executed tasks as well as achievements in terms of the number and volume of managed accounts, along with management strategies used. The curriculum vitae must be signed by the candidate and include the statement: "I, the undersigned (name and surname), declare that the information contained in this curriculum vitae is accurate and acknowledge that any false declaration will result in the cancellation of my application";
• Any document justifying the employment relationship with the current and, where applicable, previous employers, indicating the tasks and missions executed by the candidate.

The stockbrokers' association may require the candidate to provide any supplementary information or documents for file processing.

The exceptional measure provided by this article remains valid for three months from the publication of this general decision in the Official Bulletin of the Financial Markets Council.

Article 8:
The securities portfolio management company for third parties, the portfolio management company for Collective Investment Schemes in Securities as provided by Article 31 of the Collective Investment Scheme Code, the credit institution authorized to manage securities portfolios for third parties, or the variable capital investment company that, at the date of publication of this general decision, employ persons exercising the activities provided for in Article 1 of this decision and who do not hold cards to exercise said activity, have a period of 12 months from the publication of this general decision in the Official Bulletin of the Financial Markets Council to regularize their status.

Article 9:
This general decision shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the Financial Markets Council after approval by the Minister of Finance.

Approval by the Minister of Finance
The Minister of Finance

Elyès FAKHFAKH

For the College of the Financial Markets Council The President

The President of the Financial Markets Council

Signed: Salah ESSAYEL