Private banking, CGP or online wealth management in France: how to choose?
Updated on 4 August 2026.
In France, private banking, the independent conseiller en gestion de patrimoine (CGP, a French wealth-management adviser) and online wealth management differ on three measurable criteria: the published entry threshold, the regulatory status and the way the adviser is paid. Together they decide the right choice for your wealth. This guide compares the published thresholds and fee schedules, firm by firm.
Risk. Investing carries risks, including the risk of capital loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article is informational: it does not constitute personalised investment advice.- Published thresholds run from €500,000 at Société Générale to more than €5 million at BNP Paribas, LCL and HSBC.
- Discretionary management at a private bank often costs 1.5% to 2.5% a year all in, once the wrapper, the mandate and the underlying funds are added together.
- A CGP is paid either by fees, visible on an invoice, or by inducements from the products it distributes, invisible on your statement.
- Finary One offers a private manager from €500,000 of investable assets, with a free wealth review and no commitment.
- Always check ORIAS registration and membership of an AMF-approved association before signing a mandate or an advisory contract.
What is wealth management for?
Wealth management exists to grow, structure and pass on your financial wealth in line with your goals, through a wealth review run in five steps.
The transfer lands, a holding company fills up, an inheritance arrives: the same reflex fires, to hand that wealth to someone competent. The problem is not finding a contact: in this world the banks usually call first. The problem is comparing what they actually offer, beyond the name on the plaque.
That is the job of the wealth review, run in five steps.
The inventory
First step: list all your investments, your borrowings, your income and your outgoings. An online wealth tracking tool makes this step far easier than a spreadsheet.
Investments (or assets)
- Bank accounts and savings accounts
- Life insurance
- PEA (a French tax-advantaged equity savings account)
- Securities account
- Main home
- Second home
- Rental property
- SCPI (a French non-listed real-estate investment fund, comparable to a REIT)
- Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and so on)
- Startups or unlisted securities
- Other assets (real-estate crowdfunding, classic cars and so on)
Borrowings (or liabilities)
- Mortgage loans (amortising, interest-only, 0% rate)
- Consumer credit
- Other commitments
| Your income | Your outgoings |
|---|---|
| Salaries and wages | Taxes |
| Rental income | Loan repayments |
| Dividends | Regular day-to-day spending |
| Image rights | One-off spending |
The analysis
Once the inventory is in place, the analysis sets out your wealth allocation, your gross wealth (the sum of your investments) and your net wealth (gross less the capital still owed).
Setting your goals
This step fixes what you are trying to achieve: securing capital, preparing a transfer, generating income, funding a project. Priorities differ from one profile to the next, but they shape everything that follows.
The action plan
Once the situation and the goals are set, the adviser makes recommendations on two fronts: the investment strategy (how assets are split across asset classes) and wealth engineering (legal structuring, holding companies, transfers, gifts).
Good to know : building your own financial literacy remains the best lever before choosing any adviser. Mounir Laggoune sets out that logic in Investir pour être libre. Wealth that is tracked and understood is always easier to delegate than wealth left ignored.The follow-up
The job does not stop at the first investment. Your strategy changes over time (marriage, a birth, a business sale, an inheritance) and must be reviewed regularly, with or without an adviser.
Who does what: CGP, private banking, gestion de fortune, online wealth management?
Four families of players share the wealth management market: traditional private banking, the independent CGP, online wealth management and the multi family office, each with its own regulatory status and its own way of being paid.
Traditional private banking is a credit institution or an authorised investment firm providing discretionary management or investment advice. It is open from a first entry threshold, before a possible move up to a gestion de fortune offering reserved for the largest fortunes.
The CGP (conseiller en gestion de patrimoine) is a generic label with no legal existence of its own. There is no single ORIAS category called "CGP": in practice the label covers a frequent stack of statuses, financial investment adviser (conseiller en investissements financiers, art. L. 541-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code), IOBSP (banking intermediary) and COA (insurance broker). A financial investment adviser must be registered with ORIAS and belong to a professional association approved by the AMF. An independent CGP (CGPI) charges fees, with no inducements; a traditional CGP is most often paid through inducements from the products it places.
Online wealth management is a structural category, not a named player: onboarding and monitoring are mostly digital, and the product architecture is usually open. No threshold and no fee schedule is published for the category taken as a whole. Finary One, described below, is one example, with its own published thresholds and fees.
The multi family office (MFO) pools the resources of several families, unlike the single family office (SFO), which serves just one. It has no dedicated published regulatory status as a category; the number of MFOs in France has doubled in five years, with more than 80 firms now counted. Its business model (fee scale, assets under management) is not public.
The real entry thresholds published by the firms
The vague "€250,000 to €1 million depending on the firm" you read everywhere matches no public fee document: each institution publishes a precise threshold, and those thresholds vary widely from one house to another.
| Institution | Offer | Published threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Société Générale | Gestion privée (entry level) | €500,000 in France, €1,000,000 in Luxembourg, Monaco, Italy and Belgium. No internal tier above that is published by SG |
| BNP Paribas | Gestion de Fortune | €5,000,000 of financial wealth (dedicated team above €25,000,000) |
| LCL | Gestion de Fortune | €5,000,000 of financial wealth |
| HSBC Private Banking France | General entry | more than €5,000,000 of investable assets |
| LCL | Gestion Déléguée | €20,000 in OPC funds or €100,000 in individual securities |
| Milleis | Mandates (OPC funds, PEA) | from €75,000 |
| Oddo BHF | Securities account (CTO) mandate | €75,000 (100% funds) to €300,000 (mixed) |
| Oddo BHF | PEA/PEA-PME mandate (shared schedule) | €75,000 (100% funds) to €150,000 (mixed) |
| Neuflize OBC, Edmond de Rothschild, Rothschild & Co, CA Indosuez, Lazard Frères Gestion | General offer | no published figure, case-by-case service |
Two lessons come out of this table. First, the "€500k to €2m, €2m to €25m, above €25m" tiers doing the rounds on comparison sites match no published schedule: at Société Générale, the most detailed firm on its entry thresholds, they appear in no official brochure; only BNP Paribas publishes a comparable internal tier, the dedicated team above €25 million. Second, half the houses named here, among the most prestigious, publish no threshold at all: access is negotiated there, file by file.
What does wealth management really cost?
The advertised mandate is only part of the bill: private discretionary management most often costs 1.5% to 2.5% a year all in, once you add the layers that are invisible at first glance (the full breakdown of these fee layers deserves an article of its own).
Ask a private banking client what it costs: they quote the mandate, around 1%. That is the visible part. Below it, several layers can stack up. Not all of them appear in every contract, but each one, taken alone, looks reasonable.
- Wrapper fees. Life insurance or a securities account: the wrapper takes its cut, often 0.5% to 1% a year on a managed life insurance policy.
- Mandate or advisory fees. What you pay for someone to decide in your place, usually 0.5% to 1.2% a year.
- Custody fees. These mainly apply to a securities account: holding your securities at the custodian then costs 0.1% to 0.4% a year. In life insurance the cost is already built into the wrapper fees.
- Underlying fund fees. Every fund held in the portfolio charges its own fees, from 0.3% for an index fund to 1.8% and more for an active fund.
- The performance fee. It applies only to some funds, active ones in particular. Above a set threshold, the manager takes a share of the gain, often 10% to 20%.
Under a discretionary mandate, two mechanisms quietly push the bill up: turnover (every order generates a commission) and the in-house fund (the mandate parks your money in funds from the same group, which add their own fee layer). MiFID II already requires your intermediary to hand you a cost breakdown, before you invest and then every year. As the Autorité des marchés financiers points out, an adviser must provide in writing, and early enough before any signature, the breakdown of fees tied to the advice and to the recommended investments.
The published schedules, firm by firm
Here are the discretionary management rates actually published, as of the version date shown on each document.
| Institution | Discretionary management fees |
|---|---|
| BNP Paribas | 0.80% (Standard), 1.20% (Momentum), 1.60% (100% OPC Flexi Tendance 10) |
| LCL (Convention Banque Privée) | 1.65% up to €150,000, 1.30% from €150,000 to €500,000, 1.05% above |
| HSBC Private Banking France | 0.50% to 1.60% excluding VAT, depending on the mandate and the wealth band |
| Milleis | 1.60% a year, single rate (minimum €240 per quarter) |
| Oddo BHF | 1.75% to 2.10%, tapering to 0.95-1.30% |
| Edmond de Rothschild France | 1.00%, tapering to 0.40% above €5 million |
| Neuflize OBC (Profilée mandate) | 1.2% plus VAT a year |
| CA Indosuez | not published ("contact us") |
A CGP is paid differently: by fees (a flat fee for a review, or an annual percentage of the assets tracked, often 0.5% to 1.5% a year) or through inducements paid by the products it distributes. The advice then looks free. In reality its cost is built into the fees of the recommended products. The practice is legal but tightly framed: under MiFID II an inducement is still allowed outside advice labelled independent and outside portfolio management, subject to three cumulative conditions (an improvement in the service, a warning about conflicts of interest, and annual disclosure of the amount received). According to the AMF, on 2017-2018 data, inducements accounted on average for 21.7% of discretionary management revenue, up to 30% at one firm in the sample, before being very largely removed from the first half of 2018.
These commissions most often fund active management, funds that try to beat the market.
The cost that weighs most: fees compounded over time
One extra point of fees does not show up on an annual statement. It is still the cost that weighs most.
Compounded over twenty or thirty years, it eats a major share of the final wealth. The mechanism is simple: every euro taken stops compounding, this year and every year after.
Execution cost gaps exist outside the mandate too. According to the AMF (Observatoire de l'Épargne, April 2026) :
- A €1,000 order on Euronext Paris costs on average 0.65% at a retail bank on a securities account (0.49% in a PEA), against 0.45% at an established online broker.
- On a €60,000 portfolio spread over ten holdings, the average custody fees recorded reach 0.35%, or €211 a year at a traditional bank.
The Finary fee scanner lets you project the real impact of your own contracts over time.
How to choose: the checklist before you sign
The right price is not the lowest, it is the clearest: before handing over your money, demand the total annual cost, the turnover rate and the share of in-house funds.
Five questions turn a sales meeting into an informed decision:
- What is the total annual cost, all layers included? Wrapper, mandate, funds, custody, transactions, performance fee. MiFID II entitles you to that aggregate figure, before you invest.
- What is the portfolio turnover rate? The more it turns over, the more transaction fees you pay.
- What share of in-house funds is in the allocation? If a large share of your money ends up in the group's own funds, ask why and at what extra cost.
- Fees or inducements? The answer says who pays for the advice: you, or the products being recommended to you.
- What does the comparison net of fees show? The only measure that counts is not the advertised performance, it is what is left for you once all fees are deducted.
Before signing anything, check how serious your contact is: registration with ORIAS and membership of one of the professional associations approved by the AMF (ANACOFI, CNCGP, and the two bodies dedicated to financial investment advisers). Seriousness also shows in the handing over of a client relationship document, a signed engagement letter and professional indemnity insurance.
Here is what the published thresholds and statistics do not say often enough. The "€500k to €2m, €2m to €25m, above €25m" tiers doing the rounds on comparison sites match no published schedule: at Société Générale, the most detailed firm on its entry thresholds, they appear in no official brochure; only BNP Paribas publishes a comparable internal tier, the dedicated team above €25 million. And according to the AMF, only 7% of French financial investment advisers described themselves in 2024 as exclusively independent, meaning paid by fees alone; 12% combine independent and non-independent advice. The rest of the system makes no noise at all: one extra point of fees, compounded over twenty or thirty years, eats a major share of the final wealth, without ever showing up in red on a statement.
Wealth management with Finary One
Finary One is aimed at wealth from €500,000 of investable assets, on a simple principle: you pay for advice, not for private banking decor.
A private manager, backed by a wealth engineer, builds a bespoke allocation with you that you approve: no discretionary mandate, so no power of attorney given in advance. They read your situation on three fronts:
- Protection: the life insurance beneficiary clause, the marital property regime, personal protection cover, protection for company directors.
- Structuring: holding companies, how business and personal wealth fit together, transfers.
- Investment wrappers: French and Luxembourg life insurance and securities accounts, PEA, PER (France's retirement savings plan), capitalisation contracts.
This wealth review is free and without commitment, even if you never become a client. On legal and tax matters, the private manager coordinates your notary and your tax lawyer: they steer the discussion, you keep your own advisers. Finary SAS is an investment firm authorised by the ACPR under no. 19283, a member of AMAFI, and an insurance broker registered with ORIAS under no. 21001279, a member of the CNCGP (an association approved by the AMF). These facts carry no claim of merit over the other players named in this article: Finary One is simply one more line in the table above, with its own published threshold and its own published fees.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between private banking and wealth management?
Private banking is one of the four families of wealth management, alongside the independent CGP, online wealth management and the multi family office. It stands apart through its status as a credit institution or investment firm, its published entry thresholds and management that is often discretionary.
How much wealth do you need to access private banking in France?
The lowest published threshold is €500,000 at Société Générale in France (€1 million in Luxembourg, Monaco, Italy and Belgium). BNP Paribas and LCL reserve their Gestion de Fortune offer for €5 million and above; HSBC applies an equivalent threshold (more than €5 million) at the entry to its private bank.
How much does a CGP (an independent French wealth adviser) cost?
A CGP is paid by fees (a flat fee for a review, or an annual percentage of the assets tracked) or through inducements paid by the products it distributes. In the second case the advice looks free, but its cost is built into the fees of the recommended products.
What is online wealth management, and who is it for?
It is a structural category: onboarding and monitoring are mostly digital, the product architecture is often open, and no threshold or fee schedule is published for the category as a whole. Finary One, one example of this category, is aimed at wealth from €500,000 of investable assets.
What is the difference between wealth management and gestion de fortune?
Wealth management addresses a wider audience, from a few hundred thousand euros depending on the institution. Gestion de fortune is the offer reserved for financial wealth of at least €5 million, named that way at BNP Paribas and LCL (HSBC applies an equivalent threshold at the entry to its private bank), with negotiated service and pricing.
What are the real fees of a private bank in France (beyond the entry threshold)?
On top of the advertised mandate come the wrapper, the underlying funds, the transactions and, depending on the contract, custody fees or a performance fee. Published mandate rates run from 0.40% to more than 2% a year; all fees combined, the bill most often reaches 1.5% to 2.5% a year.
How do you choose between private banking, an independent CGP and online wealth management?
Compare the total annual cost with all layers included, the way the adviser is paid (fees or inducements), the share of in-house funds and how open the product architecture is. Also check ORIAS registration and membership of an AMF-approved association before signing.
At what level of wealth does online wealth management make sense against a CGP or a private bank?
As soon as your investable wealth reaches €500,000, you can access offers combining a dedicated private manager and a global view of your wealth, without the €5 million thresholds of gestion de fortune or the pay opacity of a non-independent CGP.
Sources
AMF, SPOT review of discretionary management and inducements, 2019, 2017-2018 data
AMF, key figures on financial investment advisers, 2024
AMF, policy on inducements and fees, MiFID II
AMF, information on the fees of financial investments
AMF, Lettre de l'Observatoire de l'Épargne no. 65, April 2026
French Monetary and Financial Code, article L. 541-1, financial investment adviser status
BNP Paribas, Gestion de Fortune
BNP Paribas, fees and conditions
Société Générale Private Banking, Gestion privée and 29 Haussmann Gestion de Fortune brochures
HSBC Private Banking France, main fee schedule, April 2026
Milleis, 2026 fee schedule guide
Edmond de Rothschild France, general pricing terms
CA Indosuez, fees and conditions
News Asset Pro, multi family office ranking in France
Regulatory disclaimers: Marketing communication. Investing carries a risk of partial or total capital loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article is provided for information and educational purposes only; it does not constitute personalised investment advice, a buy or sell recommendation, or tax advice. Before investing, read the Key Information Document (KID) and, where relevant, consult an authorised adviser. Finary SAS, an investment firm authorised by the ACPR (no. 19283), member of AMAFI. Insurance broker registered with ORIAS (no. 21001279), member of the CNCGP (association approved by the AMF). Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorised by the AMF under the MiCA regime, references no. A2026-026 and no. N2026-008.
Regulatory disclaimers:
Marketing communication. Investing carries a risk of partial or total capital loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article is provided for information and educational purposes only; it does not constitute personalised investment advice, a buy or sell recommendation, or tax advice.
Before investing, read the Key Information Document (KID) and, where relevant, consult an authorised adviser.
Finary SAS, an investment firm authorised by the ACPR (no. 19283), member of AMAFI. Insurance broker registered with ORIAS (no. 21001279), member of the CNCGP (association approved by the AMF). Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorised by the AMF under the MiCA regime, references no. A2026-026 and no. N2026-008.
