What type of information is crucial for effective AML monitoring?

Comprehensive transaction histories and customer profiles are essential for effective AML (Anti-Money Laundering) monitoring because they provide a thorough understanding of a customer's behavior and financial activities. This information allows financial institutions to identify unusual or suspicious patterns that may indicate money laundering or other illicit activities.

Transaction histories reveal how funds flow in and out of accounts, helping to establish baseline behaviors for customers. Similarly, customer profiles—which include personal identification, occupation, and risk assessment—enable institutions to evaluate the legitimacy of the transactions being conducted. By having both comprehensive transaction data and detailed customer profiles, organizations can better detect anomalies, facilitate investigations, and comply with regulatory requirements.

The other options, such as personal opinions of financial advisors or solely focusing on high-value transaction records, do not provide the necessary breadth of information required to draw accurate conclusions about a customer's financial activities. Social media interactions, while potentially informative, do not hold the same level of relevance or accuracy in assessing financial transactions in the context of AML compliance.