Acting with Integrity

The CISI is committed to championing the highest standards of ethical behaviour and practice among its individual members and Corporate Supporters. We encourage members and supporters to adopt our Code of Conduct which is also known as the Lord George Principles and is shared with the Worshipful Company of International Bankers.

To highlight the importance of acting with integrity at all times, all CISI members (existing and new members) are required to complete and pass an integrity test.  Whilst the test will not determine whether someone is ethical or unethical, the rationale is that by taking a test, practitioners will be encouraged to think about what they should do and to recognise certain situations and how best to respond.


Membership Integrity Requirement

Prior to joining the Institute, or within the first three months of association with the CISI, all new members (excluding Student members) are required to complete IntegrityMatters and pass with an A grade. IntegrityMatters is not an examination but a test taken as part of an elearning tool.

To meet this requirement you have two options:



Further Information

Find out more about IntegrityMatters and try the free workshop

For detailed information about this initiative, please view the CISI’s membership rules and regulations.

Student Membership

Student membership is intended to assist CISI exam candidates, but is also available to anyone taking a relevant degree or qualification from another professional body. For most, student membership is the first step along the progression through the Institute's membership grades culmination in full membership.

Student members have access to a number of benefits designed to offer learning support. These include:

• CISI CPD Scheme: Access to the CISI CPD scheme and CPD log
• CISI TV: A selection of our most popular CPD events online, anywhere, anytime
• Professional Refresher is an online training solution which allows self-administered refresher testing on a variety of topics
• Infolink: searchable online information library, which is free and exclusive to CISI members
• Regulatory Update: Free, members-only guide to changes in UK financial services regulations
• Attendance at four free CPD Events, per year and access to the online event archive
• A 20% discount on any one CISI Conference and training course each year
• Online Securities & Investment Review: members' magazine, published 10 times a year

If you wish to become a student member without booking an exam, the annual subscription fee is £55.00 due at registration and subsequently renewable every 1 April.

• Application form

Affiliate Membership

Affiliate membership is ideal for individuals working in the financial services industry who are not required to pass a regulatory qualification but wish to keep up to date on industry developments. Relevant professions include IT, marketing, operations and HR or training.

Affiliate members enjoys access to a wide range of professional and personal benefits and are encouraged to become actively involved with the CISI. Please note, there are no designatory letters with this grade of membership.

All new members are required to complete and pass an integrity test prior to joining the Institute, or within the first three months of association with the CISI. View the CISI's membership rules and regulations.

Associate (ACSI) Membership

Associate (ACSI) membership is open to those who have passed a CISI benchmark qualification, a threshold competency qualification, or an equivalent qualification from another professional body. Associate membership offers the designatory letters ACSI and all members enjoy access to a range of professional and personal benefits. Around 5,000 practitioners from all areas of the securities and investment industry currently use the ACSI designation.

Entry Criteria
Pass in either:

• CISI Level 3 Certificate in Investments
• Certificate in Corporate Finance
• IOC Programme
• IFA Qualification (IFAQ)
• International Certificate in Wealth Management
• Islamic Finance Qualification
• Investment Advice Diploma (IAD)
• Advanced Certificates
• One paper in the CISI Diploma course or CISI Masters in Wealth Management
• Other, external qualifications

Examples of Other Recognised Qualifications Eligible for Associate Membership
(benchmark qualification Level 3 or higher)

Qualification	Provider
Certificate in Financial Planning	CII
Investment Management Certificate	CFA UK
Certificate for Financial Advisers	ifs School of Finance
Series 7	NASD/FINRA
CFA papers 1 & 2	CFA

For a full list visit cisi.org/recognisedqualifications

All new members are required to complete and pass an integrity test prior to joining the Institute, or within the first three months of association with the CISI. View the CISI's membership rules and regulations.

MCSI Membership

MCSI membership is full membership of the CISI, and denotes a high level of achievement and competence. It is awarded to those with a suitable combination of qualifications and experience. Full members are able to use the designatory letters MCSI as a visible statement of their achievement. The CISI currently has 6,000 MCSIs. Members enjoy access to a range of professional and personal benefits.

There are two methods of entry at Member level:

Entry via Qualification
Holders of:

• CISI Diploma
• CISI Masters in Wealth Management with a pass in Integrity Matters
• Certificate in Private Client Investment Advice & Management
• Diploma in Investment Operations
• Diploma in Investment Compliance
• ICAEW/CISI Diploma in Corporate Finance
• Non-CISI professional qualification plus three year's industry experience. Please see the list of recognised qualifications.

Entry via Experience
Senior practitioners in senior roles with over fifteen years of industry experience may apply for Membership (MCSI) via a combination of experience, seniority and professional qualifications. Please refer to our MCSI Via Experience page for more information.


All new members are required to complete and pass an integrity test prior to joining the Institute, or within the first three months of association with the CISI. View the CISI's membership rules and regulations.

Fellow (FCSI) Membership

There is no direct route to applying for Fellowship. Click here to find out more about applying for individual Charter as a route to Fellowship.



Honorary Fellowship

The CISI awards industry practitioners with an honorary membership known as Honorary Fellowship, as a reward for outstanding contributions to the financial services industry and/or to the Institute. Honorary Fellows enjoy life-long, free membership. View a full list of CISI Honorary Fellows.

Individual Charter

There is an opportunity for members to apply to become individually chartered. Chartered membership demonstrates personal commitment to continuing learning and high standards of integrity and ethical behaviour.

By meeting the relevant criteria for each category of membership, candidates are entitled to use the designation Chartered MCSI, Chartered FCSI or Chartered Wealth Manager.

How to Apply

To apply for any grade of membership, please complete the appropriate application form and return it by post or email.

Address: Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 8 Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AE
Email: customersupport@cisi.org Please note that for those students passing a CISI benchmark qualification, there is an online application available.