So much has been going on here at the office in the last month or so. Many people are working very hard for your benefit. Personally, I have hardly sat down since joining the CISI on 3 May. Here is a quick round-up of news.
Firstly, we have had Financial Planning Week. I hope that those of you who were involved in offering surgeries and advice to the public, enjoyed the experience. Things like this really do help the general public understand what financial planning really is. Thank you to all of you for your support again this year.
Regarding the membership renewal fees and the IntegrityMatters test, by now all of you who completed a direct debit will have been contacted to confirm your payment. My sincere apologies for the delays and confusion caused in the staged payments. We have been trying to align everyone’s payments to 31 March 2017. There was quite a big change from your annual renewal which took place on the anniversary you joined the IFP and gained your CFP
TM accreditation and applied for your SPS.
Our records show that more than two-thirds of the IFP membership have joined the CISI and this figure is continuing to rise. As part of the membership for all members – including those moving over from the IFP – it is a requirement that everyone completes and passes IntegrityMatters. This requirement demonstrates the CISI’s commitment upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics. I have taken the test myself and I can assure those of you who have not yet taken it, that it is eminently passable. Please complete the test. If you have any problems or questions, please
contact us.
On CFP
TM certification assessment, Lydia Romero, Global Director of Learning, says that the CISI is starting a full review of the CFP
TM certification and we are talking to other countries and our international Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) colleagues to learn more about how other countries assess the CFP. The assessment will remain unchanged. We expect to have more news to tell you at the annual conference. Campbell Edgar Chartered FCSI has you all in his sights and plans to visit as many as practically possible over the coming months. In fact, in his first week he was able to join CISI Chief Executive Simon Culhane, Chartered FCSI at the Southern UK branch meeting. There are several regions that we are looking at in particular with a view to boosting financial planning content. If you have any comments about how the branches are running, and you have not already spoken to either myself or Campbell, please do not hesitate to
contact us.