Certificate of Professionalism

We have introduced a new Certificate of Professionalism for practitioners who wish to formally demonstrate an annual commitment to maintain their knowledge and skills and uphold the highest standards of behaviour.

Certificate of Professionalism

In March 2016, the UK’s Regulators - the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - Senior Managers and Certification Regimes came into force. At present, these regimes require all UK Banks, Building Societies, Credit Unions and some PRA-Designated Investment Firms to assess and demonstrate annually that holders of Senior Management Functions and employees impacted by the Certification Regime meet the FCA/PRAs ‘Fitness and Propriety’ rules. It is expected that the regimes will also be rolled out to a wider audience in 2018. Use our flow chart to determine if you are affected by the Senior Managers Regime and/or Certification Regime.

We have introduced a new Certificate of Professionalism for practitioners who wish to formally demonstrate an annual commitment to maintain their knowledge and skills and uphold the highest standards of behaviour.

A Certificate of Professionalism issued by the CISI, an established, recognised and well regarded professional body within the industry, can be used by financial services organisations as third party verification. The Certificate, combined with evidence from within the firm that employees are fit and proper for their role, will demonstrate to the FCA/PRA that the organisation is adhering to the requirements of the new regimes.

The CISI will publish a public register of all our members who are successful in gaining our Certificate of Professionalism.

To qualify for a Certificate of Professionalism practitioners must:

Knowledge

Hold at least a CISI level 3 or above qualification or  QCF level 3 qualification as recognised by the CISI. View list of appropriate qualifications recognised by the CISI here.

A ‘Certificate By Experience’ route is available for professionals with a minimum of 15 years’ work experience. The criteria for this route is made up of a combination of seniority, experience and relevant professional qualifications and all applications are assessed on a points system with each application ratified by the CISI Membership Committee. Email professionalism@cisi.org for further information.

Practitioners who wish to obtain a Certificate of Professionalism but do not hold an appropriate qualification and are not eligible for the ‘application by experience’ route, must first obtain a qualification such as the CISI’s Level 3 Risk in Financial Services or equivalent before applying for a Certificate.

Skills

Complete at least 35 hours of CPD relevant to their job role within a 12 month period. At least 21 hours should be Structured CPD and five hours of the 21 structured hours must consist of CPD related to regulation, risk, integrity and ethics.

The five hours may include, but are not limited to, completing and passing the CISI’s IntegrityMatters challenge and/or the CISI’s Professional Refresher modules - Integrity and Ethics, Speak Up, Conduct Risk, Conduct Rules, Banking Standards, Financial Crime, UK Bribery Act, Conflicts of Interest and Regulation and Ethics.

On initial application for the Certificate, applicants must complete a self-assessment form which demonstrates that they have completed at least 35 hours of CPD relevant to their job role over the past 12 months. This self-assessment form must be verified by the applicant’s employer prior to the application being submitted to the CISI. CPD submitted must be completed and dated within three months prior to the start date of the Certificate.

Behaviour

Become a member of the CISI, sign up and adhere to our Code of Conduct, agree to uphold the highest standards of behaviour and pass IntegrityMatters, our online integrity test.

Factsheet

Download the CISI Certificate of Professionalism factsheet here.

Cost

A CISI Certificate of Professionalism costs £26 (VAT exempt). This fee is due on initial application for a Certificate and for each subsequent annual renewal.

Application process

 Application for initial Certificate of Professionalism

 Application for Renewal Certificate of Professionalism

Please return the form with all required accompanying evidence to professionalism@cisi.org or post to CoP Applications Department, Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY.

Applicants will receive notification via email when the CISI has received the application form. If you have sent your form to the CISI and you have not received email confirmation of receipt within five working days please contact us.

Contact the CISI Customer Support Centre on +44 20 7645 0777 or email professionalism@cisi.org for further information.

Processing Timescales

We will aim to issue certificates within two months of receipt of an application as long as all the required information and accompanying evidence has been provided. If information or accompanying evidence has been omitted from the application and we need to request more information from the adviser, the certificates may take longer to process. Advisers must ensure they meet the certificate requirements before they apply.

Applications with incomplete or inaccurate information, upon request of further information will be declined within three working days if further information is not provided.  

Annual Renewal requirements

Certificate holders must apply to renew their Certificate annually and reaffirm that they have met the following criteria:

✔   they have completed at least 35 hours of CPD relevant to their job role over the past 12 months and at least 21 of these hours must consist of structured CPD, and five of these 21 hours must consist of CPD related to regulation, risk, integrity and ethics;

✔   they confirm their commitment to the CISI’s Code of Conduct and agree to uphold the highest standards of behaviour at all times.