CISI Chartered Firm™ status

CISI Chartered Firm™ status denotes that a firm is operating at the highest levels of trustworthiness and professionalism expected from the sector.


Why should your firm be accredited with The CISI?

Becoming a CISI Chartered Firm™ will support the development of your brand awareness, professional recognition, and commercial success within financial services, using CISI’s channels of promotion.

Brand awareness

By publicly using the CISI Chartered Firm™ designation you will align your brand with excellence and promote your commitment to high standards.

Professional recognition

Becoming a CISI Chartered Firm™ provides strong external recognition of your commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards, as well as achieving respect and acknowledgement from the profession.

Opportunities for success

As a CISI Chartered Firm™ you will be listed here on the CISI website enabling consumers to identify your firm as one which adopts the highest standards of professionalism, thus helping you gain market advantage.

Eligibility criteria

In order to achieve CISI Chartered Firm™ status, the following criteria must be met in full:

The firm must be recognised and regulated by the FCA or the relevant regulator.

A minimum of 50% of staff in the firm’s core area of specialty must personally be Chartered MCSI, Chartered FCSI or Chartered FCSI (Financial Planning).

The entire firm’s Board*, together with a minimum of 90% of staff in the firm’s core area of specialty, must be members (at any level) of the CISI.

The firm must actively encourage and support their staff to progress through the CISI qualifications programme.

The firm must have in place an appropriate professional development programme in line with CISI CPD requirements.

The firm must have in place core values and business practices that align with the CISI Code of Conduct.

One of the firm’s Board*, who must personally be a CISI Chartered member, must take on the role of Responsible Member. This person is the principal point of contact on CISI Chartered Firm™ status with overall responsibility for the application.

*Note: where the firms core area of specialty of the company or partnership is not Securities & Investment and a specialist division has been created for the purpose of managing this part of the business, the CISI may, at its discretion, recognise the management entity as equivalent to the Board.


Applications for CISI Chartered Firm™ status will not be accepted from applicants who fall within the following categories:



Sole traders

Limited liability companies which have one director only and fewer than three employees

The accreditation process

If your firm is aligned to the principals of CISI Chartered Firm™ status, accreditation should be your aim.

The application criteria has been developed specifically to show your firms commitment to our high standards. CISI Chartered Firms™ will be expected to demonstrate that they meet these criteria on application and on an annual basis thereafter.

This will also ensure that consumers can be sure that firms who are displaying this accreditation meet these high standards and are trusted by us.

View the full accreditation criteria in the Guide to becoming a CISI Chartered Firm™ below.


Submit your application

Internal review

Criteria met or advice on how to meet the criteria

If the criteria are met, the application will be approved

Invoice and payment

Inclusion on the CISI website and Chartership certificate sent
Annual renewal and re-confirmation

Fees

The cost of being a CISI Chartered Firm™ is £500 for firms with up to 49 employees, or £1000 for firms with 50 or more employees. This fee is paid initially at the point of being approved as a CISI Chartered Firm™ and at annual renewal thereafter.

Timeframe

We will confirm receipt of your application form within 2 working days.

We will conduct an initial review of your application within 10 working days of receipt, after which we will contact you with a full update, including any additional information that may be required to approve the application.

We aim to fully process all applications within 1 month of receipt, but please note that for complex applications or where significant additional information is required this may take longer. Where this is the case we will keep you fully updated throughout the application process.

Hear from some of our Chartered Firms

As a firm, our advisers have long been individually chartered members of the CISI. For all our team, we find that the professional development routes offered by the CISI are superior to other bodies. So we're honoured to have joined an elite group of UK wealth managers and financial planners who have been awarded the new CISI Chartered Firm™ status. For our clients this is further evidence of our commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards.

Being a Chartered Firm demonstrates our commitment to the highest possible standards. Our clients (both existing and prospective) should have confidence they are dealing with a reputable and professional advice company that places their interests first. All firms that qualify should apply as the process is straightforward and helps distinguish you from your competitors.

Contact us to get started

To find out more about becoming a CISI Chartered Firm™, please contact charteredfirms@cisi.org