Statement of Professional Standing

In the UK, retail investment advice is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Anyone providing regulated financial advice must be qualified to do so and hold a valid Statement of Professional Standing (SPS). An SPS can only be issued by FCA Accredited Bodies, such as the Chartered Banker Institute. An SPS is issued annually to individuals meeting all the regulatory requirements and advisers can only hold one SPS in any given 12-month period. We will only issue an SPS to an individual that holds professional membership with us. This means that they must comply with our Code of Professional Conduct. To ensure our members remain qualified to give retail investment advice, we also: ● check that they hold an appropriate qualification, such as our Diploma in Professional Financial Advice ● ask that they complete a minimum of 35 hours of relevant continuing professional development (CPD) annually, with at least 21 hours on Structured CPD activities, to keep their knowledge up to date. ● check that they are committed to complying with the FCA’s Code of Conduct (COCON) or, if an Appointed Representative, the FCA's Statements of Principle and Code of Practice for Approved Persons [APER]. This may require us to seek confirmation from their employer if they are not directly approved by the FCA. Chartered Banker Institute members that meet all of these conditions, are entitled to call themselves Professional Financial Advisers (using the designation PFA after their name) and to display our PFA logo on their materials. You can check the regulatory status of individuals and their employer using the FCA’s Financial Services Register.