ISO 22222
We are pleased to offer certification against the BS ISO22222 Financial Planner standards. BS ISO 22222 Financial Planner Certification confirms a financial planner’s conformity to the international ISO financial planning standards. The Certification is a personal award and applies to individual Financial Planners.
The standard defines six steps of the personal financial planning process:
- Establishing and defining the client and personal financial planner relationship.
- Gathering client data and determining goals and expectations.
- Analysing and evaluating the client's financial status.
- Developing and presenting the financial plan.
- Implementing the financial planning recommendations.
- Monitoring the financial plan and the financial planning relationship.
Benefits
BS ISO22222 certification:
- Demonstrates that a Financial Planner’s advice skills & knowledge have been benchmarked against an international standard
- The Financial Planner will receive independent validation of their skills
- Developmental feedback will be provided to the Financial Planner on both their technical & soft skills
- BS ISO22222 Certification assists in enhancing customer confidence in the Financial Planner’s abilities
- Financial Planners may be able to gain an exemption from CII examination unit AF5 – Financial Planning Process* (see Exemptions)
Process
The certification review will take place at your place of work. The CII Certification Services assessor will spend approximately one day with you in order to gather the necessary evidence to benchmark your knowledge and skills against the standards. This will involve role-plays, structured questions and a review of a minimum of three client files.
Further information can be found in the ‘Guide for Candidates’.
Outcome
Following the certification review you will be provided with feedback detailing the outcome of the review and developmental feedback, where appropriate.
Ongoing maintenance
As part of the certification successful applicants will be subject to ‘annual surveillance’. This will focus on the actions taken to address the developmental areas identical following the initial certification; continued adherence to the standards is essential.
The certification runs for five years; at the end of the certification period the Financial Planner will be reassessed in full, this will involved a further assessment as per the original certification process.
Pre-requisites
The current entry requirement, as stated by BSI in the BS9222 Guidance document for the BS ISO2222 standards, is at Level 8 in the Scottish Qualifications Framework. This is equivalent to Level 4 in the National Qualifications Framework and is where the CII Diploma in Financial Planning has been benchmarked. Applicants should therefore have completed the Diploma in Financial Planning or equivalent prior to applying (please note this may be through completion of modules from different examining bodies; if you are unsure whether your combined learning meets the requirements please contact Certification Services for confirmation).
The BS ISO22222 standards require the Financial Planner to demonstrate that they are providing comprehensive advice across all areas i.e. IHT planning, retirement planning, protection & investment. It is strongly recommended that applicants review the Certification standards to ensure they will be able to demonstrate compliance with these standards.
Please note that BS ISO 22222 Accreditation does not confer an authorised status or replace any element or requirement of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation or other regulatory body in the UK or the advisor’s home country.
Standards
The BS ISO22222 standards are the copyright of BSI.
Please follow the link to the BSI website to purchase the standards.
You may wish to purchase both the standards BS ISO 22222:2005
& the guidance on their application BS 9222:2007.
Certification Fees
ISO 22222 – per person
| Stage | Fee |
|---|
| (1) Application fee | £150 |
| (2) Investigation fee | £575 |
| Initial Accreditation total | £725 |
| (3) Additional review fee | TBA |
Please note that both elements 1 and 2 of the fee are payable on application. Should the evidence provided in the application be insufficient your application will be unsuccessful and the investigation fee will be refunded.
Should your application proceed to the investigation stage and insufficient evidence be found to support the Accreditation standards during the one day assessment, a further fee may be applicable (3) should further assessor input be required e.g. a further assessment day, review of additional client files etc. You will be advised in advance of any additional costs which may be incurred. Should you wish to withdraw your application at this stage there will be no refund of the initial accreditation fee (1 & 2).
BS ISO22222 Accreditation is subject to an annual monitoring process and the annual monitoring fee is payable each year. The recertification fee is payable only at the recertification stage which is five years after achieving the BS ISO22222 Certification.
| Annual monitoring fee | £125 |
| Recertification fee | £655 |
Application process
To apply for BS ISO22222 Certification please complete the application form below and return this to:
Certification Services, CII, Aldermanbury, London, EC2V 7HY
ISO 22222 Application Form
Confidentiality and Data Protection
The CII will treat all information you submit as confident; CII assessors are required to comply with the CII Confidentiality Agreement.
The CII will require access to your client files. CII adheres to the Data Protection Act and are registered data handlers. Click here for further details of the DPA & CII registration.
You should ensure that your DPA registration permits disclosure of information to the CII. Suitable recipient references may include:
R404: Education & training establishments and examining bodies
R405: Business associates & other professional advisers
R408: Suppliers & providers of goods or services
R410: Financial organisations and advisors
R415: Trade, employer associations and professional bodies
Exemptions
*an exemption from unit AF5 is only applicable to applicants who have been certified by an organisation which has ISO17024 Accreditation in the UK. Credits are not available to applicants who have previously completed the AF5 unit or who have received an exemption in respect of an external, equivalent, achievement e.g. CFP.
Applicants applying for an exemption from AF5 who have achieved their BS ISO22222 certification from an appropriately Accredited certification body should complete the Accreditation of Prior Learning form and will be required to pay the administration fee applicable at the time of application. Please note that Accreditation of Prior Learning is awarded at the discretion of the CII Qualifications, Examinations, & Assessment Committee.
