The ACI - The Financial Markets Association (ACIFMA), a global finance trade association with 8,000 members, has signed an education co-operation agreement with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

In the UK the CISI runs the Certified Financial Planner designation which has just under 1,000 holders. The CISI’s wider Financial Planning Forum has 4,000 members.

The new deal will cover 53,000 professionals worldwide including all CISI and ACIFMA members.

ACIFMA was established in 1955 and is a non-profit organisation based in Paris. It represents the professional financial markets’ community, focusing on enhancing best market practice and ethical conduct. It offers education and certification products and services.

The pact between the CISI, which has 45,000 global members, and ACIFMA, means that both will collaborate on the delivery of education to global financial markets’ professionals. 

The deal covers qualifications, membership, ethics and CPD content and will include mutual recognition of some ACIFMA programmes being treated as equivalent to a CISI examination unit for the CISI Investment Operations Certificate (IOC).

The CISI says, for example, that candidates who hold either a ACIFMA Dealing Certificate or ACIFMA Operations Certificate will be given a unit credit and so they will be able to complete the CISI Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) by sitting just the International Introduction to Securities & Investment and one, rather than two, IOC technical exam units.

Those candidates who have completed the IOC and included one of the specified ACIFMA exams will be offered Associate level membership of the CISI.

In addition, the CISI will recognise the ACIFMA Diploma as an appropriate external qualification for those who wish to apply for Associate membership of the CISI and use of the designatory letters ACSI. ACIFMA members wishing to apply for CISI membership using this route will also require a minimum of three years relevant industry experience.

The arrangement, an extension of existing co-operation, will also work towards recognition of each other’s continuing professional development (CPD) content as counting towards their members’ annual CPD requirements.

Simon Culhane, Chartered FCSI, CISI chief executive, said: “We are delighted to renew and expand our partnership the ACIFMA, which has a proud history since 1955.”

Bruno Langfritz, ACIFMA chairman said: “We are entering in a new area of collaboration with CISI, the leading global organisation for examinations and qualifications. The main objectives of this partnership are the promotion of ethical conduct and integrity, which are in today’s world, two of the most critical topics for financial markets.”