The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment has awarded six Honorary Fellowships for 2021, one of its highest honours for members.

The six new CISI Honorary Fellows are: 

• Richard Charnock FCSI(Hon) - CEO of Aberdeen Standard Capital
• Philippa Foster-Back CBE, FCSI(Hon) - Director of the Financial Markets Standards Board
• Martin Watkins, FIoD, FBCS, FCSI(Hon) - CEO of Montis Digital, an Archax subsidiary
• Alan Burr FCSI(Hon) - Deputy Chairman of the CISI Operations Forum committee
• Chris Harris-Deans FCSI(Hon) - an Investment Manager for the past 25 years and a Charles Stanley director
• Clive Shelton FCSI(Hon) - a governance, compliance and risk expert

The Honorary Fellowships are decided annually by the CISI’s board of trustees. The awards go those who have made an “outstanding positive contribution, both to the financial services profession and to the CISI.”

Honorary Fellowship carries the designatory letters FCSI(Hon).

The CISI is a global professional body based in the City of London and has 43,000 members in over 100 countries. In the UK it awards the Certified Financial Planner designation and runs exams and qualifications for financial professionals in many fields including wealth management and the capital markets.

CISI chairman Michael Cole-Fontayn said: “The CISI board and I are delighted to this year award our highest accolade, Honorary Fellowship, to these six accomplished financial community professionals.

“This is our recognition of their outstanding contribution to both the Institute and the financial services profession globally. Throughout their careers they have shown incredible dedication to our profession and commitment to life-long learning. As such, they are exemplary role models for the next generation of professionals. We look forward to their continued support, guidance and inspiration over the coming years.”

Details of the new Fellows:

Clive Shelton: Mr Shelton is a governance, compliance and risk expert with more than 30 years of experience in the profession. Since the 1980s his roles with the CISI have included study text author, exam panel volunteer, member and chairman of the CISI Exam Board, past president of CISI Essex branch and several terms as CISI director and trustee.  His career started with the Bank of England, joining M&G Group in 1987 and then International Financial Data Services Limited in 2003. He is currently a member of the FS Expert Witness group and an adviser to new start-up tv streaming companies.

Alan Burr: Mr Burr has almost 50 years international financial markets experience. He has deep derivatives and securities knowledge and is recognised as a leading authority in the field of operations, regulation and risk management. He is currently deputy chairman of the CISI Operations Forum committee and is a CISI accredited trainer and examiner. Following 20 years with ICCH (now LCH Limited) in Hong Kong and London, he joined MEFF, the Spanish Financial Futures Exchange in 1992. Today he is an independent advisor offering a broad range of professional services.  

Chris Harris-Deans: Mr Harris-Deans has been working as an investment manager for the past 25 years. He manages a wide range of portfolios for clients and works closely with their other advisers to enable a strong partnership for holistic advice.  He is a director of IMS for Charles Stanley and previously served for 10 years on the board of the CISI. He is also connected with a number of local organisations.

Richard Charnock: Mr Charnock is CEO of Aberdeen Standard Capital, having joined Standard Life in February 2007. He is also Director of Aberdeen Standard Capital International Limited and a non-executive director of HDFC International Life and RE Company. He was a member of Standard Life UK executive board from 2010-2014 and subsequently became managing director of the Adviser and Investment business of Standard Life UK. He served with the British army in the mid 1980s and holds an honours degree in Geography from the University of Durham. His CISI roles have included CISI board director and member of the CISI Integrity and Ethics Committee.

Philippa Foster-Back CBE: Ms Foster-Back has extensive experience in corporate treasury and finance.  In 2020 she was appointed a director of the Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB Limited). Previously she was director of the Institute of Business Ethics (2001 – 2020) and group treasurer at EMI Group. Her awards include an OBE for services to the Ministry of Defence in her capacity as NED and chair of the Defence Audit Committee, and a CBE for services to UK Antarctic Heritage. Her CISI roles have included CISI board director. She holds an Honorary Doctor of Law from University of Warwick and an Honorary Doctorate of the Open University.

Martin Watkins, FIoD, FBCS: Mr Watkins joined Archax last year as CEO of Montis Digital, an Archax subsidiary. Previously, he was EMEIA lead for Exchanges and FMI at Ernst & Young for over seven years, and before that was in senior management at Euroclear UK and Ireland. He has also been an executive member of AtosEuronext in Paris. He is a Court Assistant at the Worshipful Company of International Bankers and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists. His previous CISI roles include member of the Membership Committee and chair of the CISI FinTech Forum Committee from 2018 to 2020.