Qualification Registration Form & Fees

The Qualification Registration Form was introduced in April 2003 to provide data needed by the Securities & Investment Institute as an Awarding Body. The decision to introduce the Qualification Registration Fee of £25.00 to help cover the increasing operational cost of meeting regulatory requirements was made in early 2004 and published within the July and October 2004 Bulletins.

The registration fee is a single payment for every candidate taking an examination from January 1st 2005. Once the fee is paid in respect of a named candidate there is no repeat of fee required, no matter how many times they take SII examinations including other SII qualifications.

To provide you with further information and to assist you with understanding the revised Qualification Registration Form and related fee, please click here to view a Questions and Answers document, which we hope you find helpful.

If you require further information or have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Securities & Investment Institute; Customer Operations Team on 020 7645 0680 who will be happy to help.

The Financial Services Authority and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority

The Securities & Investment Institute is committed to best practice in the development, management and administration of its qualifications. For many jobs in the financial industry, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is the UK's financial services regulator and requires individuals to hold an Approved Examination. The FSA expects examining bodies to demonstrate their fitness for purpose by gaining accreditation from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) - the UK Government regulator for education. The Securities & Investment Institute has been approved as an Awarding Body by the QCA so both individuals and firms can be assured that the Securities & Investment Institute's processes, policies and systems meet rigorous quality assurance standards.

Accredited Training Providers
To ensure continued high standards of training provision for Securities & Investment Institute qualifications, the Institute has introduced a policy of formally recognising training providers, through Accredited Training Provider status.

It is hoped that this process will create closer working partnerships between the Institute and training providers so that standards can be maintained and developed to the benefit of the industry, clients and candidates.

The accreditation process includes observation of classroom training and other forms of learning support including e-learning. In addition to this, provision and resources are considered and all of the evidence is evaluated by an independent panel of experts selected from the financial sector, education and human resources.

Click here for details of Accredited Training Providers

Securities & Investment Institute Qualifications
Securities & Investment Institute examination programmes offer a broad exposure to the post N2 regulatory environment. The examinations are devised and monitored by practitioners drawn from across the investment industry thereby ensuring the examination papers reflect and are relevant to the rapid changes to the increasingly global securities and investment industry.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the sole regulator of the UK financial services industry. The FSA gained its full powers on 1st December 2001. In its Training and Competence Sourcebook the FSA has set out, in a series of annexes, the approved examinations required for specified activities as defined in their rules for the Post N2 environment.

An outline of the Securities & Investment Institute examinations programmes is given below. For full details of examinations, click on the links below or to the left.
Securities & Investment Institute Diploma (leading to Membership and Fellowship of the Institute) - the Institute's senior professional examination programme, showing a professional's mastery of particular aspects of the financial services industry.

Securities & Investment Institute Certificates for Approved Persons (previously the Registered Persons Examinations) is a series of examinations designed to satisfy the FSA examination requirements for registration as an Approved Person.

Investment Advice Certificate (IAC™) - an FSA approved regulatory benchmark examination, for individuals who give advice to the public on packaged products, investment and financial planning.

Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ™) - equips settlement, administration and operations staff with a detailed overview of the nature of the financial services industry and its regulation, as well as their particular field of business. Recognised by the FSA as an approved examination.