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How should I maintain my FCSI® designation?

To represent yourself an as active FCSI® holder in good standing and to uphold the prestige of your letters, you must follow the below fellowship maintenance requirements annually.

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Renew your FCSI® Designation

All FCSI®s must renew their Fellowship by their anniversary date (the date the Fellowship was originally granted). You will receive email reminders 4 weeks and 1 week prior to your deadline.

Fellowship holders who do not renew will be deemed to be “not in good standing.” If you continue to use the trademarks, then legal action may be taken. You will also be removed from the FCSI® Directory.

Meet Industry Contribution Requirements

About IC Requirements

Leaders are required to go above and beyond. The Fellows of CSI (FCSI®) are no exception. They are required to fulfil 12 Industry Contribution (IC) hours each calendar year, with the intention of bettering and furthering the financial services industry. The IC must fall outside of an FCSI’s primary job function and within these general categories:

Industry Advocacy:

  • Active support of the financial services industry through presentations or published work (e.g., speeches or articles), targeted to audiences that can benefit from a better understanding of the financial services industry. These cannot be product or service marketing seminars offered to clients or prospects.


Betterment of the Industry:

  • Teaching courses/seminars in financial services at any school level or for a recognized financial services education provider, or Junior Achievement.
  • Writing/editing financial services course materials or examination questions for recognized education providers or publishers.
  • Participation in financial services industry committees, councils or associations.
  • Leverage CSI Podium platform to conduct webinars on a wide range of topics in the financial services landscape that provide thought-leadership and real-world training to financial professionals, clients, and the investing public.


Charitable Work:

  • Donating time to help your organization raise money for charitable causes they are affiliated with.
  • Donating time to work with registered charities or non-profit organisations outside of your workplace.

 

FCSI®s can define which of their professional experiences they think represent a meaningful contribution to the financial services industry in the categories outlined above.

Activity & Hours Tracking

Make sure you retain supporting documents to confirm the completion of your IC hours. Each year, a percentage of FCSI®s will be audited to verify the IC hours claimed on their FCSI® renewal application. CSI recommends keeping documentation for IC activities on file for at least 2 years. Download our IC Tracker Tool to record and submit your IC activities. Here is a sample to provide a record of your IC activity:

 

DATE OF ACTIVITY CATEGORY TYPE OF ACTIVITY NUMBER OF HOURS NUMBER OF HOURS YTD
February 12, 2021 Charitable Work Helped my company with their United Way Campaign 5 hours 5 hours
April 15, 2021 & December 8, 2021 Mentoring Had two onboarding meetings with recently hired staff within my company to introduce them to the job and the firm 2 hours 7 hours
September 24, 2021 Industry Advocacy Wrote and delivered a presentation to the Rotary Club on the “Importance of the Financial Services” 3 hours 10 hours
November 17, 2021 Betterment of Industry Participated in a CSI webinar as a panelist 2 hours 12 hours

 

General Carryover Policy

Many activities are worth more than the minimum 12 required hours. IC Guidelines allow for a carryover maximum of 6 hours to the following year.

Exemptions For Extenuating Circumstances

FCSI®s commit to life-long giving back to the industry. There may be times, however, when fulfilling IC requirements becomes difficult or impossible. With the support of the Fellow’s employer, exemptions for extenuating circumstances may be requested.

Maternity/Parental Leave Exemption
A 1-year exemption may be requested in the year an FCSI® holder’s child is born or adopted, or if the FCSI® is taking maternity or parental leave. An Industry Contribution Exception Request Form must be completed and submitted for approval prior to the end of the calendar year the exemption is being requested. A copy of the child’s birth certificate or adoption papers must be submitted with the exception form.

Disability Exemption
FCSI®s who have suffered a disability or medical condition may request an exemption to the IC requirements. An Industry Contribution Exception Request Form must be completed and submitted for approval. Medical documentation must accompany the request. Each case will be assessed on an individual basis. It is possible accommodations can be made or that the IC requirements be postponed. However, it is unlikely that a permanent or long-term exemption will be approved.

Other Extenuating Circumstances
Other extenuating circumstances may make it difficult to complete the IC requirements in a particular year. An Industry Contribution Exception Request Form must be completed and submitted for approval. Each case will be assessed on an individual basis.

Auditing Process- Industry Contribution

CSI will conduct periodic audits of FCSI®s upon renewal of their Fellow to assess compliance with industry contribution requirements. Designation holders must retain supporting documents to confirm the completion of IC hours. FCSI®s selected for audit purposes will be sent a letter of notification. They will be asked to submit documents to verify the industry contribution hours they have indicated on their renewal form. They will have 60 days to comply with the audit request.

Failure to comply with the request may result in the FCSI® being declared “not in good standing.” This means they will no longer be able to use the FCSI® trademarks and will be removed from the FCSI® Directory.

Misstated or fraudulent reporting of industry contribution work will be reported to the Designation Ethics Committee as a violation of the FCSI® Code of Ethics and will be considered according to the Ethical Misconduct Process.

Code of Ethics

FCSI® holders must re-commit to the FCSI® Code of Ethics each year.

Trademark

To continue using the FCSI® trademarks in your own marketing, FCSI® holders must re-commit to the Certification Mark License Agreement each year.

License

FCSI® holders are required to pay a non-refundable license fee of $325 each year. The license fee goes towards your trademark rights and benefits from CSI.

Reinstatement Policy

FCSI® holders are given the opportunity to reactivate their license after a lapse of up to 5 years. If your designation has lapsed for more than 5 years, you’ll be required to re-take and successfully complete the Financial Services Industry: Business Drivers and Challenges (FSDC) course and meet the work experience requirement.

If the lapse is 5 years or less, you can reactivate by completing the following steps:

 

If you have not renewed within 12 months of your license renewal date, you will be required to pay a late fee of $50, a reinstatement fee of $375 and the standard annual renewal fee of $325. You will also be asked to prove completion of your Industry Contribution (IC) requirements for all the years of non-renewal. This will require you to submit supporting documents confirming the completion of your IC activities.

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