The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) has launched its first ever application for smartphones, which will allow its members to obtain their continuing professional development (CPD) on the move.
The new CISI mobile phone app, CISI Publications allows members to download three of its publications, the Securities & Investment Review, Regulatory Update and Investment Management Review directly to their smartphones. Members can then read the articles from these publications on the go. The app then automatically uploads the time spent reading to the member's CPD log.
The app will automatically update when a new publication edition is released and archive the old version. It is free to members and can be downloaded from the CISI website on cisi.org/app where it can be bookmarked to your smartphone
Simon Culhane, Chartered FCSI, CISI CEO said: "The changes to CPD are very significant for the retail financial services industry and for the first time the detail of CPD will be measured, monitored and audited to comply with the Financial Services Authority requirements. This is particularly important in the light of the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) where there is a requirement for all retail advisers to complete annual CPD."
The CPD requirements for retail advisers, in the scope of the RDR, include 35 hours of retail-relevant CPD a year, 21 hours of which must be structured learning (minimum of 30 minutes). The balance can be attributed to unstructured learning, which includes self-directed reading of publications, such as that provided by the CISI Publications smartphone app. Further details on the CISI's CPD scheme can be obtained from its booklet "The Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review (RDR) - Moving from Proposals to Implementation" available to download from the Home page of www.cisi.org.
The CISI Publications app is available to CISI members as a web App for the iPhone or iPad running IOS 4.2 and above and Android smartphones running Android OS 2.1 and above.