Colleen was 22 years old when she joined the then Securities Institute (SI) client services department in 1994 at its head (and only) office in Centurion House near Monument, London. The Institute at the time was “fairly small”, she recalls, with “only around 20 or so staff employed”.
As one of a small group, Colleen’s role was varied from the start, ranging from account management to developing exams and exam assessment, giving her the career development opportunities she’d been looking for when she’d sent out a prospective CV to enquire if any roles were available. She took advantage of the Institute’s educational offering, achieving her level 3 Certificate in Investment Administration (now known as the Investment Operations Certificate) by 1999.
Pen and paper panic
By the turn of the century, Colleen was working in the SI qualifications department, which included marking the pen and paper SI exams and ensuring the dissemination of exam papers to exam centres.
“For one exam session, the prepared papers, which would normally be sent out recorded next day delivery, were sent out second class post by a temp working in the mail room. To ensure the exam papers got to the venues on time, we had to reprint all the papers and various members of staff had to deliver these to the different exam venues all over the UK and Channel Islands, so they reached the candidates on time.”
Key projects
The qualifications department at the time was headed by Margaret Spong (who retired in 2013), who was a “great support” to Colleen and gave her opportunities to learn from her “immense knowledge and experience” in the sector.
Under Margaret’s informal mentorship, Colleen developed an interest and ambition to work in a compliance role, and began working her way through progressively more complex SI exams until she was awarded her level 6 Diploma in Investment Compliance in 2005.
Colleen worked with Margaret on research and development of the Investment and Financial Advice qualification, which transitioned from the Investment Advice Certificate (discontinued in 2005); the merger of the Global Custody and Global Settlement modules in 2005 and development of the Global Securities Operations qualification. On the membership side, she worked on the development of the CISI 'Infolink' online library and careers website and further development of the continuing professional development (CPD) systems.
Keeping up with regulation
In 2005, Colleen was promoted to membership coordinator of what was by then the Securities & Investment Institute (SII). Her responsibilities included managing, reviewing and updating the continuing professional development (CPD), ethics and Retail Distribution Review (RDR) area of the SII’s website.
The RDR, launched in 2006 with the resulting legislation implemented in 2012, raised minimum financial adviser standards and removed commission payments to advisers and financial product providers. Many SII members were impacted by this significant change and, as Colleen’s career progressed to head of membership policy and audit (2014–2020), she became the SII’s go-to person for RDR internal and external enquiries.
Now, as head of membership framework and standards since 2020, Colleen plays a key role in ensuring members’ adherence to the CISI Code of Conduct and Membership Regulations, and has oversight of all disciplinary investigations. “I really enjoy this role as it is varied and continues to challenge and expand my knowledge, as well as providing me with the satisfaction of knowing that the work we do contributes to maintaining the standards in our sector. “
An ongoing challenge for her is to stay up to date with the “constant changes within the sector and with IT developments”, which she manages by maintaining her CPD and networking.
Tips for those entering the sector
Colleen is keen to acknowledge the value of the support and encouragement shown her by Margaret and Richard Bennett, now CISI assistant director of global operations, who has been with the Institute since 1998, almost as long as Colleen.
“I would also like to highlight the importance of education and undertaking a professional qualification, as this puts you ahead of the competition, and could lead to your dream job. Never be afraid to put yourself forward for something even if you think you do not meet all of the requirements.”