Standard II(B) – Market Manipulation
A primary aspect of GIPS is to require composites, which are aggregate portfolios managed with a similar investment approach. Therefore, if a firm presents its record for a particular equity classification, all portfolios meeting pre-established criteria for that class must be represented. A firm cannot include some and exclude others at will.
In addition, composite guidelines prevent firms from using only their best-performing portfolios, thereby skewing presentation results.
Non-discretionary portfolios must not be included in a firm’s composites. A discretionary portfolio is one in which buy and sell decisions are made by a portfolio manager. On the other hand, the manager of a non-discretionary portfolio does not have full discretion over how the money is invested.