The Difference between Ethical and Leg ...
Often people equate ethical behavior with legal choices. However, there are numerous choices... Read More
Members and Candidates should make reasonable steps to ensure that information about investment performance is fair, accurate, and complete.
Tina Jensen is a well-respected global macro fund manager. Icon Partners is impressed by Jensen’s performance; she has consistently outperformed her peers in the global macro strategy space. Icon Partners successfully poaches her from her previous employer and sends out marketing material created by Jensen, stating her performance history and uploading her performance information on the company’s website. In her biography for the company website, she discloses that her performance history occurred at her previous firm. Still, she fails to disclose the years she underperformed the stated benchmark.
Has Jensen violated Standard III(D) – Performance Presentation?
Solution
The correct answer is C.
Jensen is required to give a fair and complete representation of her performance history. As a result, Jensen has violated Standard III(D) – Performance Presentation. Stating that her performance was achieved at her previous firm is a required disclosure. The omissions of her years of underperformance conflict with Standard III(D) – Performance Presentation.
Andrew Mason is a quantitative research analyst at QuantFirst. He has been developing a stock screening algorithm that identifies stocks that exhibit long-term momentum. In his research, he finds that his algorithm successfully selected stock found in the S&P 500 with the desired qualities between 2010-2020. His manager is satisfied that the algorithm works. While preparing the marketing material of this new algorithm, he is careful to disclose that the results are simulated from historic data (2010-2020) and that the future success of the algorithm cannot be guaranteed. However, he fails to disclose that the simulation only yielded successful S&P 500.
Do any of Mason’s actions violate Standard III(D) – Performance Presentation?
Solution
The correct answer is C.
Mason has violated Standard III(D) – Performance Presentation by failing to accurately and fairly disclose the circumstances in which the algorithm produced successful results. The use of historical data and the time period selected is permitted if he makes complete disclosures.
Olivia Timberlake, CFA, is a portfolio manager at Lincaly Inc., an investment company. Olivia manages several funds that follow different investment strategies. In her marketing material, Olivia only mentions the better-performing fund to show the performance of her firm’s funds. Under the CFA Institute Code and Standards, the fund Olivia’s action
The correct answer is A.
Olivia violated the CFA Institute Code and Standards by not fully disclosing the performance of its funds to investors. According to Standard III(D), Members and Candidates should make reasonable steps to ensure that information about investment performance is fair, accurate, and complete.