Reading 43 Application of The Code and Standards Level II
Reading 43 Application of The Code and Standards Level II
-based fund
manager, in Canada. Although Vector Funds is properly licensed to deal in all Canadian and
U.S. securities, its primary objective is to sell United States funds to Canadian institutional
investors seeking diversification into the U.S. dollar. While it would be willing to do so if
requested by its clients, Vector has not placed trades in Canadian securities since Claudel
began working there two years ago.
Prior to joining Vector's Canadian operations, Claudel was an independent asset manager
handling the funds of wealthy individuals and small institutions. Most of these accounts
remain under his management, under the business name Coup de Gras. Claudel is unclear
as to whether his consulting work is in competition with his new employer, as the accounts
under his management are invested strictly in Canadian securities, while Vector has not
traded Canadian securities. However, just to be on the safe side, he obtained written
permission from Vector to continue serving his former clients. His former clients were not
notified.
Claudel receives cash compensation for most of the accounts he handles independently, but
for one he receives a new car for his personal use every two years, and for another he is
compensated with a one-week, expenses-paid holiday in the European country of his choice.
As part of his responsibility, Claudel makes trades for some of his Canadian clients. He runs
all of his trades through two brokers, Ace Equity Traders and the Parlay Group. Ace offers
some of the best research available on health-care stocks, but charges fairly hefty
commissions. Parley has some of the cheapest commissions in Toronto, but provides no
research of value to Claudel.
Henri Bonnet, CFA, a friend of Claudel's, works on the floor of the Vancouver Stock
Exchange. He asks Claudel to establish an account for him at Coup de Gras. Claudel learns
that it is Bonnet's intention to manipulate the prices of penny stocks he trades on the
exchange, and profit from the price movements in the account at Coup de Gras. Claudel sets
up the account, but advises Bonnet that he "will have nothing to do" with the manipulation
scheme beyond placing trades as Bonnet directs.
Bonnet has violated Standard III(B): Fair Dealing, and Claudel has violated Standard
A)
I(B): Independence and Objectivity.
Bonnet has violated Standard II(A): Material Nonpublic Information, and Claudel has
B)
not violated Standard III(A): Loyalty, Prudence, and Care.
Bonnet has violated Standard IV(A): Loyalty to Employer, and Claudel has violated
C)
Standard I(A): Knowledge of the Law.
must disclose to clients whether client-directed brokerage will prevent him from
A)
getting the best execution.
must direct all the trades for clients who do not wish to own health-care stocks to
B)
the Parlay Group.
can select the broker that refers the most business back to him, as long as any
C)
research purchased benefits the client whose account is being traded.
Patricia Spraetz is the chief financial officer and compliance officer at Super Selection
Investment Advisors. Super Selection is a medium-sized money management firm which has
incorporated the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice into the firm's
compliance manual.
Karen Jackson is a portfolio manager for Super Selection. She is not a CFA charterholder.
Jackson is friendly with David James, president of AMD, a rapidly growing biotech
company. James has provided Jackson with recommendations in the biotech industry, which
she buys for her own portfolio before buying them for her clients. For three years, Jackson
has also served on AMD's board of directors. She has received options and fees as
compensation.
Recently, the board of AMD decided to raise capital by voting to issue shares to the public.
This was attractive to board members (including Jackson) who wanted to exercise their stock
options and sell their shares to get cash. When the demand for initial public offerings (IPO)
diminished, just before AMD's public offering, James asked Jackson to commit to a large
purchase of the offering for her portfolios. Jackson had previously determined that AMD was
a questionable investment but agreed to reconsider at James' request. Her reevaluation
confirmed the stock to be overpriced, but she nevertheless decided to purchase AMD for her
clients' portfolios.
Patricia Spraetz is the chief financial officer and compliance officer at Super Selection
Investment Advisors. Super Selection is a medium-sized money management firm which has
incorporated the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice into the firm's
compliance manual.
Karen Jackson is a portfolio manager for Super Selection. She is not a CFA charterholder.
Jackson is friendly with David James, president of AMD, a rapidly growing biotech company.
James has provided Jackson with recommendations in the biotech industry, which she buys
for her own portfolio before buying them for her clients. For three years, Jackson has also
served on AMD's board of directors but has never notified Super Selection of this fact. She
has received options and fees as compensation.
Recently, the board of AMD decided to raise capital by voting to issue shares to the
public. This was attractive to board members (including Jackson) who wanted to exercise
their stock options and sell their shares to get cash. When the demand for initial public
offerings (IPO) diminished, just before AMD's public offering, James asked Jackson to commit
to a large purchase of the offering for her portfolios. Jackson had previously determined that
AMD was a questionable investment but agreed to reconsider at James' request. Her
reevaluation confirmed the stock to be overpriced, but she nevertheless decided to
purchase AMD for her clients' portfolios.
Jackson did not violate Standard III(A) on Fiduciary Duty to clients because she was
bound by her fiduciary duty to AMD and its stockholders as a board member.
A)
Therefore, when she reversed her decision to buy AMD shares for Super Selection's
clients, portfolios on James' request, her obligation to AMD took precedence.
Jackson violated Standard IV(B) regarding Disclosure of Additional Compensation by
B) not disclosing additional compensation in the form of cash and stock options
received from AMD, as its board member to her employer.
Jackson violated Standard VI(A) regarding Conflicts of interest by not disclosing her
C)
board membership and ownership of stock options to her employer.
Question #7 of 16 Question ID: 1586755
Karen Jackson is a portfolio manager. Jackson is friendly with David James, president of Acme
Medical, a rapidly growing biotech company. James has provided Jackson with
recommendations in the biotech industry, which she buys for her own portfolio before
buying them for her clients. For three years, Jackson has also served on Acme Medical's
board of directors. She has received options and fees as compensation.
Recently, the board of Acme Medical decided to raise capital by voting to issue shares to the
public. This was attractive to board members (including Jackson) who wanted to exercise
their stock options and sell their shares to get cash. When the demand for initial public
offerings (IPO) diminished, just before Acme Medical's public offering, James asked Jackson
to commit to a large purchase of the offering for her portfolios. Jackson had previously
determined that Acme Medical was a questionable investment but agreed to reconsider at
James' request. Her reevaluation confirmed the stock to be overpriced, but she nevertheless
decided to purchase Acme Medical for her clients' portfolios.
Did Jackson violate Standard III(C) Suitability concerning portfolio recommendations and
actions?
A) No.
Yes, because she did not consider the appropriateness and suitability of investment
B)
recommendations or actions for each portfolio or client.
C) Yes, because she did not deal fairly with all clients.
Karen Jackson is a portfolio manager for Super Selection. She is not a CFA charterholder.
Jackson is friendly with David James, president of AMD, a rapidly growing biotech company.
James has provided Jackson with recommendations in the biotech industry, which she buys
for her own portfolio before buying them for her clients. For three years, Jackson has also
served on AMD's board of directors. She has received options and fees as compensation.
Recently, the board of AMD decided to raise capital by voting to issue shares to the public.
This was attractive to board members (including Jackson) who wanted to exercise their stock
options and sell their shares to get cash. When the demand for initial public offerings (IPO)
diminished, just before AMD's public offering, James asked Jackson to commit to a large
purchase of the offering for her portfolios. Jackson had previously determined that AMD
was a questionable investment but agreed to reconsider at James' request. Her reevaluation
confirmed the stock to be overpriced, but she nevertheless decided to purchase AMD for her
clients' portfolios.
If, after her investigation Spraetz finds that Jackson has committed violations,
Spraetz must report them to senior management and seek legal counsel for
A) possible legal and regulatory implications. If the upper management does not follow
through and take action, Spraetz has fulfilled her supervisory duties and need not
take any further action.
Spraetz, as the chief compliance officer, must set company policy in clear terms and
monitor the actions of the employees. In case of violations, she should investigate
thoroughly, initiate disciplinary action, and issue guidelines that must be followed in
B)
order to prevent future violations. She must not only detect violations through a
continuous monitoring process but also provide guidance for proper conduct
consistent with the firm's policy manual.
Even though Spraetz does not supervise Jackson, as the compliance officer of the
firm she is responsible for identifying violations. Spraetz is not responsible for
C) preventing them and should not go beyond their documentation for senior
management. Thus, she should record the violations but need not take any further
action.
Sean O'Brien, CFA, works for Paradigm Portfolios as a portfolio manager. He manages a
high-yield (junk bond) fund as well as 14 large private accounts. O'Brien's compensation for
the high-yield fund is performance based, while the private-account compensation is based
upon a percentage of assets. The company's compensation packages are a closely guarded
secret, and kept in-house.
O'Brien routinely takes personal positions in securities held in the high-yield fund, a practice
allowed by Paradigm. On his way to work, he learns over the radio that a hurricane is
heading toward the location of Villa Real Resorts in Mexico. Landfall is expected by Dec. 23,
which could potentially ruin the lucrative Christmas vacation season. If the hurricane hits as
expected, it will have a devastating affect on cash flows, and O'Brien believes Villa Real might
default on its bonds. Both O'Brien and the high-yield fund hold Villa Real bonds. After
arriving at the office, O'Brien sells off the fund's Villa Real holdings, then immediately
liquidates his own position.
Periodically O'Brien buys convertible bonds in the high-yield fund. When these are converted
into common equity he typically does not vote the proxies, saying, "the fund is not an equity
fund, and the equities are usually sold within the year."
Before accepting a new account, O'Brien conducts a thorough investigation into his client's
financial situation, investment experience, and investment objectives. The information is
updated annually through a survey mailed to the client and returned to Paradigm, and
O'Brien follows up with a telephone call to the client. Judy Smith's portfolio was deemed
suitable for the inclusion of high-yield bonds based upon the initial investigation, and
reaffirmed at the last three annual updates. It is three months since Smith's last annual
update, and the high-yield market has been weak. Smith files a lawsuit alleging malfeasance
on the part of O'Brien.
In the course of effecting money-market transactions for the accounts, O'Brien routinely
places numerous trades, allocating the paper with marginally higher yields to the high-yield
fund and the remainder to the private accounts.
With regard to the Smith account, O'Brien's actions are best described as being in:
Which of the following statements about O'Brien's use of convertible bonds is CORRECT?
O’Brien’s lack of expertise in equity analysis, despite usage of the CFA mark,
A) represents a violation of Standard VII(A): Conduct as Members and Candidates in
the CFA Program.
The use of convertible bonds in O’Brien’s high-yield fund violates Standard V(A):
B)
Diligence and Reasonable Basis.
Unless O’Brien makes arrangements for someone else to vote the proxies, he is in
C)
violation of Standard III(A): Loyalty, Prudence, and Care.
Glenarm Case Study (Refer to CFA Institute Standards of Practice Casebook for details.)
Peter Sherman, CFA, has recently joined Glenarm Company after spending 5 years at Pearl
Investment Management. He is responsible for identifying potential Latin American
investments. Previously, Sherman held jobs as a consultant for many Latin American
companies and had plans to continue such consulting jobs without disclosing anything to
Glenarm.
After resigning, but before leaving his employment at Pearl, Sherman had encouraged Pearl
customers to move their accounts to Glenarm. He contacted accounts Pearl had been
soliciting for business. He also contacted potential clients that Pearl had rejected in the past
as too small or incompatible with the firm's business. Furthermore, he convinced several of
Pearl's clients and prospects to hire Glenarm after he joined Glenarm. He also identified
materials from Pearl to take with him, such as:
Sherman's attempt to lure away clients from Pearl while he was still employed at Pearl is:
Jim Jones is an equity research analyst at Gamma funds. Because of his expertise in the
telecommunications field, a Chinese telecommunications provider hires Jones as a
consultant to help them identify potential investors. According to the Standards of
Professional Conduct IV(A) related to duties to employer, Jones must: