Tony Calaveccio, CFA, is the manager of the TrustCo Small Cap Venture Fund in Toronto. He places trades for the fund with Worldwide Brokerage. Worldwide is holding a conference in Amsterdam and has offered to pay for Calaveccio's airfare, meals, and accommodations associated with his attendance of the conference. The conference concerns European small cap securities and the EASDAQ. He decides that he will accept their offer and attend the conference. In order to comply with the Code and Standards, he may: A) | attend, but he must disclose the arrangement to his employer as a gift. |
| B) | simply attend. Since the conference is directly related to his professional responsibilities, no further notification or permission is required. |
| C) | attend, but he must disclose the arrangement as additional compensation to his employer in writing. |
| D) | attend, but he must disclose the arrangement to TrustCo's clients and prospects as required under Standard IV.B.7. |
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Answer and Explanation
Under Standard I(B) gifts, benefits, and other consideration cannot be accepted if the purpose was to influence or reward. Token items are OK. Worldwide Brokerage is not a client of Calaveccio but an entity that he does business with. As such Worldwide could influence Calaveccio to always do business with them which could be to the detriment of his fund if the execution of their trades starts to deteriorate compared to their competitors. |