Session 2: Ethical and Professional Standards: Application
Reading 7: Super Selection
LOS a: Critique the practices and policies presented.
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.
Which of the following statements concerning Super Selection is CORRECT?
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A) |
All employees of a firm are bound by CFA Institute's Code and Standards if they are incorporated in the company's policies manual, and the firm subscribes to them explicitly. | |
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B) |
Jackson did not violate the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards since she is not a CFA charterholder. | |
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C) |
Spraetz, in her capacity as a supervisor, violated Standard IV(C) by not preventing violations by Jackson. | |
Even though Jackson is not a CFA charterholder, she is nevertheless required to follow the Code and Standards since her firm subscribes to them and has incorporated them in its policy manual.
Standard IV(C) violation is not clear or obvious since the case does not say much about a lack of guidelines or explicit gaps in the policy manual. Under this assumption, Spraetz is not guilty of any supervisory violation. Even though Jackson did not personally trade ahead of purchasing AMD shares for her clients, she had done so in the past and is in violation of Standard VI(B). Spraetz needs to act on it because this violation has only just come to light.
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发表于 2010-4-6 15:39
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