Q2. Xenica Jones, CFA, is a portfolio manager and also follows the office equipment industry for Hynes-Gold and Co. In her June 30 discussions with the management of Zprint, she learns that an internal audit has detected irregularities in the firm's Italian operations. This fact is disclosed on July 1 in both The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. On July 10 Zprint's management  announces that an investigation of the matter would not be completed until an external audit of all European operations was complete. This stock dropped 6 percent on the news release on the 10th. Jones places a series of sell transactions in Zprint stock on the 3rd. When she places the trades, she trades first for her clients and finishes with a trade selling short for her own account. These actions are:

A)   not in violation of the Code and Standards.

B)   in violation of the Standard concerning fair dealing.

C)   in violation of the Standard concerning fiduciary duties since she is not allowed to sell short under the Standard.

Q3. 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.

 Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)   Jackson violated Standard IV(B) regarding Disclosure of Additional Compensation by not disclosing additional compensation in the form of cash and stock options received from AMD, as its board member to her employer.

B)   Jackson violated Standard VI(A) regarding Conflicts of interest by not disclosing her board membership and ownership of stock options to her employer.

C)   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. 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.

[此贴子已经被作者于2009-1-8 11:16:35编辑过]

答案和详解如下：

Q2. Xenica Jones, CFA, is a portfolio manager and also follows the office equipment industry for Hynes-Gold and Co. In her June 30 discussions with the management of Zprint, she learns that an internal audit has detected irregularities in the firm's Italian operations. This fact is disclosed on July 1 in both The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. On July 10 Zprint's management  announces that an investigation of the matter would not be completed until an external audit of all European operations was complete. This stock dropped 6 percent on the news release on the 10th. Jones places a series of sell transactions in Zprint stock on the 3rd. When she places the trades, she trades first for her clients and finishes with a trade selling short for her own account. These actions are:

A)   not in violation of the Code and Standards.

B)   in violation of the Standard concerning fair dealing.

C)   in violation of the Standard concerning fiduciary duties since she is not allowed to sell short under the Standard.

Correct answer is A)

Her actions are not in violation of the Code and Standards. So long as her firm does not preclude her selling short, she is entitled to do so.

Q3. 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.

 Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)   Jackson violated Standard IV(B) regarding Disclosure of Additional Compensation by not disclosing additional compensation in the form of cash and stock options received from AMD, as its board member to her employer.

B)   Jackson violated Standard VI(A) regarding Conflicts of interest by not disclosing her board membership and ownership of stock options to her employer.

C)   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. 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.

Correct answer is C)

Jackson has violated Standard III(A) because her first obligation is to her firm's clients. Standard VI(A) addresses precisely these kinds of situations regarding potential conflict of interest. Given this conflict of interest, Jackson also compromised her objectivity in violation of Standard I(B). Her fiduciary duty to her clients takes precedence over her fiduciary duty to AMD's stockholders under the CFA Institute Code and Standards. By not disclosing her relationship with AMD, she also violated Standard IV(B). Making past personal security transactions ahead of purchase of the same securities for her clients has put Jackson in violation of Standard VI(B). This standard clearly prohibits such actions.

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