LiquidAssets10

Each of the following is an objective of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) EXCEPT:

A) to promote fair, global competition among investment firms that adopt GIPS and to create barriers to entry for new firms that do not.

B) to foster the notion of industry self-regulation on a global basis.

C) to obtain worldwide acceptance of a standard for the calculation and presentation of investment performance in a fair, comparable format that provides full disclosure.

---

GIPS Objectives:

• Establish global, industry-wide best practices for the calculation and presentation of investment performance, so that performance presentations for GIPS-compliant firms can be compared regardless of their country location.
• Facilitate the accurate and unambiguous presentation of investment performance results to current and prospective clients.
• Facilitate a comparison of the historical performance of investment management firms so that clients can make educated decisions when hiring new managers.
• Encourage full disclosure and fair global competition without barriers to entry.
• Encourage self-regulation.

LiquidAssets10

Which of the following statements is a key characteristic of Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)?

A) GIPS exist as a minimum worldwide standard where local or country-specific law, regulation, or industry standards may not exist for investment performance measurement and/or presentation.

B) GIPS require firms to show GIPS-compliant history for a minimum of ten years, or since inception of the firm or composite if in existence less than ten years.

C) GIPS require managers to include all actual fee-paying and non-fee-paying discretionary portfolios in composites defined according to similar strategy and/or investment objective.

---

The GIPS standards: (1) do not require managers to include non-fee-paying accounts in composites, (2) require five years of GIPS compliant history, and (3) require compliance with local laws when they conflict with GIPS and disclosure of the conflict.

Bad5shah

Which of the following statements about the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) is CORRECT?

A) The GIPS Executive Committee endorses translating GIPS into languages other than English.

B) GIPS can be used by good investment management firms to create barriers to entry.

C) GIPS allows firms to select which portfolios to include.

---

Countries are allowed to translate GIPS to improve local acceptance of the standards, though the English version of GIPS is the controlling version. If management firms use GIPS to create barriers to entry, then the firm has violated one of the objectives of the standard (to promote global competition). Firms are not allowed to present only the results of select (best performing) portfolios.

Bad5shah

Which of the following is an incorrect representation of requirements needed to meet the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)?

A) A firm is required to present at least five years of annual investment performance that is in compliance with GIPS. If the firm has been in existence for less time, then the performance must be presented since inception.

B) Dollar-weighted rates of return should be used for the return calculations.

C) Benchmarks and composites should be created on an ex ante basis.

---

Time-weighted rates of return must be used for the return calculations.

Bad5shah

For the past fifteen years, John and Jessica Smith have had their own small financial planning company named JJS Financial in a country where financial regulation is still developing. They have a goal of bringing JJS into compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards® (GIPS) by January 1, 2012. They begin by researching the history and philosophy of GIPS so they can better understand the requirements for GIPS compliance. As they discuss what they have learned concerning the objective of GIPS with respect to competition among financial firms such as theirs, John expresses his eagerness for the competitive edge GIPS compliance will give JJS. “Soon, those of us that are GIPS compliant will have a monopoly,” he says. Jessica counters by saying “the goal of GIPS is to promote competition, but that will probably benefit small firms like ours that are in developing countries.”
John and Jessica discuss how they should define themselves as a firm. John says that they only need to define themselves as an investment firm held out to clients or potential clients as a distinct business unit. Jessica says that they must also define themselves as being registered with the appropriate national regulatory authority overseeing the entity's investment management activities.
John and Jessica begin compiling and computing the data needed for GIPS compliance. They choose to report annual returns for all years and the cumulative returns for composites and benchmarks for all periods. In computing past returns as well as future returns, they choose to use accrual accounting for fixed income securities but not for equities. Other measures they compute are the dispersion of individual component portfolio returns around the aggregate composite return as well as the number of portfolios and amount of assets in the composite and the percentage of JJS's total assets represented by the composite at the end of each period.
As John and Jessica compile the data, they realize that they can satisfy GIPS requirements for the past five years, but they cannot do so for years prior to that. John says they can link non-GIPS-compliant performance to their compliant history as long they disclose the periods of non-compliance with an explanation of why the presentation is not GIPS compliant. Jessica says this will not be sufficient since only the previous five years will be in compliance.
Finally, they must decide on a performance compliance statement. John proposes: “In this statement, JJS Financial has used the CFA Institute® guidelines outlined in the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®).”
Jessica proposes: “JJS Financial claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. JJS Financial has not been independently verified.”
As they put the finishing touches on their report, they realize that some local laws may conflict with the GIPS Standards. John says they need to compare the local laws with the GIPS Standards to make sure there are no conflicts and if there are to change their report to meet the requirements of the local laws and make full disclosure of the conflicts. Jessica disagrees and says if there is a conflict between local laws and the GIPS Standards that the GIPS Standards should be followed. In the conversation that John and Jessica had concerning the objective of GIPS with respect to competition:

A) only John was incorrect.

B) both are incorrect.

C) only Jessica was incorrect.

---

An objective of the GIPS standards is to promote fair, global competition among investment firms for all markets without creating barriers to entry for new firms. The establishment of global standards places managers from all countries on an equal footing in soliciting clients. Managers from countries that previously had inferior standards will be taken more seriously when presenting their performance, while managers from countries with stronger standards will not be penalized when competing in markets where inferior standards prevail. (Study Session 18, LOS 43.b)

---

With respect to the conversation that John and Jessica had concerning how to define themselves as a firm:

A) only Jessica is correct.

B) only John is correct.

C) both are correct.

---

Firms must be defined as: "An investment firm, subsidiary, or division held out to clients or prospective clients as a distinct business entity." (Study Session 18, LOS 43.c)

---

Of the choices made concerning the presentation of the data, all of the following are presentation and reporting requirements of the GIPS EXCEPT:

A) a measure of the internal dispersion of individual component portfolio returns around the aggregate composite return.

B) cumulative returns of the composites and the benchmark for all periods.

C) annual returns for all years.

---

GIPS recommend, but do not require, presentation of cumulative returns for composites and benchmarks for all periods. All of the other choices are required by Requirement 5.A.1 (Study Session 18, LOS 43.l)

---

With respect to the discussion concerning the reporting of the historic performance record of the portfolios under management, whose statement is CORRECT?

A) both are incorrect.

B) only John is incorrect.

C) only Jessica is incorrect.

---

According to Standard 5.A.3 a firm must not link non-GIPS-compliant performance to their compliant history for periods after January 1, 2000. Five years of compliance is sufficient, and after five years of compliant history has been achieved, firms must add additional years of performance each year until a 10-year performance record of GIPS-compliant history has been established. (Study Session 18, LOS 43.b)

---

Which of the proposed compliance statements is acceptable under GIPS?

A) Jessica’s statement only.

B) John’s statement only.

C) Neither Jessica’s nor John’s statements.

---

Standard 4.A.1. states that once a firm has met all the requirements of the GIPS standards, the firm must disclose its compliance with the GIPS standards using one of the following compliance statements.
For firms that have not been verified:
[Insert name of firm] claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. [Insert name of firm] has not been independently verified.
For firms that are verified:
[Insert name of firm] claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. [Insert name of firm] has been independently verified for the periods [insert dates]. The verification report(s) is/are available upon request. Verification assesses whether (1) the firm has complied with all the composite construction requirements of the GIPS standards on a firm-wide basis and (2) the firm’s policies and procedures are designed to calculate and present performance in compliance with the GIPS standards. Verification does not ensure the accuracy of any specific composite presentation.
For composites of a verified firm that have also had a performance examination:
[Insert name of firm] claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. [Insert name of firm] has been independently verified for the periods [insert dates]. Verification assesses whether (1) the firm has complied with all the composite construction requirements of the GIPS standards on a firm-wide basis and (2) the firm’s policies and procedures are designed to calculate and present performance in compliance with the GIPS standards. The [insert name of composite] composite has been examined for the periods [insert dates]. The verification and performance examination reports are available upon request. (Study Session 18, LOS 43.k)

---

With respect to John and Jessica’s statements regarding comparing the local laws to the GIPS Standards:

A) only Jessica is incorrect.

B) only John is incorrect.

C) John's statement is correct as long as the local laws are more strict than the GIPS Standards.

---

If a conflict exists between country specific laws and GIPS the standards require that firms comply with the local law or regulation and make full disclosure of the conflict. (Study Session 18, LOS 43.b)

Bad5shah

Which of the following statements most accurately describes why the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) were created? To:

A) meet the need for a single globally accepted set of investment performance presentation standards.

B) meet the need for a single globally accepted set of regulatory guidelines among developed securities markets.

C) provide comparability of performance results among nations for which no presentation guidelines currently exist.

---

Recognizing the need for one globally accepted set of investment performance presentation standards, CFA Institute sponsored and funded the Global Investment Performance Standards Committee to develop and publish a single global standard by which all firms in all countries calculate and present performance to clients and prospective clients.

Bad5shah

As countries adopt the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS), which of the following is least likely to occur?

A) Existing and potential clients will be able to make fair and unambiguous comparisons among investment firms.

B) Competition in the global investment industry will be enhanced.

C) The trend toward cross border investments will decline.

---

There is no reason to expect the level of international investing to decline as a result of the adoption of a global set of performance standards. If anything, international investing will become more attractive as the credibility of reported performance results improves.

Bad5shah

Which of the following best describes the underlying principles upon which the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) are based?

A) Fair and consistent application of a global set of regulatory requirements.

B) Uniformity and consistent application of standards for the global regulation of the securities industry.

C) Full disclosure and fair representation of performance results.

---

The GIPS standards are a set of voluntary standards based on the fundamental principles of full disclosure and fair representation of performance results.

Bad5shah

All of the following are reasons why the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) are necessary EXCEPT enhancing:

A) competition in global markets.

B) investor confidence.

C) market efficiency.

---

The GIPS are necessary for the following reasons:

• Enhancing consistency in performance presentation for inter-country holdings. The financial markets are becoming increasingly more global in nature. Because of extensive inter-country holdings, standardization of presentation is vital for meaningful and consistent performance presentations to occur.
• Enhancing consistency in the use of standards: Return calculation and performance presentation guidelines, if present, vary greatly among countries. Even when guidelines exist in a county, they may not be extensively followed.
• Enhancing competition in global markets: The establishment of global standards places managers from all countries on an equal footing in soliciting clients. Managers from countries that previously had inferior standards will be taken more seriously when presenting their performance, while managers from countries with stronger standards will not be penalized when competing in markets where inferior standards prevail.
• Enhancing investor confidence: Global standards increase the confidence that prospective and existing clients have in the industry and allow them to make more meaningful comparisons.

Bad5shah

The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) apply to investment management firms. They are NOT intended to serve which of the following?

A) Consultants that advise investors.

B) Securities market regulators.

C) Prospective clients of investment firms.

---

The GIPS are intended to serve potential and existing clients and consultants that advise these investors.