Ethics Standard I - CFA® Exam Takeaway

CFA Exam: Level 1 / Ethics / Standard I

CFA Exam & Standard I: PROFESSIONALISM

Level 1 CFA Exam Ethics Summarized: Each ethical standard is devoted to a separate area of expertise. Standard I is about Professionalism. Its sub-sections deal with: (A) Knowledge of the Law, (B) Independence and Objectivity, (C) Misrepresentation, and – last but not least – (D) Misconduct.

This blog post was created as a part of the CFA exam review series to help you in your level 1 exam revision, whether done regularly or shortly before your CFA exam.

CFA Exam: Standard I (A) – Knowledge of the Law

It is crucial for you to know what legal provisions apply to your profession and how they may affect your professional activities. Here are some simple rules you have to follow in order to obey the Standard I (A):

• become familiar with all relevant laws and regulations that may apply to the situation both in your own country and in the country you are trading with,
• always follow the strictest regulations of all,
• do not take part in any actions considered to be wrong by the Code and Standards even if under certain jurisdiction they are thought to be legal,
• communicate the violation fact to your supervisor to allow him to stop the unethical or illegal conduct and take further steps to prevent such situations from happening in the future,
• keep a record of the event and dissociate from it as soon as possible (it means you have to make it clear that you are not involved in or related to the illegal or unethical activity in any way),
• stay informed and keep track of any changes in the law that governs your professional activities.

You can learn more about CFA Institute Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct by visiting our CFA exam lesson on Ethics, Standard I .

CFA Exam: Standard I (B) – Independence and Objectivity

Standard I (B) makes it clear that CFA members and candidates practising the financial profession should strive to preserve their independence & objectivity. To ensure that your research, investment recommendations or any other investment actions are free of bias, you should:

• not accept any gifts or any additional compensations for your work,
• distinguish between modest gifts and gifts that are not so modest any more (you may consider accepting a modest gift, e.g. if it's from an individual client and it has no effect on other clients’ interests),
• report to your supervisor whenever you accept a gift or any kind of consideration,
• make disclosure prior to acceptance; if it’s not possible you should do it afterwards as soon as you can (your disclosure will enable your employer to judge whether the gift might have biased your conduct and to what degree).

CFA Exam: Standard I (C) – Misrepresentation

Standard I (C) indicates that CFA members and candidates must not knowingly make any false statements or omit any important information. It refers to any means or channels of communication, be it a written report, an oral presentation or a phone conversation.

The general rule is that you:

• must not lie, deceive or manipulate with what you say or otherwise communicate to your clients,
• must not plagiarise (always give the source whether it’s a quotation, graph or a table),
• must always give a proper reference whenever you use somebody else’s research for your work (e.g. secondary or third party research),
• should always convey information to your client in a right way (e.g. do not guarantee any returns on volatile instruments).

CFA Exam: Standard I (D) – Misconduct

Standard I (D) says about reputation and professional competence and indicates their importance. In consequence, it bans any intentional misconduct, such as fraud, deceit, lies, stealing, and so on.

To make sure that investment professionals pay proper attention to their professional conduct, firms should enforce their ethical codes and compliance procedures. Employees should know what happens if the rules set in the company are violated.

LAST UPDATE: 5 April 2022