CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct codify the ethical guidelines for the investment profession that are critical to maintaining the integrity of capital markets and investor trust. Members, candidates, and even firms make a commitment to uphold these standards as they help elevate ethical decision-making universally around the globe.
As investment professionals, we are certain to face important ethical decisions in our day-to-day activities. Some scenarios we encounter will be straightforward, while others may be more complex. No matter what circumstances we face, continuous learning remains imperative in an investment industry that continues to evolve with products undergoing innovation and a regulatory environment continuing to adapt.
For that reason, each week we will feature a sample case from CFA Institute’s Ethics in Practice Casebook. Each case is built upon a real-life example that may involve a regulatory matter or even a CFA Institute Professional Conduct investigation. At the end of the case is a multiple-choice question that addresses the ethical nature of the actions taken in that case.
This week’s case involves Standard IV(A) Duties to Employer - Loyalty.
Leaving Firm and Telling People Why!
Nickoli is an investment counselor with HHI Capital Management. A colleague at her local CFA Society encourages Nickoli to leave HHI and join her at Vesuvius Asset Advisers. Nickoli eventually agrees and determines to leave at the beginning of the new year. Over the course of a few weeks prior to tendering her resignation, she mentions to her clients that they will likely be working with a new investment counselor in the new year because she will be leaving HHI in the coming weeks. Her clients express their surprise, and when pressed for details about why she’s leaving, Nickoli shares that she is frustrated by and disagrees with the structure and direction of the firm, she disagrees with and does not have confidence in the current leadership, she does not believe the firm will be able to attract and retain good people, and other HHI employees have been mistreated and will also be leaving soon. Several of Nickoli’s HHI clients indicate that they would like information about Vesuvius and may be interested in switching their accounts. After submitting her resignation, Nickoli immediately relays the names of those clients to Vesuvius, and after the first of the year, she begins soliciting them to transfer their accounts from HHI to her new firm. Nickoli’s conduct is
A. acceptable because she is looking out for her clients’ best interest and believes Vesuvius provides better service.
B. acceptable because she provides her opinion of HHI in response to questions from clients.
C. acceptable because she did not solicit clients until after she left HHI.
D. unacceptable because she made disparaging remarks about HHI to clients while she was still with the firm.
What do you think is the correct choice? Feel free to discuss in the comments below and make sure to check back later this week as we post the analysis. The completion of this case qualifies for 0.25 hour of Standards, Ethics, and Regulation (SER) credit.
[Update – 6/18/2020]
Welcome back! Here is the analysis of this case:
Analysis:
Answer D is the best response because this case relates to CFA Institute Standard IV(A): Duty to Employer – Loyalty, which states that CFA Institute members and candidates “must act for the benefit of their employer and not...otherwise cause harm to their employer.” Although a departing employee is generally free to make arrangements or preparations to change firms before terminating the relationship, those preparations must not conflict with the employee’s continuing duty to act in the best interests of the current employer and not otherwise undermine, disparage, or cause harm to the current employer. In this case, Nickoli decided to leave HHI and join Vesuvius several weeks before she submitted her resignation and notified the firm. During that time, Standard IV(A) obligated her to continue to act in the employer’s best interest and not engage in any activities that would conflict with this duty until her resignation became effective.
Nickoli violated her duty of loyalty to HHI by making disparaging and harmful statements about the firm to its clients in the weeks prior to submitting her resignation and by promoting Vesuvius to HHI clients while she was still employed by HHI. Although she did not make actual solicitations until after she left HHI, Nickoli used the final weeks of her employment with HHI to contact and gauge which of the firm’s clients may be interested in receiving information about Vesuvius and possibly transferring their accounts from HHI. And although an investment professional should protect the client’s best interest, even if Nickoli believes the clients will be better off with her at Vesuvius, the clients’ relationship is with HHI. She is a representative of HHI, so she cannot malign the firm while still employed, even in response to questions.
This case was based on a disciplinary case by the CFA Institute Professional Conduct Program. The member in question received a Private Censure.
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