Q: 10
Mike Zonding, CFA, is conducting a background check on CFA candidate Annie Cooken, a freshly
nudled MBA who applied for a stock-analysis job at his firm, Khasko Financiar.vZoftding does not like
to hire anyone who does not adhere to the Code and Standards' professional conduct requirements.
The background check reveals the following:
(i) While doing a full-time, unpaid internship at Kale Investments, Cooken was reprimanded for
working a 30-hour-a-week night job as a waitress.
(ii) As an intern at Lammar Corp., Cooken was fired after revealing to the FBI that one of the
principals was embezzling from the firm's clients.
(iii) Cooken performed 40 hours of community service in relation to a conviction on a misdemeanor
drug possession charge when she was 16 years old.
(iv) On her resume, Cooken writes, "Recently passed Level 2 of the CFA exam, a test that measures
candidates' knowledge of finance and investing."
During the interview, Zonding asks Cooken several questions on ethics-related issues, including
questions about the role of a fiduciary and Standard III(E) Preservation of Confidentiality. He asks her
about her internship at Kale Investments, specifically about the working hours. Cooken replies that
the internship turned out to require more time than she originally planned, up to 65 hours per week.
Zonding subsequently hires Cooken and functions as her supervisor. On her third day at the money
management boutique firm, portfolio manager Steven Garrison hands her a report on Mocline
Tobacco and tells her to revise the report to reflect a buy rating. Cooken is uncomfortable about
revising the report.
To supplement the meager income from her entry-level stock-analysis job, Cooken looks for part-
time work. She is offered a position working three hours each Friday and Saturday night tending bar
at a sports bar and grill downtown. Cooken does not tell her employer about the job.
During her first week, Cooken has lunch with former MBA classmates, including Taira Basch, CFA,
who works for the compliance officer at a large investment bank in town. Basch arrives late,
explaining, "What a day, it's only noon and already I have worked on the following requests:
1. A federal regulator called and wanted information on potentially illegal activities related to one of
the firm's key clients.
2. A rival company's employee wanted information regarding employment opportunities at the firm.
3. A potential client contacted an employee and wanted detailed performance records of client
accounts so he can decide whether to invest with the firm."
Basch goes on to say that she is responsible for developing a presentation on the differences
between the Prudent Investor and the Prudent Man rules for managing trust portfolios. Basch
explains to Cooken that the Prudent Investor rule requires a trustee to exercise five fiduciary
standards in managing the assets of a trust account, including care, skill, caution, loyalty, and
impartiality. She states that although there are many differences between the Prudent Man and the
newer Prudent Investor rule, one element of continuity is the duty of the trustee to delegate
investment authority in the event that the trustee lacks sufficient investment knowledge.
Toward the end of the lunch meeting, Basch suggests that in exchange for research published by
Cooken and Khasko, Basch can have portfolio managers at her firm send clients that are too small for
their firm to Khasko. Since Khasko specializes in clients with smaller portfolios, the arrangement
sounds like a good idea to Cooken. Cooken tells Basch that she will think the arrangement over and
get back with her next week with a decision.
According to CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct, which of the following statements is
most accurate with regard to the arrangement proposed by Basch to Cooken?
Options
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