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Answer: Disclose her stock ownership
## Explanation According to the CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct, Standard I(B) - Independence and Objectivity requires members to maintain independence and objectivity in their professional activities. Standard VI(A) - Disclosure of Conflicts specifically addresses situations where members have personal investments that could compromise their independence or objectivity. **Key points:** 1. Kioshi has a 5% ownership stake in Basic Biofuels Company, which represents a material conflict of interest. 2. She is being asked to write a research report on the biofuels industry, which would include Basic Biofuels. 3. She wants to rate Basic as a "buy" in her report. **Analysis of options:** - **A. Sell her shares**: While this would eliminate the conflict, it may not be practical within the 2-day timeframe and could create other issues (such as insider trading concerns if she sells based on her upcoming research). - **B. Don't recommend a buy**: This is not required by the Standards. The Standards don't prohibit making recommendations on securities in which one has an interest, but they do require proper disclosure. - **C. Disclose her stock ownership**: This is the correct approach. According to Standard VI(A), members must disclose to their employer, clients, and prospective clients all matters that could reasonably be expected to impair their independence and objectivity or interfere with their duties. **Proper procedure:** 1. Kioshi should disclose her ownership position to her employer (Pacific Asset Management) before writing the report. 2. She should also disclose this conflict in the research report itself so that readers are aware of her personal interest. 3. She can still recommend Basic as a "buy" if she believes it's justified, but only after full disclosure. **Additional considerations:** - The 5% ownership stake is significant and could influence her objectivity. - The Standards don't prohibit personal investments, but they do require managing conflicts appropriately. - Disclosure allows readers to assess the potential bias in the recommendation. Therefore, the most appropriate action to prevent violating the Standards is to disclose her stock ownership.
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Suni Kioshi, CFA, is an analyst at Pacific Asset Management, where she covers small capitalization companies. On her own time, Kioshi often speculates in low price thinly traded stocks for her own account. Over the last three months, Kioshi has purchased 50,000 shares of Basic Biofuels Company giving her a 5% ownership stake. A week after this purchase, Kioshi is asked to write a report on stocks in the biofuels industry with a request to complete the report within two days. Kioshi wants to rate Basic as a "buy" in this report but is uncertain how to proceed. Concerning the research report, what action should Kioshi most likely take to prevent violating any of the Standards?
A
Sell her shares
B
Don't recommend a buy
C
Disclose her stock ownership