Lesson 1 of 6 · 12 min
How to work through an ethics case
Every ethics vignette is solved the same way: identify the person's role and duty, find the facts that trigger a standard, then test each tempting excuse against what the standard actually requires.
In short
- Start with role: adviser or execution-only broker, analyst, supervisor, compliance officer, issuer executive or candidate. The role decides which duties apply and how far they reach.
- Then ask whose interest is at stake: the law, the market, clients, the employer, or the CFA Program. That points you to the right standard.
- Most wrong answers are excuses: 'nobody was harmed', 'it turned out well', 'the client agreed', 'it was disclosed', 'the employer allowed it', 'I didn't profit personally'. Learn which ones never work.
- Disclosure cures conflicts and referral arrangements; it never cures fraud, unsuitable advice, misleading statements or a waiver of core duties.
- Count every actor. Silence, continued participation, weak supervision and blind reliance on someone else's work can each be a violation.
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