CFA CFA Certifications CFA-LEVEL-1 Questions & Answers

• Question 3941:

  Edward Witten works for Princeton Investments and has registered to take Level III exam next year. He had taken the Level III exam 3 years ago but was not successful. In his firm's promotional material, he has stated that he is a candidate in the CFA program and has successfully passed Level II. Edward has:

  A. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be in the CFA program without having completed Level III exam.

  B. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be in the CFA program since he failed the Level III exam.

  C. not violated any standards.

  D. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be CFA - Level II.

  Correct Answer: C

  Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation, states that a person must be registered to take the next higher level of the exam to be a "candidate" in the CFA program. That Edward failed on his last attempt does not prevent him from claiming that he's a candidate, as long as he has registered for the exam.

• Question 3942:

  According to the AIMR-PPS, terminated portfolios are included in the composite for how long after termination?

  A. Composites must include terminated portfolios after the last full performance measurement period the portfolios were under management.

  B. Composites should include the terminated portfolio only until the date of termination.

  C. Composites should include the terminated portfolio for the last full performance measurement period under which the portfolios were managed.

  D. Composites should include the terminated portfolio for the full ten years required by the Standards for performance reporting.

  Correct Answer: C

  Composites must exclude terminated portfolios after the last full performance measurement period the portfolios were under management, but composites must continue to include terminated portfolios for all periods prior to termination. This is a requirement for creation and maintenance of composites.

• Question 3943:

  For ________ of five or fewer portfolios, the disclosure "five or fewer portfolios" may be made rather than a disclosure of the exact number of portfolios.

  A. returns

  B. investments

  C. segments

  D. composites

  Correct Answer: D

  This is an exception allowed by AIMR when disclosing the list of composites.

• Question 3944:

  Standard I deals with ________.

  A. Use of Professional Designation

  B. Duty to Employer

  C. Obligation to Inform Employer of Code and Standards

  D. Professional Misconduct

  E. Plagiarism

  F. Fundamental Responsibilities

  G. Disclosure of Conflicts to Employer

  H. None of these answers

  Correct Answer: F

  Standard I deals with Fundamental Responsibilities. Standard II (A) deals with Use of Professional Designation. Standard II (B) deals with Professional Misconduct. Standard II (C) deals with Plagiarism. Standard III (A) deals with the Obligation to Inform Employer of Codes and Standards. Standard III (B) deals with the Duty to Employer. Standard III (C) deals with Disclosure of Conflicts to Employer.

• Question 3945:

  Everly Smith has passed Level II of the CFA examination. While studying for Level III, he circulates his resume stating that he has "completed Charter Financial Analyst II" and his resume lists his name as "Everly Smith, CFA II." Which of these following statements is correct?

  A. Everly Smith is not in compliance with the standards regarding use of the CFA designation. He may state he "completed Chartered Financial Analyst II," but cannot put "CFA II" after his name.

  B. Everly Smith is not in compliance with the standards regarding use of the CFA designation. He can neither state he "completed Chartered Financial Analyst II" nor "Everly Smith, CFA II."

  C. Everly Smith is not in compliance with the standards regarding use of the CFA designation. Since he is registered for Level III he should state "Everly Smith, CFA III."

  D. Everly Smith is in compliance with the standards regarding use of the CFA designation.

  Correct Answer: B

  Everly Smith has violated Standard II (A), Use of Professional Designation. There is no designation for someone who has passed Level I, Level II, or Level III, so he may not state "Everly Smith, CFA II." He also can not state he has "completed Charter Financial Analyst II." However, he may state that he is a Level III candidate in the CFA Program. If he passed Level II, but was not registered for Level III he could state "I passed Level II of the CFA Program in the year 19-- ."

• Question 3946:

  A financial analyst should conduct himself with ________, competence and dignity and act in an ethical manner in his dealings with the public, clients, customers, employers, employees and fellow analysts.

  A. integrity

  B. morality

  C. none of these answers

  D. honor

  E. principal

  Correct Answer: A

  The Code of Ethics: "Members of AIMR shall act with integrity, competence, dignity and in an ethical manner when dealing with the public, clients, prospects, employers, employees and fellow members."

• Question 3947:

  Trust Fund is a reasonably successful investment management firm that has as its clients a few pension plans. Trust Fund executes all of its trades with Prime Brokerage, an average brokerage firm. Prime Brokerage charges higher commissions than comparable players in the market but in return, provides investment research on the stocks which are part of the pension plan assets under Trust Fund's management. Portfolio managers at Trust Fund know about the close relationship on the golf links between Prime Brokerage's chief broker, Ralph Fiennes, and Trust Fund's CEO, Armis Arvanitis. They also believe that the research provided by Prime Brokerage, while not superlative, is quite useful and justifies the excess expense in brokerage. This "soft-dollars" practice is disclosed in Trust Fund's official documents and contracts but Sisko, a freshly minted CFA charterholder, thinks that Trust Fund managers are in violation of the AIMR code of Ethics. Which of the following is true?

  A. Trust Fund's managers are violating Standard IV (B.8) - Disclosure of Referral Fees by not revealing the arrangement to pension plan beneficiaries.

  B. Trust Fund's managers are violating Standard IV (B.1) - Fiduciary Duties by not executing the trades at the lowest price available.

  C. Sisko is not applying the AIMR code correctly. Trust Fund's managers are not violating any AIMR standards.

  D. Trust Fund's managers are violating Standard IV (B.3) - Fair Dealing by unfairly diverting funds from the plan assets to Prime Brokerage through higher fees.

  Correct Answer: C

  The practice of using "soft dollars" (i.e., the usage of brokerage for purchase of research services) is not forbidden by the AIMR code or securities laws, as long as they are commensurate with the services received and the practice is disclosed to the clients. In this case, there is no evidence that Trust Fund is overpaying Prime Brokerage or that it is not seeking best price and execution. Hence, Sisko is mistaken and Trust Fund managers are not in violation of the AIMR code.

• Question 3948:

  Which of the following statements clearly conflicts with the recommended procedures for compliance presented in AIMR's Standards of Practice Handbook?

  A. Investment recommendations may be changed by an analyst without prior approval of a supervisory analyst.

  B. Prior approval must be obtained for the personal investment transactions of all employees.

  C. For confidentiality reasons, personal transactions should not be compared with those of clients or the employer unless requested by regulatory organizations.

  D. Personal transactions should be defined as including transactions in securities owned by the employee and member of his or her immediate family and transactions involving securities in which the employee has beneficial interest.

  Correct Answer: C

  This question deals with the compliance procedures relating to personal investments of members. Employees should compare personal transactions of employees with those of clients on a regular basis, regardless of the existence of a regulatory organization. Such comparisons ensure that members' personal trades do not conflict with their duty to their clients. All the other statements do not conflict with the procedures in the Handbook.

• Question 3949:

  Omega Prime Securities is a sizable investment bank that undertakes security issuances on behalf of small and medium-size businesses. Treffil Ellis is the senior vice president of corporate finance at Omega. Treffil, on one of his golf junkets, made acquaintance with Tralth Trevor, owner of a growing chain of resort hotels. Tralth invites Treffil to his estate mansion the next day and over drinks, asks him how fast Omega could issue equity-linked callable notes to finance the $200 million construction of new hotel businesses in Cairo and Bali. He forthrightly tells him that Omega could receive as much as 150 basis points above the normal fee if the issuance could be completed within the month. Treffil knows that this is not enough time to complete a research on Tralth's business and determine the issue price. However, he does know that his research wing could quickly do a comparison with one of the other hotel chains and determine an approximate issue price. He instructs his department to do so. In a month, the public offering is ready for issuance and Omega ends up making almost $15 million more than on other similar business deals. Treffil receives commendation from the CEO for "going beyond the call of duty for his employer." Treffil has

  I. violated Standard IV (B.3) - Fair Dealing.

  II. not violated any code of ethics.

  III. violated Standard IV (A.1) - Reasonable Basis and Representations.

  IV.

  violated Standard IV (B.1) - Fiduciary Duties.

  A.

  III and IV only

  B.

  I and III only

  C.

  III only

  D.

  II only

  Correct Answer: C

  If adequate research is not put into determining the fair price of a security issue, investors could end up paying a price that has no relevance to the intrinsic value of the security. This is in direct violation of Standard IV (A.1) - Reasonable Basis and Representations.

• Question 3950:

  Which of the following AIMR Standards states that referral fees must be disclosed in writing to clients or customers?

  A. V

  B. VI (A)

  C. IV (B.8)

  D. IV

  Correct Answer: C

  Standard IV (B.8) - Disclosure of Referral Fees states: "Members shall disclose to clients and prospects any consideration or benefit received by the member or delivered to others for the recommendation of any services to the client or prospect."