Sid Barnes is the senior most partner with Noble & Noble, a well-known brokerage firm. Bruce Lohmann is a senior partner who reports to Barnes. Lohmann is an
AIMR member while Barnes is not. Recently, N&N's research department identified a sterling investment opportunity and Barnes decided to allow some of the largest discretionary accounts to benefit from this first. He directed Lohmann to take the appropriate steps and in turn, Lohmann assigned Doug Jardine, a senior analyst, to complete the portfolio rebalancing. Doug, an AIMR member, informed Bruce and Barnes that such a course of action would be in violation of the AIMR
Standard IV (B.3) - Fair Dealing. Barnes told him that he was not aware of any such code and that in any case, the firm had not adopted it. If Doug refuses to carry out the action but Lohmann does, which of the following is/are true?
I. Barnes has violated the AIMR code.
II. Lohmann has violated the AIMR code.
III. Doug has violated the AIMR code by disobeying his superiors.
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A. B. C. D.B
Barnes cannot be said to have violated the AIMR code since he's not a member or a CFA candidate and does not have to abide by those rules. Lohmann, on the other hand, has violated the code in two ways: first, as the senior most AIMR member in the firm, it was his responsibility to ensure that Barnes knew not only about the AIMR code but also Lohmann's obligation to uphold it. Barnes' ignorance about the code implies Lohmann violated Standard III (A) - Obligation to Inform
Employer of Code & Standards. Second, by allowing some of the largest discretionary accounts to benefit from the research first, he violated AIMR standard IV
(B.3) - Fair Dealing. Doug, on the other hand, dissociated himself from the activity and did not violate any standard.