Connery, a smart professional, passed his Level II CFA exam 2 years ago. He could not take the Level III exam due to professional time commitments elsewhere.
He is thinking of taking Level III a couple of years from now, once things settle down on his personal front. His resume, which he has sent to a few prestigious firms, states that he is a candidate in the CFA program and has successfully completed Level II exam. He makes no exaggerated claims about his abilities on his resume. Connery has:
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A. B. C. D.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.
Based on the information provided, Connery has passed the Level II CFA exam but has not yet taken the Level III exam. He is planning to take the Level III exam in the future. His resume states that he is a candidate in the CFA program and has successfully completed the Level II exam. The question is whether Connery has violated any standards in making these claims on his resume.
To answer this question, we need to refer to the CFA Institute's Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. In particular, we need to consider Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation.
Standard II (A) states that CFA Institute members and candidates must not misrepresent or exaggerate their professional qualifications, including the CFA designation. They should only use the CFA designation to indicate that they have been awarded the CFA charter and are currently members of CFA Institute. The use of the CFA designation is allowed for members who have successfully completed all three levels of the CFA exams, have acquired the required work experience, and have been approved for membership by CFA Institute.
Given this information, let's evaluate the answer choices:
A. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be CFA - Level II. This answer suggests that Connery cannot claim to have completed Level II of the CFA exam. However, this statement is incorrect. Connery has indeed successfully completed Level II, as mentioned in the question. Therefore, this answer is not correct.
B. not violated any standards. This answer suggests that Connery has not violated any standards. However, we need to further evaluate the remaining answer choices to be sure.
C. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be in the CFA program since he is not registered to take the Level III exam. This answer suggests that Connery cannot claim to be in the CFA program because he is not registered for the Level III exam. However, this statement is incorrect. Being in the CFA program refers to actively pursuing the CFA designation by completing the required exams and meeting the other membership criteria. Connery has completed Level II and is planning to take Level III in the future, so he can claim to be in the CFA program. Therefore, this answer is not correct.
D. violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. He cannot claim to be in the CFA program without having completed the Level III exam. This answer suggests that Connery cannot claim to be in the CFA program without having completed Level III. This statement is correct. According to the CFA Institute's standards, candidates should only use the CFA designation to indicate that they have been awarded the charter. Since Connery has not completed all three levels of the exam, he cannot claim to have been awarded the charter yet. Therefore, claiming to be in the CFA program without having completed Level III would violate Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation. This answer is correct.
In conclusion, the correct answer is D. Connery has violated Standard II (A) - Use of Professional Designation by claiming to be in the CFA program without having completed the Level III exam.