Ethical and Professional Standards
Overview
Ethical and Professional Standards is a core topic area in the CFA Level 1 curriculum. It covers the CFA Institute Code of Ethics, Standards of Professional Conduct, and the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). This topic typically represents 15-20% of the exam.
Modules
| Module | Title | Pages | LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| M01 | Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession | p.2-12 | 1.a-1.h |
| M02 | Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct | p.13-19 | 2.a-2.c |
| M03 | Guidance for Standards I to VII | p.20-180 | 3.a-3.c |
| M04 | Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) | p.181-203 | 4.a-4.e |
| M05 | Ethics Application | p.204-220 | 5.a-5.b |
Sources
Key Themes
- Trust and professionalism are the foundation of the investment industry
- The Code of Ethics sets aspirational principles; the Standards set minimum benchmarks
- Guidance for Standards I-VII provides detailed application with real-world scenarios
- GIPS ensures fair, comparable performance reporting across firms
- Ethics Application tests the ability to apply standards to realistic case studies
Study Strategy
- Master the Code of Ethics and all 7 Standards first (M01-M02)
- Study the detailed guidance with practice examples (M03) — this is the largest and most heavily tested module
- Understand GIPS at a conceptual level (M04)
- Practice case-study-style questions extensively (M05)