Question
Bill Elliott, CFA, manages the discretionary account of the Jones Corporation employees profit-sharing plan. Diane Jones, the company president, recently asked Elliott to vote the
Bill Elliott, CFA, manages the discretionary account of the Jones Corporation employees profit-sharing plan. Diane Jones, the company president, recently asked Elliott to vote the shares in the firm's profit-sharing plan in favor of the company-nominated slate of directors and against the directors sponsored by a dissident stockholder group. Elliott does not want to lose Jones as a client, because he directs all the client's trades to a brokerage firm that provides Elliott with useful information about tax-free investments. Although this information is not of value in managing the Jones Corporation account, such information is helpful in managing several other accounts. The brokerage firm providing this information also offers the lowest prices for trades. Elliott investigates the proxy-fight issue, concludes that management's slate of directors is better for the long-run performance of the firm than those recommended by the dissident group, and votes accordingly. According to the CFA INSTITUTE Standards of Professional Conduct, Elliott:
a.violated the Standards by voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones and by directing trades to the brokerage firm.
b.violated the Standards by voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones but not by directing trades to the brokerage firm.
c.violated the Standards by directing trades to the brokerage firm but not by voting the shares as requested by Jones.
d.did not violate the Standards by voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones or by directing trades to the brokerage firm.
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