A member provides incomplete or misleading information about the qualification requirements to obtain a client’s business. Violation?

• A. Standard VI.A Disclosure of Conflicts
• B. Standard IV.A Loyalty, Prudence, and Care
• C. Standard II.A Material Nonpublic Information
• D. Standard I.C Misrepresentation

Answer: (D)

Misrepresentation is about communicating information in a way that misleads others regarding your qualifications or ability to provide service. If a member gives incomplete or misleading details about what’s needed to obtain a client’s business, they’re shaping the client’s understanding to its advantage and creating a false impression about their credentials or capability. That violates Standard I.C Misrepresentation, which requires truthful, forthright communications about qualifications and the services offered.

Other standards address different duties: conflicts disclosure relates to potential conflicts, loyalty, prudence, and care pertain to acting in the client’s best interests with due care, and material nonpublic information concerns misuse of confidential information. None specifically targets misrepresenting qualifications to win business in the way this scenario does.