Abe Seneca, CFA, supervises a team of analysts who create index funds for institutional investors. When he makes sales demonstrations without his colleagues, the scenarios show upside-biased outcomes. Which CFA Institute Standard of Professional Conduct is least likely violated by this conduct?

• A. Loyalty
• B. Performance Presentation
• C. Responsibilities of Supervisors
• D. Duties to Employer

Answer: (C)

Presenting investment performance must be fair, accurate, and not cherry-picked. When sales demonstrations show upside-biased outcomes, it amounts to misrepresenting how funds actually performed, which breaches the standard governing Performance Presentation. Such bias can erode client trust and violate duties to clients and to the employer.

The standard about Responsibilities of Supervisors is the least directly implicated here because it focuses on a supervisor’s duty to ensure that those under their supervision comply with the Code and Standards and to provide appropriate oversight. In this scenario, the issue is the biased demonstration itself, not a failure of supervisory oversight over subordinates. So, among the options, this standard is the least likely to be violated by the described conduct.