CFA Practice Question

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CFA Practice Question

John Smith has completed all the requirements such that he is able to use the CFA designation. John has just printed his new business cards that state the following:
John Smith - CFA, passed all exams first time, and

Delia Jones has also completed all the requirements in order to allow her to use the CFA designation. Delia has just printed her new business cards that state the following:
Delia Jones - Chartered Financial Analyst, with a picture of the CFA logo on her card.

Which of the following statements are correct?
A. Both John and Delia have violated the Code and Standards.
B. John Smith has violated the Code and Standards.
C. Delia Smith has violated the Code and Standards.
Explanation: A person may not say that since he passed CFA in his first attempt, that clients can expect superior service from him, implying that those who pass on their second attempt are less qualified to offer financial services.

User Contributed Comments 35

User Comment
katybo logo on card?
turtle Can she put the logo on her bcard?
jeanneal I have the same question as Turtle
Capital Is Delia allowed to use the logo without authorization by CFA Institute? If yes, does that mean that i can stick-up all my car with CFA logos and drive that way without breaking the standart ?
RealEduardo And me too. I am not sure you can put CFA logo on your card.
donger The CFA logo is a registered trademark and can not be used on business cards.
passcfa The three word 'CFA' is also a registered trademark. How come you can use CFA on your card but not the logo if you have been awarded the charter? This is the logic that B is correct.
sexy The Handbook states that 'on letterheads and business cards... only the mark CFA or the words Chartered Financial Analyst should appear after the charterholder's name' No mention of logos.
snider There is such nothing called 'CFA Logo'. Go check the cfainstitute.org site and find such a logo if one exists.

I believe the question is quite tricky as the 'CFA logo' should be interpreted as the three letters CFA displayed in some 'artful' font.
silversurfer Standard II (A) part 2:
Holders of the CFA designation may use "Chartered Financial Analyst," or the CFA mark (which probably means the logo)in a dignified and judicious manner. An accurate explanation of requirements that have been met to obtain designation may be included.

That pretty much explains answer B... I got it wrong anyway, blast it!
anricus There is a logo, refer to the handbook
MUSK IMPORTANT: you can state that you passed in the first attempt without implying any superior abilities. Refer para 2 of pg 137 in 9th edition
rhmd The CFA Program Curriculum which states (p. 104) "If a candidate passes each level of the exam on the first try and wants to state that he or she did so, that is not a violation of Standard VII(B) because it is a statement of fact" It is only a violation if the candidate also claims superior ability based on first try passing. Individual CFA charterholders can use the CFA logo.
RichWang But one cannot put "passed all exams first time" on the name card.
surob So putting dash after your name is OK to do? I thought we should use comma, instead of dash.
Swetha Where does John say anything on his card that implies superior performance ? Isn't he simply stating a fact that he passed the exams in one attempt ? And isn't that alright by CFA standards ? Please explain.
dimanyc CFA logo does exist and is allowed to be used. It has a blue circle in which CFA is written inside and "Chartered Financial Analyst" on the outside and around it.
volkovv If you have been awarded a charter, you can put CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst, and/or CFA logo on your busieness card. Comma or dash after your name doesn't make a difference. However, you are not allowed to say anything else or to imply your superior abilities. If you send a letter to your clients and in describing your credentials state that you passed all exams on a first try without implying anything, then its a fact, and is allowed.
cthong But i thought John Smith - CFA, passed all exams first time is a fact. does it implied any superior abilities? He never quote John Smith, CFA, passed all exams first time geniusly. What concept did i get wrong? pls advise.
cahiz84 Logos can be printed on business cards
todolist "The CFA logo certification mark is used by CFA charterholders as a distinctive visual symbol of the CFA designation..."

cfainstitute.org/memresources/pdf/trademarkusageguide.pdf
vadklim "... John has just printed his new business cards that state the following:
John Smith - CFA, passed all exams first time, and
Delia Jones has also completed ..."

Maybe I do not see part of the question saying that John emhisizes his superior ability?
charliedba that implies superior ability.
sheenalim actually, to say that you passed your exams first time doesn't it already lead the reader to imply that he has superior ability? just compare a card that says 'passed exams first time' and 'passed exams second time'. just a thought.
malawyer use of CFA logo on letterhead and businesss card of individueal charterholders is correct, check p.109 of V1 of the CFA original curriculum. btw, john smith's declaration would be ok in a summary of his profile on the website or so.
dblueroom I think with regard to "pass all three first try" really depends the context in which he states it. here it is used in an advertising way, and there is an implication there (also if he decides to advertise in newspaper, both inappropriate). Thanks malawyer - totally overlooked this one.
DiscoAfro I agree with rhmd and Swetha. It is only stated as a fact that John passed all exams the first time. No statements are made regarding superiority. VII (B) explicitly states that it is only a violation if the statement is combined with a claim of superior ability. This has not been done in the case of John. Please correct if I have overseen something.
DiscoAfro Due to the ending with ", and", it looks like John's business card is not fully stated in the question. Most probably it would follow with a statement of superior ability.....
starcfa For the use of LOGO, please refer to the page 8 of the following pdf file

cfainstitute.org/memresources/pdf/trademarkusageguide.pdf
(thanks: todolist from the previous above posting)

My understanding: We can use CFA logo on the business card/letterhead. However use of designation has its own requirements, as we all know. Do not confuse them with the use of logo. Logo can be placed, however there should be ample space between the logo and the person's name with the CFA designation.
chantal guys... really an overkill dont you think ? go back to bed.
Hishy i seriously think there is a part of the description missing where he says that passing all 3 on the first time implies superior performance.
kuda1 Although one can state that they "passed all exams first time" if it's a statement of fact, they certainly cannot do so on a business card as it nmay imply that there are different classes of CFA membership based on how many times one attempts the exams. By the same token, although you may expalain your candidature or progress through the CFA program (eg passed Level 2 etc), you can't do so on your card or against your name in a way that implies that "passed Level 2" is a distinct class of membership..
kuda1 What I don't know is, if you decide to use "Chartered Financial Analyst", can u then use the logo as well?
amandeep_m Can you write Delia Jones - CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst? No.
The correct way would be Delia Jones, CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst
JZERMENO When Delia and John got married?
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