CFA Level IEthical and Professional StandardsHard
A research analyst's firm has a paid subscription to a third-party macroeconomic research vendor, granting the firm internal-use rights to the vendor's content. The analyst copies several paragraphs of the vendor's economic outlook verbatim into his own client-facing research report, presenting the analysis as his original work without attribution. Is this a violation of the Code and Standards?
- AViolation of Standard V(A), Diligence and Reasonable Basis, because he failed to independently verify the vendor's macroeconomic forecasts
- BNo violation, because the firm's paid subscription grants rights to use the content internally
- CNo violation, because general macroeconomic commentary is considered common public knowledge not subject to attribution
- DViolation of Standard I(C), Misrepresentation, because presenting another party's work or ideas as his own constitutes plagiarism regardless of any internal licensing arrangement
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Violation of Standard I(C), Misrepresentation, because presenting another party's work or ideas as his own constitutes plagiarism regardless of any internal licensing arrangement
Standard I(C) prohibits plagiarism — presenting others' work, research, or ideas as one's own without attribution. A firm's internal-use license to a vendor's research does not grant the analyst permission to represent that content as his own original analysis in a client report; proper attribution is still required.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. The issue here is attribution/misrepresentation of authorship, not lack of due diligence on the forecast's validity.
- B. A licensing arrangement permits internal use of the content but does not authorize claiming authorship.
- C. Specific, substantive commentary from an identifiable vendor is not simply generic public knowledge.
Plagiarism (I(C) Misrepresentation)
Members must not copy or use, without acknowledgment, the work, ideas, or specific data of others as though it were their own original work.
- Licensing/subscription rights allow use but not uncredited authorship claims
- Applies to reports, models, and specific data/analysis
- Proper attribution avoids the violation
Memory trick: Paying for content isn't the same as owning the credit.