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CFA Level I
Moe Girard, CFA, works in a large group that decides on recommendations by consensus. Girard does not always agree with the group
consensus, but he is confident in the group's analytical ability. To comply with the Code and Standards when the group issues a
recommendation with which he disagrees, Girard:
Thomas Baker recently passed the Level III CFA examination. Baker is reviewing a draft of the firm's marketing material to be distributed
after he receives his CFA charter. One passage reads, "Baker is especially proud of the fact that he passed all three Levels of the exam
on his first attempts in three consecutive years." Is this statement in compliance with CFA Institute Standards?
A) has complied with the Standards and may accept the gift.
B) is not permitted to accept the gift because he does not have permission from his employer.
C) has appropriately disclosed the gift to his supervisor, but must also disclose it to his other
clients.
Carlos Mendez, CFA, is beginning an investment advisory relationship with a new client and plans to formulate an investment policy
statement (IPS) for the client. According to the Standard concerning suitability, Mendez is least likely to consider the client's:
Which of the following statements about the nine major sections of GIPS is least accurate? The major section on:
Ann Dunbar, a portfolio manager, wishes to buy stock of Knight Enterprises for her personal account and for clients. Knight is a thinly
traded stock. Dunbar believes her own purchase is too small to affect the price but the purchase for clients is likely to increase the price.
According to the Code and Standards, when may Dunbar buy the stock for her personal account?
Sean Jones places an order with his investment advisor Lisa Johnson, CFA, to buy 1,000 shares of Orkle Incorporated. Johnson's firm
makes a market in Orkle and she executes the trade through her own firm. According to the Code and Standards, Johnson should:
A portfolio manager of a city's police pension fund owes his duty of loyalty to the:
A) city’s taxpayers.
B) pension trustees.
C) plan beneficiaries.
Riley and Smith, a broker-dealer, is bringing to market a secondary offering for All Pro Company. One of the reasons All Pro selected the
firm to lead the offering is because Riley and Smith has been a market maker for All Pro's stock for the past five years. The firm is in
possession of material nonpublic information relevant to All Pro's offering. To be in compliance with the Code and Standards, Riley and
Smith:
A) may not serve as underwriter for the same stock in which it acts as a market maker.
B) should continue to serve as market maker but take only the contra side of unsolicited
customer trades.
C) should abstain from making a market in All Pro stock during the offering period but may
resume market making activities after the offering.
Matt O'Neill, CFA, is an advisor for Century Investments, a retail financial services firm. Century has a firmwide policy that its advisors
recommend the firm's own investment products to clients unless Century does not offer a product suitable for the client's needs. Can
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O'Neill follow his firm's policy without violating the Code and Standards?
C) No, because the policy conflicts with the Standard on loyalty, prudence, and care.
After working 20 years on Wall Street, Jim Gentry, CFA, decides to open his own investment firm on Turtle Island, located in the
Caribbean. Turtle Island has securities laws that are much less stringent than U.S. laws or the CFA Institute Standards of Professional
Conduct. Many of his U.S.-based clients have agreed to keep Gentry as their portfolio manager and move their assets to his new firm.
After a few months of operations, Gentry has encountered several instances in which Turtle Island regulations relieve him of disclosing
information to investors that he had been required to disclose while working in New York. According to the CFA Institute Code and
Standards, Gentry must adhere to the:
C) Code and Standards because as a charterholder, he need only adhere to the Code and
Standards under all circumstances.
Wayne Sergeant, CFA, is an independent investment advisor who works with individuals. A longtime client asks Sergeant if he can
recommend an attorney. Sergeant refers his client to Jim Chapman, a local attorney who is also a friend of Sergeant's. Previously,
Chapman had agreed to perform some legal work for Sergeant in exchange for the referral of new clients. Do Sergeant's actions violate
CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct?
A) No, because the client is under no obligation and is still free to select another attorney.
B) Yes, because Sergeant is making a recommendation that is not independent and objective.
C) Yes, because Sergeant did not disclose the nature of his arrangement with Chapman to his
client.
Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding the GIPS requirement for definition of the firm?
A) The firm must be the distinct business entity held out to clients.
B) If a firm has offices in different geographical locations, the firm definition may include just the
primary location where all the investment decisions are made.
C) The firm definition may include the corporation or a subsidiary of the corporation, but the firm
cannot be defined as simply a “division” of the corporation.
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Ron Brenner, CFA, manages portfolios for individuals. One of his clients, John Perlman, offers Brenner several inducements above
those provided by his employer to motivate superior future performance in managing his portfolio. Brenner notifies his manager via e-
mail about the terms of this offer, and his employer grants permission. According to the Standard on additional compensation
arrangements, Brenner:
A) must notify “all parties involved,” which includes his other clients.
Denise Chavez, CFA, is the senior energy analyst for a major brokerage firm. Chavez is also a social and environmental activist, and is
opposed to coal-fired power plants. She has been arrested twice for trespassing during organized pickets at some of these power
plants. Chavez has recently accepted a volunteer position as Board member of Greensleeves, a foundation that lobbies governments on
environmental issues. The position will involve significant volunteer hours, including some travel. Are Chavez's activities consistent with
CFA Institute Standards?
A) Chavez violated the Standards by being arrested, but the volunteer Board position is not a
violation.
B) The environmental activism is not a violation, but the Standards prohibit Chavez from
accepting the Board position.
C) The activism and subsequent arrests are not a violation, but Chavez must disclose the Board
position to her employer.
With respect to a client's confidential information, if a member or candidate believes a client is engaging in illegal activity, the member
should most appropriately:
George Reilly, CFA, manages the Ivy Foundation portfolio. The Ivy Foundation has a minimum acceptable return of 7%. The current
risk-free rate is 6%. Reilly assumes that returns are normally distributed and wants to choose the optimal portfolio for the foundation.
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The best approach Reilly should take is to choose the portfolio that:
A continuous uniform distribution is bounded by zero and 20. The probability of an outcome equal to 12 is closest to:
A) 0.00.
B) 0.05.
C) 0.60.
C) can be used to make inferences even if the population is not normally distributed.
The joint probability distribution for the return of two retail stocks, A-Marts and Shops R Us, is provided below.
A) less than 0.
B) at least 0, but less than 0.01.
C) greater than 0.01.
A) Investment 1.
B) Investment 2.
C) Investment 3.
When estimating a population mean or constructing a confidence interval based on the central limit theorem:
An analyst has a sample of 28 observations with a sample mean of 14.2% and a sample variance of 0.00131. For a test about the
population mean, she should use:
For a skewed distribution that has excess kurtosis, the minimum percentage of the distribution within three standard deviations of the
mean is closest to:
A) 68%.
B) 89%.
C) 99%.
Kidra Rao ranks and classifies firms into ten groups based on their interest coverage ratios, lowest to highest. Rao's ranking system is
best described as:
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A) a ratio scale.
B) a nominal scale.
C) an ordinal scale.
A) 24.32.
B) 24.48.
C) 24.66.
Tony Borden, CFA, is analyzing the earnings of two companies. For each company, Borden estimates a probability that its earnings will
exceed the consensus estimate. To estimate the probability that at least one of the companies will exceed its earnings estimate, Borden
should use the:
B) actual real GDP is equal to potential real GDP in the long run.
C) no upward or downward pressure on the price level is present at short-run equilibrium.
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A manufacturing plant exhibits diseconomies of scale if long-run average cost (LRAC) is:
A) decreasing as output increases, and the plant is at its minimum efficient scale if LRAC is at
its lowest level.
B) decreasing as output increases, and the plant is at its minimum efficient scale if LRAC is
decreasing over the entire range of output.
C) increasing as output increases, and the plant is at its minimum efficient scale if LRAC is at its
lowest level.
The velocity of transactions in an economy has been increasing rapidly for the past seven years. Over the same time period, the
economy has experienced minimal growth in real output. According to the equation of exchange, inflation over the last seven years has:
Consider two currencies, the VKN and the PKR. The PKR is trading at an annual premium of 2.3% relative to the VKN in the forward
market. The 1-year risk-free PKR rate is 3.0%. If no arbitrage opportunities are available, the current 1-year risk-free VKN interest rate is
closest to:
A) 0.7%.
B) 2.3%.
C) 5.3%.
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Question #36 of 120 Question ID: 1214458
Wilmer Jones owns several restaurants in different cities. His restaurants compete on quality of food and service, price, and marketing.
Competitors can enter and exit his markets, and there are usually several competitors in each market. His market structure can best be
characterized as:
A) perfect competition.
B) monopolistic competition.
C) oligopoly.
When two goods are complements, the cross elasticity of demand is:
A) positive, and for substitutes the cross price elasticity of demand is negative.
B) negative, and for substitutes the cross price elasticity of demand is negative.
C) negative, and for substitutes the cross price elasticity of demand is positive.
With regard to the balance of payments, the purchase of rights to natural resources in a country by foreigners would be most likely to
affect the country's:
A) capital account.
B) current account.
C) financial account.
The three-month interest rate in the currency MNO is 4% and the three-month interest rate for the currency PQR is 5%. Based only on
this information, the three-month forward MNO/PQR exchange rate:
An analyst who expects the economy to experience stagflation should most appropriately recommend investing in:
A) bonds.
B) equities.
C) commodities.
To compute cash collections from customers when converting a statement of cash flows from the indirect to the direct method, an
analyst begins with:
Items that appear in other comprehensive income, but are excluded from the income statement, include:
Other things equal, which of the following conditions would place a company highest on a spectrum of financial reporting quality?
A company purchases an asset in the first quarter and decides to capitalize the asset. Compared to expensing the asset cost,
capitalizing the asset cost will result in higher cash flows in the first quarter from:
A) investing.
B) financing.
C) operations.
On a firm's income statement, sales minus cost of goods sold, minus selling, general, and administrative expenses, is most
appropriately referred to as:
A) gross profit.
B) operating profit.
XYZ Company has decided to issue $10 million of unsecured bonds. If issued today, the 4% semi-annual coupon bonds would require a
market interest rate of 12%. Under U.S. GAAP, how will these bonds affect XYZ's statement of cash flows?
A) The coupon payments will decrease operating cash flow each year and the discount will
decrease financing cash flow at maturity.
B) The periodic interest expense will decrease operating cash flow and the discount will
decrease financing cash flow at maturity.
C) The coupon payments and the discount amortization will decrease financing cash flow each
year.
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Data for a manufacturing industry indicate that inventories of work in progress are increasing faster than sales. This is most likely to
indicate that:
A classified balance sheet categorizes assets and liabilities based on whether they are:
Under IFRS, a lessor will remove the leased asset from its balance sheet and record interest income from the lease only if the lease is
classified as:
A) a finance lease.
B) a sales-type lease.
C) an operating lease.
Jansen Co., a manufacturer of high-end sports equipment, earned $45 million in net income for the year. The company paid out $1.30
per share in dividends. Jansen issued 500,000 shares at the beginning of the year at $20 (1 million shares were outstanding before the
issuance). The market value of Jansen's trading securities decreased by $2.4 million. The increase in Jansen's stockholders' equity is
closest to:
A) $43 million.
B) $51 million.
C) $53 million.
A) auditor is reasonably assured that the financial statements are free of material errors.
B) financial statements include exceptions to the applicable accounting standards but are
presented fairly.
C) financial statements are materially out of compliance with the applicable accounting
standards and are not presented fairly.
Use of the indirect method of presenting cash flows from operating activities:
B) illustrates the reasons for the difference between net income and operating cash flow.
C) requires disclosure of the cash flows that would be presented using the direct method.
A firm has undertaken a contract with an estimated total cost of $500 million at a price of $800 million. At the end of the first reporting
period, the firm has devoted resources of $180 million to the project. The customer has been billed for $250 million and made payments
of $160 million. The amount of revenue the firm should record for the period is closest to:
A) $180 million.
B) $250 million.
C) $290 million.
A) storage costs for finished goods until they are actually sold.
B) shipping cost for delivery to the customer.
C) an allocation of fixed production overhead.
Which of the following statements most accurately describes the general features of financial statements under IFRS?
A) All of the required financial statements are prepared using accrual accounting.
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B) Assets may not be offset against liabilities unless specifically permitted or required by a
standard.
C) Prior-period information may only be presented when specifically permitted or required by a
standard.
Dot Corporation uses accelerated depreciation for tax purposes and straight-line depreciation for financial reporting. The company has a
large cash position which is invested in tax-free municipal bonds. With regard to Dot's financial statements and tax reporting:
A) both the interest income and the depreciation method will necessitate the use of a valuation
allowance account.
B) the interest income will result in a deferred tax asset and the depreciation method will result
in a deferred tax liability.
C) the depreciation expense causes a temporary difference between income tax expense and
taxes payable, and the interest income creates a permanent difference.
Bivac Corp. has been experiencing a declining return on equity over the past few years. Selected financial statement ratios for Bivac
appear below:
What is the most likely reason for the decline in Bivac's ROE?
Stone Development Company owns four office buildings and a tract of raw land. Stone occupies one of the buildings, collects rental
income from the other three buildings, and is holding the land for capital appreciation. Under IFRS, which of these assets should Stone
classify as investment property on its balance sheet?
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ChemCo is evaluating a project based on the principles of capital budgeting. ChemCo should accept the project if it has a:
Mentemeyer Corporation is a small firm that needs to increase short-term liquidity but has weak credit. The source of short-term
financing that would most likely be available to Mentemeyer is:
A) commercial paper.
B) nonbank finance companies.
C) a revolving credit agreement.
Johnson's Jar Lids is deciding whether to begin producing jars. Johnson's pays a consultant $50,000 for market research that concludes
Johnson's sales of jar lids will increase by 5% if it also produces jars. In choosing the cash flows to include when evaluating a project to
begin producing jars, Johnson's should:
A) include both the cost of the market research and the effect on the sales of jar lids.
B) include the cost of the market research and exclude the effect on the sales of jar lids.
C) exclude the cost of the market research and include the effect on the sales of jar lids.
While analyzing HMS Inc., Fred Browne notes that the company's liquidity as measured by its quick ratio has decreased over time while
its current liabilities have remained constant. This could be explained by:
A) a decrease in inventory.
B) an increase in marketable securities.
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C) a decrease in accounts receivable.
Over the next year, Thatherton Co. is expecting their marginal tax rate to increase by 5%. Also, over the next 12 months, Thatherton
plans to undertake several expansion projects significantly more risky than previous projects. Thatherton Co.'s current capital structure
includes 40% debt and 60% equity. Which of the following statements correctly summarizes the effect these changes will have on the
company's marginal cost of capital?
Which of the following is most likely to create an incentive for senior managers to act in the best interests of shareholders?
Dividend yield 5%
Assuming Moving Vans' dividend yield, dividend payout, and return on equity will remain constant indefinitely, the cost of equity capital is
closest to:
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A) 15%.
B) 17%.
C) 19%.
Joanne Soto is responsible for implementing her firm's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing goals. Soto decides on a
best-in-class approach to ESG investing. Soto will most likely instruct her firm's portfolio managers to use:
A) positive screening.
B) full integration.
C) active ownership.
Archer Company produces components that sell for $3.50 per unit. Archer has fixed financing costs of $125,000 and fixed operating
costs of $275,000. Archer's variable costs are $2.50 per unit. Archer will:
A firm has one actively traded bond issue outstanding, with a 6% coupon and a yield to maturity of 5%. When estimating the firm's
weighted average cost of capital (WACC), the appropriate after-tax cost of debt capital should most likely be:
Aros Funds manages a family of mutual funds and employs a team of fundamental analysts, who research firms by analyzing financial
statements and SEC filings. Under which form(s) of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) would Aros Funds have the potential to
achieve positive risk-adjusted returns consistently using fundamental analysis?
C) should be familiar with market procedures and regulations in the DR issuer’s country.
Ian Goode, CFA, is analyzing the price of the preferred stock of MegaGym. Goode estimates that MegaGym's earnings growth rate over
the next five years will be 20%, and that MegaGym's earnings will then grow at a sustainable rate of 5%. The most appropriate method
for Goode to value MegaGym's preferred stock is to:
B) use a multistage dividend discount model with 20% growth for five years and 5% thereafter.
C) divide the preferred dividend by the required rate of return on MegaGym’s preferred stock.
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Question #77 of 120 Question ID: 1214505
A) adjusting the industry weights in a portfolio based on the current stage of the business cycle.
B) recommended practice of periodically changing the industries that investment analysts are
assigned to cover.
C) long-term trend of talented managers and employees exiting mature and declining industries
and entering embryonic and growth industries.
Sacco, Inc., has nine directors on its board. Three seats are elected annually using a cumulative voting system. An investor who owns
600 shares of Sacco common stock may give a maximum of:
Which of the following types of index is least likely to require frequent reconstitution of constituent securities?
A) Equity index.
B) Commodity index.
C) Fixed income index.
A) a price-driven market.
B) a quote-driven market.
C) an order-driven market.
An investor places a market order to buy a stock on the holder-of- record date for the stock's next dividend. Is the investor entitled to
receive this dividend?
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Kate Johnson, CFA, owns shares of a stock that currently trades at $15. If Johnson wants to buy more shares if the price increases to
$17, she should enter a:
In the industry life cycle model, the threat of new entry into an industry is greatest during the:
A) mature stage.
B) growth stage.
C) embryonic stage.
A) $14.39.
B) $21.28.
C) $31.39.
A bond pays a quarterly coupon of 8% minus one-half of annual 90-day LIBOR. This bond is most accurately classified as a:
A) leveraged instrument.
B) participation instrument.
C) yield enhancement instrument.
Which of the following mortgage-backed securities is most likely to feature credit tranching?
Bond X and Bond Y were issued at a premium to par value three years ago. Bond X matures in five years, and Bond Y matures in ten
years. Both bonds carry the same credit rating. Bond X has a coupon of 7.25%, and Bond Y has a coupon of 8.00%. If the yield to
maturity for both bonds is 7.60% today:
Which of the following forward rates can be used to construct a forward yield curve?
With respect to fixed income markets, the "grey market" refers to trading in:
A) bearer bonds.
B) bonds that have not yet been issued.
C) bonds that were issued in private placements.
A) weighted average number of years until a bond’s cash flows are scheduled to be paid.
B) approximate percentage change in a bond’s value for a 1% change in its yield to maturity.
C) investment horizon at which a bond’s market price risk and reinvestment risk exactly offset.
$8,000,000 $7,200,000
A) 6.6.
B) 6.8.
C) 7.0.
For bonds of the same credit rating, compared to corporate bonds, the default rate for municipal bonds has historically been:
A) lower.
B) higher.
C) the same.
Ann Lloyd, CFA, observes that a 3-year senior unsecured bond of Hawk, Inc. has a rating of Baa3/BBB– and a 3-year senior unsecured
bond of Osprey, Inc. has a rating of Ba1/BB+. Based only on this information, Lloyd can most appropriately conclude that:
A) credit risk is greater for the Osprey bond than for the Hawk bond.
B) loss severity is greater for the Osprey bond than for the Hawk bond.
C) the Hawk bond is investment grade and the Osprey bond is non-investment grade.
Contingent convertible bonds are described most accurately as those which, if a specified event occurs:
If a callable bond has an option-adjusted spread (OAS) of 75 basis points, this most likely suggests:
Wendy Jones, CFA, is reviewing a current bond holding. The bond's duration is 10 and its convexity is 200. Jones believes that interest
rates will decrease by 100 basis points. If Jones's forecast is accurate, the bond's price will change by approximately:
A) –8.0%.
B) +8.0%.
C) +11.0%.
In a one-period binomial model for option pricing, the probabilities of an up-move or a down-move are:
A) equal.
B) assumed by the modeler.
C) calculated from the model inputs.
Roland Carlson owns a portfolio of large capitalization stocks. Carlson has a positive long-term outlook for the stock market, but would
like to protect his portfolio from any sudden declines in the stock market, without selling his holdings. The most likely way for Carlson to
achieve his objective of limiting the downside risk of his portfolio is to:
The time value of a put option on an asset that provides no cash flows would most likely be increased by:
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At time t, prior to its settlement date at time T, the value Vt of a long forward with a price of F will be related to the spot price, S, of an
asset that has a zero net cost of carry by:
A) Vt = F − S/(1 + Rf)(T – t)
B) Vt = (S − F)/(1 + Rf)(T – t)
C) Vt = S − F/(1 + Rf)(T – t)
A put option with an exercise price of $75 sells for a premium of $10. At expiration, the put buyer may experience a loss:
A) of as much as $10.
B) of as much as $65.
C) that is theoretically unlimited.
A financial instrument with a payoff that depends on a specified event occurring is most accurately described as:
A) an option.
B) a default swap.
C) a contingent claim.
An investor uses options on a stock to create a synthetic short position in a risk-free bond that will pay the exercise price at option
expiration. To create this position, the investor will buy:
A) a put option.
B) a call option.
A leveraged buyout fund is evaluating Siena Company relative to its peer companies. Siena is most likely a good candidate for a
management buy-in if it has:
A) higher cash flow and less capable managers than its peers.
B) lower cash flow and more capable managers than its peers.
C) higher cash flow and more capable managers than its peers.
The value of an existing single-family home used for residential purposes will most likely be calculated using the:
A) cost approach.
B) income approach.
An investment in a hedge fund with a 2-and-20 fee structure has increased in value each period and earned a return of 8% net of
management fees in 20x7. Under which of the following provisions would incentive fees for 20x7 be the highest?
Because of survivorship bias, hedge fund data are most likely to:
A) are illiquid.
B) include social infrastructure.
C) refer to assets operated by the entity constructing the asset.
A hedge fund that employs a fundamental growth strategy using equity securities is most likely to seek out shares of companies that
are:
A) undervalued only.
B) either undervalued or overvalued.
C) growing revenues and earnings rapidly.
Which of the following fintech applications is most likely to use distributed ledger technology?
Compared to a normal distribution, historical returns on major asset classes in developed markets have exhibited:
Which of the following pooled investments is likely to require the smallest minimum investment amount?
A) contain the same mix of risky assets unless only the risk-free asset is held.
B) have some unsystematic risk unless only the risk-free asset is held.
C) contain at least some positive allocation to the risk-free asset.
From a high of $180, a stock price decreases to a low of $100 and then begins increasing. A technical analyst states that she expects
resistance levels to emerge at $140, $150, and $153.33. This analyst is most likely forecasting these resistance levels based on:
A) Fibonacci numbers.
B) an inverse head and shoulders pattern.
C) moving average convergence/divergence lines.
Stephanie Dell is evaluating two stocks (X and Y) using the capital asset pricing model. Dell predicts that the betas for the two stocks
will be identical but that the unsystematic risk for Stock X will be much higher than for Stock Y. According to the capital asset pricing
model, in equilibrium:
A) Stock X will have a higher expected return than Stock Y but a standard deviation equal to
Stock Y.
B) Stock X will have a higher standard deviation than Stock Y but an expected return equal to
Stock Y.
C) both the expected return and standard deviation for Stock X will be higher than Stock Y.
Boswell is less risk-averse than Johnson. Using the same capital allocation line for Boswell and Johnson, Boswell will have:
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