关于Soft Dollar的问题

问题如下：

Stafford is a portfolio manager for a specialized real estate mutual fund. Her firm clearly describes in the fund’s prospectus its soft dollar policies.

Stafford decides that entering the CFA Program will enhance her investment decision-making skill and decides to use the fund’s soft dollar account to pay the registration and exam fees for the CFA Program. Which of the following statements is most likely correct?

选项：

A.

Stafford did not violate the Code and Standards because the prospectus informed investors of the fund’s soft dollar policies.

B.

Stafford violated the Code and Standards because improving her investment skills is not a reasonable use of the soft dollar account.

C.

Stafford violated the Code and Standards because the CFA Program does not meet the definition of research allowed to be purchased with brokerage commissions.

解释：

C is correct.

Answer According to Standard III(A) –Loyalty, Prudence, and Care, the CFA Program would be considered a personal or firm expense and should not be paid for with the fund’s brokerage commissions. Soft dollar accounts should be used only to purchase research services that directly assist the investment manager in the investment decision-making process, not to assist the management of the firm or to further education. Thus, answer A is incorrect. Answer B is incorrect because the reasonableness of how the money is used is not an issue; the issue is that educational expense is not research.