General Principles, Conduct and Psychology Flashcards
Fiduciary Duties
Duty of Loyalty
Duty of Care
Duty to Follow Client instructions
Duty of Care
Must act with care, skill prudence and diligence in light of clients goals, risk tolerance, objectives, and financial and personal circumstances
Duty of Loyalty
Place client’s interests above self and firm
Avoid conflicts of interest or disclose ones that can not be avoided
Act in clients best interest even if a conflict of interest occurs
Duty to Follow Clients Instructions
A CFP must comply with terms of a client engagement and follow all directions of the client that are reasonable and lawful
Financial Advice vs. Financial Planning
Financial Planning is more specific and individually tailored (this is where fiduciary duties apply)
Financial Advice is more like financial education
Code of Ethics
- Act with honesty, integrity, competence and diligence
- Act in the clients best interest.
- Exercise due care
- Avoid and disclose conflicts of interest
- Maintain confidentiality and privacy
- Act in a manner that reflects well on the professional and CFP board
Financial Planning Process
Urkel’s In A Divebar Playing Iron Maiden
U-Understand the clients circumstances
I- Identify and select goals
A- Analyz current course of action and alternatives
D- Develop the fiancnail plan rec.
P- Present the recommendations
I- Implement Recommendations
M- Monitor Progress and Updating
Conduct Deemed Unacceptable penalty
Individual is permanently barred from becoming a CFP
Conduct presummed to be unacceptable and other adverse conduct consequenses
Bans an individual from being certified unless the individual petitions the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) and DEC grants petition or permits the individual to reapply for certification later
Examples of Conduct Deemed Unacceptable
- Felony conviction for financially based crimes i.e. theft, embezzlement, tax fraud
- Revocation of financial professional license unless for administrative purposes
- Felony conviction for murder or rape
- Felony conviction for any other violent crime in the last 5 years
Examples of Conduct Presumed Unacceptable
- 2 or more personal or business bankruptcies
- Revocation of non-financial professional license except for administrative purposes
- Suspension of financial professional licenses except for administrative purposes
Felony conviction of a non-violent crime in the last 5 years
Felony conviction of a violent crime more then 5 years ago
Examples of other adverse conduct
Customer Complaints
Arbitration and other civil proceedings
Felony conviction for non-violent crimes more then 5 years ago
Misdemeanor convictions
Employer investigation and termination
CFP Board Counsel
Has the authority to investigate and file a complaint against a respondent for alleged violations of the code of ethics and standards of conduct
Disciplinary and Ethics Committee (DEC)
Composed of CFP Professionals and members of the public. The DEC has the authority to issue a final order that finds facts, determines whether a violation has occurred and where appropriate imposes discipline in the form of a sanctions
Hearing Panel
Conduct the hearing and consists of at least 3 persons. Most of the hearing panel must be CFP professionals and a majority must be DEC members. A DEC member must serve as the chair of the hearing panel
CFP Board Hearing Process
- Complaint made
-Either make a settlement (end) or respond within 30 days - After responding you can either pay fees and fine within 30 days (end) or go to a hearing
- Hearing documents, written statements due within 45 days of complain. Witness list due within 30 days
- Notice of hearing no less then 30 days before hearing
- Hearing in front of panel
-Hearing panel recommendations
-DEC reviews recommendations
-DEC Final order
-Appeals to board of directors within 30 days of final order
DEC Forms of Discipline
Private Censure- Unpublished letter from DEC
Public letter of admonition
Suspension- 90 days to 5 years
Revocation
Business Phases
Expansion- Increasing GDP and Decreasing Unemployment rate
Contraction- Decreasing GDP and Increasing unemployment rate
Business Cycle- Two points
Peak- Very high GDP and very low unemployment
Trough- very low GDP (typically negative) and very high unemployment
Recession
Two Consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth
Not every contraction is a recession but every recession in a contraction
Expansion- Early
Activity rebounds, credit begins to grow, profits grow rapidly
Policy still stimulative
Inventories low sales improving
Expansion- Mid
Growth peaking, credit growth strong, profit growth peaks.
Policy neutral
Inventories and sales growth reach equalibrium
Expansion - Late
Growth moderating, credit begins to tighten, earnings under pressure.
Policy is contractionary
Inventory grows, sales fall
Contractionary period
Falling activities, credit dries up, profits decline,
Policies Ease
Inventory and sales fall
Inflation during Business Cycle
Inflation low between early and mid cycle high during late cycle
Gross Domestic Product
Market Value of the goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States
- Looked at on a quarterly basis
- indicates the pace of growth
Determines under and over performance in sectors
Can be used to compare different nations economies
GDP- Includes and Excludes
Includes - Market value of all goods and services in the economy
Income of forgeigners working in the US
Profits if foreign companies earned in the US.
EXCLUDES- Imports, inflation, transactions where money changes hands but no new goods or services produced. Income for US citizens working abroad, US companies profits earned abroad
GDP Formula
GDP= C+I+G+(X-M)
C-Consumer spending
I- Investments made by Industry
G- Government Spending
X- Exports
M-Imports
(X-M) is also called NE- Net Exports
Price Elasticity
Measuring the quantity demanded of a good in response to changes in that goods price
Elastic Demand
Demand responds greatly to price change (consumer Discretionary
Inelastic Demand
Demand responds little to price changes (gasoline)
Supply and Demand:
Substitutes and Complements
Substitutes- Increases in price of one thing will increase in demand of another. (increases in gas price causes increase in electric vehicle demand
Complements- decrease in price of one item will increase demand of another (when peanut butter goes on sale demand for jelly will go up)
Marginal Utility
Additional benefit received from the consumption of an additional unit of a good
as rate increases marginal utility from additional units will decrease, known as diminishing marginal utility
Fiscal Policy
Congress sets fiscal policy: done through taxation, expenditures and debt management and how each influences the economy
Fiscal Policy: Taxation
Increases in tax rate reduce disposable income and slow down the economy
decreases in tax rate increase disposable income and stimulate the economy
Fiscal Policy: Government Spending
Increased government spending promotes growth and recovery
Once economy is functioning, government support will be eliminated or reduced