Hello!
Just a quick question.
A colleague of mine asked the company where we work to add the CFA designation in the business card and in the email. This colleague was a charterholder till about 7 years ago, when he decided to stop paying the annual membership fee.
I do not care about it, but I am curious to understand what could happen if someone tell the CFA Institute about it.
Thank you
I’m sure that their lawyers will ask him to stop: copyright infringement.
They’ll send Seal Team 6 to shred his business cards
I would care more if I were you. He should pay his dues. Everyone else does. Otherwise he shouldn’t use the letters. He has an integrity problem and I hope it doesn’t reflect on the charter by diminishing its reputation at your office, for your clients, and in your community.
Obviously you need to consider your shareholders and warn your boss IMMEDIATELY that he is not actually capable of superior returns like his status symbol suggests he is. Act fast.
Yeah. He can’t do that. Using the trademark means you’re a member of CFAI, and have gained the charter. If you want to go the final mile: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/ethics/conduct/report-misconduct
Curious too – many compliance officers have this info and would keep the guy (girl?) from doing something unethical.
Eventually you receive a letter such as:
Dear Colleague, It appears your membership with CFA Institute lapsed in XXXX, but you have continued to use the CFA® designation. Under CFA Institute Bylaws and Standard of Professional Conduct VII(B), only “active” members—those who have annually completed their Professional Conduct Statements and paid their membership dues—maintain the right to use the CFA designation and represent to others that they are CFA® charterholders. If you fail to either reactivate your membership with CFA Institute or stop misusing the CFA designation within 14 days of the date of this email, Professional Conduct will open an investigation into your apparent misuse of the CFA designation, which could result in disciplinary action. Your options are as follows: 1. Reactivate your CFA Institute membership by submitting a completed Professional Conduct Statement and paying your membership dues. If you require additional information or assistance in doing so, please reach out to our Global Contact Center. 2. If you decide not to reactivate your membership, you must remove all references to the CFA designation from your professional and social media profiles, business cards, reports and correspondence, and anywhere else where you represent that you are a CFA charterholder or a CFA Institute member. You may refer to your CFA charterholder status in the past tense by stating the date range when your membership in CFA Institute was active. On LinkedIn, you must list your past charterholder status in the “Certifications” section. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, CFA Institute Compliance and Enforcement, Professional Conduct