If I include in my cover letter, “I have a proven track record of success, as I have …, and have passed both the CFA Level 1 and Level 2 exams on the first attempt.” Does that insinuate ‘superior ability?’ Thoughts? Appreciate the insight.
In my opinion, yeah it does, so it’s a violation. You can mention the fact you passed 2/2, but not the bit that it proves your track record of success.
I think you should just state that you have passed both exams on your first attempt without making a connection to your track record of success. Stating you passed both exams is factual and OK.
Will do. Thanks for the help.
at first glance it does look like a violation, but his “track record of success” can just refer to passing the exams. He’s not saying it is performance based. I personally wouldn’t write it like that, but if it was, I wouldn’t classify it as violation
No violation imo. You can state facts such as a proven track record, even if it’s performance based. You just can’t say/promise the performance will continue in the future. And to interpret it another way, it’s okay to say you passed the exams on the first attempt, as that is “Successful”. You just can’t lead the recruiter to believe that passing the exams will lead to superior returns.
You should throw this question onto the Level 2 bboard – which by now is crawling with fresh Level 1 passers who should know the latest ethics regs inside and out. (IIRC, this is a double violation – you explicitly may not mention # of pass attempts, and the implicit link between passing exams and “success” is a no-no. Or at least that was the policy a few years back.)
What is lame is that you can’t put “passed all three on the first attempt which will clearly generate better investment returns” even though it’s totes true.