1. Introduction: The Vision Statement, Objectives and Key Characteristics of GIPS Standards

a. describe the key features of the GIPS standards and the fundamentals of compliance;

What is the overall purpose of the GIPS Standards and what does it hope to achieve? The overall purpose of GIPS is to provide guidelines for fair and full disclosure of investment performance. This will allow current and potential clients to properly interpret investment results over time and between firms.

What are the four goals of GIPS? 1. Bolster investor confidence by ensuring trust (my words) in investment performance 2. Serve as a minimum standard to which all investment managers in the world should adhere. 3. Enable global investment management firms to present performance results that are comparable with firms in other countries. 4. Facilitate communications on evaluating performance results and developing future strategies.

When was an implementation structure created to implement the GIPS and by whom? The Investment Performance Council (IPC) was created in 1999 to provide an implementation structure for GIPS

What should you do if the local laws and regulations conflict with a GIPS standard? When applicable local or country-specific laws or regulations conflict with the GIPS standards, firms should comply with the GIPS standards in addition to those local requirements. If necessary, give preference to the local law but note where and why GIPS was not followed.

What is the definition of a “firm”? A business entity

Are GIPS standards legal standards? GIPS are ethical standards, not legal standards, for performance presentation. The objective is to present performance results fairly and with full disclosure.