[This case was adapted from CFA Institute, Ethics in Practice Casebook]

Emily is a

portfolio manager for a well-established investment company that incentivizes its

employees to sell to clients its own proprietary investment products. Emily  does

as she is asked and within a year becomes the company’s number one salesperson for these products. She receives outstanding performance reviews along with a significant

financial bonus. However, Emily starts to realise that the investment

products she is selling are underperforming and overpriced compared to other products

which are more suitable for her clients’ investment needs and which give them superior

growth prospects.

Consequently, she purchases

fewer of her company’s investment products on behalf of her clients. Her

supervisor begins pressuring her to sell more, but she refuses to comply. She even

complains to senior management that she is being forced to place the company’s

interests above those of her clients. She even secretly records conversations

with her supervisor and makes copies of client records documenting what she

considers inappropriate conduct of her supervisor.

When management

ignores her complaints and she loses the bonus because her supervisor rates her

performance significantly downward, she files a complaint with the local regulator against the

company and the supervisor. In doing so, she provides the secret recordings and

copies of client records as evidence to support the official complaint. When the

management realises what she has done, she is fired. 

Emily’s actions are: