The annual Morningstar Investment Conference is to be held in October this year. As always, the lineup will consist of leading experts and professionals. You can view some of the panelists and presenters in this short video.
Last year, Michael McMillan, director of ethics and professional standards at the CFA Institute, had the audience eating out of his hand in a superb and engaging presentation.
He presented numerous situations and then asked the audience for a response.
For instance: You are meeting with a potential client in a foreign land and they have presented you with an expensive gift in accordance with the local custom.
What would you do?
- Would you refuse the gift? That would be ethical but you run the risk of offending their sensibilities and also the risk losing the business.
- Would you accept the gift? That would be the decent thing to do but you risk the perception that it influenced your decision and behaviour.
McMillan pointed out that ethical dilemmas are grey areas that rarely have a clear right or wrong course of action. He also pointed to the difference between unethical people and unethical behaviour.
When professionals face ethical dilemmas they have to think about the consequences to their clients, to the organization, to themselves, and also perception of others – be it colleagues or the public. Sometimes, the best option is not perfect but the lesser of the two evils. Regardless of which course of action you decide to take, it does not mean that you are a bad or unethical person. It just demonstrates the fact that people perceive and react to the same situation or set of circumstances in different ways.
He then provided ways to help individuals resolve such issues. You can read the entire post here.
To benefit from such insights and wisdom, please don’t miss the 7th Morningstar Investment Conference to be held in Mumbai on October 10-11, 2017.
Take a look at this video where participants discuss their experience at the conference.
You can REGISTER here
