23 October 2026 · Ethical and Professional Standards
A pension sponsor's chief financial officer directs the manager toward an allocation that helps the company's accounting but is not in the beneficiaries' interest. What must the manager do?
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: C. Decline, since the duty runs to the beneficiaries
Standard III(A) places the client's interest first, and for a pension plan the client is the beneficiaries. An instruction from the sponsor does not displace that duty.
Why the other options are wrong:
A. Comply, since the sponsor appointed the manager - Who appoints the manager does not determine whose interests they serve, which is the point of the Standard.
B. Comply while documenting the instruction - A record shows the instruction came from elsewhere and does not make acting on it consistent with the duty.