Scenario judgment, research conduct, and conflict analysis for the Level II ethics topic area.
Level II ethics usually feels harder than Level I because the vignette introduces competing duties, research-process details, and disclosure questions that all look relevant at once. The point is not to memorize the standard name faster. The point is to identify the actual duty breached or satisfied under a more realistic fact pattern.
That is why this chapter is grouped into a few substantive lessons instead of one page per reading or one page per substandard. The official curriculum still defines the coverage boundary, but the public structure is organized around how Level II candidates actually solve ethics cases online: frame the duty problem, work through the main Standards I-VII families in realistic scenarios, then evaluate whether firm policies and conduct conform or violate.
| Lesson | Official reading coverage boundary | What to focus on |
|---|---|---|
| Code, Standards, and the Level II Ethics Frame | Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct | The Code, the seven Standards, and a stronger Level II method for isolating the real duty in a mixed fact pattern. |
| Professionalism, Market Integrity, and Client Duties | Guidance for Standards I-VII | Standards I-III in realistic scenarios involving law, independence, MNPI, manipulation, suitability, fair dealing, and confidentiality. |
| Employer Duties, Analysis, Conflicts, and Candidate Responsibilities | Guidance for Standards I-VII | Standards IV-VII in realistic scenarios involving supervision, reasonable basis, recordkeeping, conflicts, personal trading, and CFA Program responsibilities. |
| Application Cases, Policies, and Violation Analysis | Application of the Code and Standards: Level II | Full-case ethics judgment that evaluates both the conduct and the adequacy of firm policies, procedures, and controls. |