Ethics Challenge

CFA Society Los Angeles Ethics Challenge — Real-world ethics. Career-ready skills.

2027 Ethics Challenge Dates

Kick-Off CallMarch 2027

Ethics ChallengeApril 2027

CFA Society Los Angeles is proud to host the Ethics Challenge in Los Angeles.

This Ethics Challenge is a competition organized by CFA Institute and CFA Society Los Angeles’ Advocacy and Ethics Commission to prepare students for the ethical dilemmas they may face in their careers.

About the Ethics Challenge

The Ethics Challenge provides students with an ethics case to study and evaluate based on the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Teams are then tasked with presenting their analysis and recommendations to a panel of judges. The challenge aims to increase awareness of ethical issues and the application of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

  1. Identify violations of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
  2. Explain why the identified actions are violations.
  3. Suggest solutions or approaches to resolving the violations.
  4. Present the team’s analysis and recommendations and respond to the judges’ questions.

Winning teams are selected based on the quality of their understanding of the ethical issues involved, their recommendations, and the quality of their analysis, presentation, and responses to the judges’ questions.

2026 Participating Universities

  • California Lutheran University
  • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  • California State University, Dominguez Hills
  • California State University, Fullerton
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Pepperdine University
  • University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • University of Southern California (USC)

2026 Ethics Challenge in Los Angeles Champions: Pepperdine University

Andre Kalaydjian, William Leonard, Lauren Loo, Micah Sadighi, and Yuka Sato
Faculty Mentor Joseph Cheng, PhD

Pepperdine University, the 2026 Los Angeles Ethics Challenge champions, with faculty mentor Joseph Cheng, PhD

Special Thank You

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Howard Marks, CFA, for his generous support of the Ethics Challenge. His generosity ensures a strong foundation for the growth of future ethics challenges.

“Over the course of my career, I’ve always believed that the list of things professional investors initially focus on – returns, competitive rankings, and earnings – is incomplete. The true professionals are those who hold themselves to a standard that goes beyond the numbers. It’s not just what you accomplished, but how you did it. Ethics are the foundation for success in finance, and I’m proud to support CFA LA’s Ethics Challenge.”– Howard Marks, CFA

Ethics Challenge Coordinators

  • Anthony Lu, CFA
  • Amy Minasyan, CPA
  • Eric Tien, CFA
  • Maggie Wang, CFA

Volunteer Opportunities

The challenge is a volunteer-intensive effort and requires the participation of many industry professionals. Volunteer opportunities may include mentoring a team, presentation assistance, or judging oral presentations. CFA continuing education credit may be available for volunteering. If you are interested in helping in any of these capacities, please email Caitlin Topkis at caitlin@cfala.org.

Students and Faculty

If you are a student or faculty member from a college or university in the Los Angeles area and are interested in joining the CFA Institute Ethics Challenge, please email info@cfala.org.

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