Need your guys’ opinion on the following situation as it relates to “duties to employer”. I have a friend that has his own investment advisory business and would like to add me to his company/marketing materials since I am a charter holder. He is competing in the 401k business and trying to build out a platform to target small businesses. He would like my help in building out the investment lineup and some of the model portfolios for the participants. I would be helping him outside of the my regular work hours (nights and weekends) and would not be receiving any compensation.
For a little bit of background information… I work for a large fortune 500 company and help manage the pension investment program. My main responsibilities are ongoing due diligence and analysis of current and prospective investment managers. This does not compete with my company/job responsibilities in any way.
Do I need to get permission from my employer to do this?
No question, you should get your employer’s permission. Even outside of CFA, this kind of thing is likely covered by your company’s OBA policies. It doesn’t matter if you receive comp or not; this is about managing and reporting potential conflicts of interest.