34 Tex. Admin. Code § 6.4 - Standards of Conduct
(a) Compliance.
(1) These standards are intended to be in
addition to, and not in lieu of, a financial advisor's or service provider's
obligations under its contract or service agreement with the comptroller. In
the event of a conflict between a financial advisor's obligations under these
standards and under its contract or services agreement, the standard that
imposes a stricter ethics or disclosure requirement controls.
(2) A financial advisor or service provider
shall be knowledgeable about these standards, keep current with revisions to
these standards, and abide by the provisions set forth in these
standards.
(3) In all professional
activities a financial advisor or service provider shall perform services in
accordance with applicable laws, rules and regulations of governmental agencies
and other applicable authorities, including the comptroller, and in accordance
with any established policies of the comptroller.
(b) Qualification Standards.
(1) A financial advisor or service provider
shall render opinions or advice, or perform professional services only in those
areas in which the financial advisor has competence based on education,
training or experience. In areas where a financial advisor is not qualified,
the financial advisor shall seek the counsel of qualified individuals and/or
refer the comptroller to such persons.
(2) A financial advisor or service provider
shall keep informed of developments in the field of financial planning and
investments and participate in continuing education throughout the financial
advisor's relationship with the comptroller in order to improve professional
competence in all areas in which the financial advisor is engaged.
(c) Integrity.
(1) A financial advisor or service provider
has an obligation to observe standards of professional conduct in the course of
providing advice, recommendations and other services performed for the
comptroller. A financial advisor shall perform professional services with
honesty, integrity, skill, and care. In the course of professional activities,
a financial advisor shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud,
deceit or misrepresentation, or knowingly make a false or misleading statement
to a client, employer, employee, professional colleague, governmental, or other
regulatory body or official, or any other person or entity.
(2) A financial advisor or service provider's
relationship with a third party shall not be used to obtain illegal or improper
treatment from such third party on behalf of the comptroller.
(d) Objectivity. A financial
advisor or service provider will maintain objectivity and be free of conflicts
of interest in discharging its responsibilities. A financial advisor will
remain independent in fact and appearance when providing financial planning and
investment advisory services to the comptroller.
(e) Prudence. A financial advisor or service
provider shall exercise reasonable and prudent professional judgment in
providing professional services to the comptroller.
(f) Competence. A financial advisor or
service provider shall strive to continually improve its competence and the
quality of services, and discharge its responsibilities to the best of its
ability.
(g) Conflicts of Interest.
(1) If a financial advisor or service
provider is aware of any significant conflict between the interests of the
comptroller and the interests of another person, the financial advisor shall
advise the comptroller of the conflict and shall also include appropriate
qualifications or disclosures in any related communication.
(2) A financial advisor or service provider
shall not perform professional services involving an actual or potential
conflict of interest with the comptroller unless the financial advisor's
ability to act fairly is unimpaired, there has been full disclosure of the
conflict to the comptroller, and the comptroller has expressly agreed in
writing to the performance of the services by the financial advisor.
(h) Confidentiality.
(1) A financial advisor or service provider
shall not disclose to another person any confidential information obtained from
the comptroller or regarding the comptroller's investments unless authorized to
do so by the comptroller in writing or required to do so by law.
(2) For the purposes of this section,
"confidential information" refers to information not in the public domain of
which the financial advisor or service provider becomes aware during the course
of rendering professional services to the comptroller. It may include
information of a proprietary nature, information that is excepted from
disclosure under the Public Information Act, Government Code, Chapter 552, or
information restricted from disclosure under any contract or service agreement
with the comptroller.
Notes
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