CFA INSTITUTE NEWS IN FOCUS The Value of Sharing Ethical Wisdom By James G. Jones. CFA The conviction of Rajat Gupta in June 2012 for securities fraud and conspiracy resulting from charges of insider trad- ing marked the end of a tragic fall from grace. The former CEO of consulting firm McKinsey and Company as well as a former board member of Goldman Sachs, American Air- lines, and Procter & Gamble and a noted philanthropist, Gupta later stated during sentencing, "I regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family, my friends and the insti- tutions that are dear to me. I have lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating." Gupta had committed the error most common to decisions that end in great regret and pain. At the time of deciding, he did not understand the ultimate cost of his poor decision. It goes without saying that if we could somehow foresee ultimate outcomes, we would make better decisions and have fewer regrets. As a society, we recognize this truth and have sought to communicate with clarity the costs of certain poor decisions whose consequences extend beyond the individual to other members of society. The establish- ment of criminal laws and sentencing guidelines serves to define and communicate both the unacceptable behavior and the personal costs of a conviction. Civil law and gov- ernment regulations serve similar purposes. In our pro- fession, the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct define proper and improper behav- ior for CFA Institute members and impose penalties for misconduct, ranging from private censure to revocation of the CFA charter. Most people would agree that laws, regulations, and codes of ethics are important pillars in society that inform us what ethical behavior looks like and which behaviors, by the nature of the severity of their associated penalty, are most egregious. Yet, even with these constructs, unethical behavior persists. However,