The CFA Institute Centre serves the investment community with performance measurement direction through the universally recognized Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS^®), a set of standardized, industry-wide ethical principles. The GIPS standards provide investment firms with guidance on how to calculate and report their investment results to prospective clients.

Performance reports give investors and their advisers the information they need to make well-informed decisions about whether funds' risk/reward relationships are appropriate to their specific needs.

The best performance reports give up-to-date information about fund performance in a consistent, accessible, and understandable manner. Annual and interim financial statements of investment funds should include statements, such as net assets, operations, investment portfolio, summaries of portfolio investments, cash flows or statement of changes in net assets, financial highlights and explanatory notes, and auditor reports on annual financial statements.

Performance Presentation

Investment performance must be fairly represented and fully disclosed. Information regarding the risks taken, the costs incurred, and the results achieved allow investors to understand their portfolio’s performance and fairly evaluate their investment managers.