Case Notes/Answers
PITTINOS FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC by Marc Lipson
Richard Evans
Discussion Questions:
1. What was the structure of Pittinos Financial Advisers, LLC? What was its approach to
financial planning and how might this have affected its investment recommendations?
2. Be prepared to discuss Pittinos’s definition of market efficiency. Do you agree with his
definition? How does his definition affect his investment decisions on behalf of clients?
3. Which, if any, of the mutual funds should Pittinos add to his firm’s fund offerings? Use
the fund characteristics as well as fund risk-adjusted performance to justify your decision.
, UV5585
Rev. Feb. 10, 2012
PITTINOS FINANCIAL ADVISERS, LLC
Teaching Note
Case Synopsis
Independent financial advisers must decide which funds they will recommend to their
clients. This case examines this decision for a small financial planning firm owned by
Christopher Pittinos. Pittinos Financial Advisers, LLC, is located in a south Philadelphia
neighborhood and promotes itself as providing a customized plan for each client. Two principles
guide that plan. First is to recognize and address the tradeoff between the security of a client’s
investments and a client’s desire to achieve retirement independence. Many of Pittinos’s clients
are neighbors and friends who are concerned about the security of their investments, especially
considering the market events that had occurred beginning in fall 2009. The second is Pittinos’s
view of market efficiency. It is this second view that is most critical to the selection of funds for
the firm.
Pittinos is considering four new mutual funds for possible inclusion in his
recommendations to clients. The case provides information about the managers, investment
objectives, performance, and other characteristics of these funds. The students’ task is to
examine these four funds, calculate their risk-adjusted performance, and compare and contrast
them as investment options.
Intended Audience and Teaching Objectives
The case is designed as an introduction to the issues of market efficiency and
performance measurement. The case can be used either in an introductory finance course, where
the emphasis would be on market efficiency, or in an investments course, where the emphasis
would be on benchmarking fund performance. The teaching objectives for the case are as
follows:
PITTINOS FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC by Marc Lipson
Richard Evans
Discussion Questions:
1. What was the structure of Pittinos Financial Advisers, LLC? What was its approach to
financial planning and how might this have affected its investment recommendations?
2. Be prepared to discuss Pittinos’s definition of market efficiency. Do you agree with his
definition? How does his definition affect his investment decisions on behalf of clients?
3. Which, if any, of the mutual funds should Pittinos add to his firm’s fund offerings? Use
the fund characteristics as well as fund risk-adjusted performance to justify your decision.
, UV5585
Rev. Feb. 10, 2012
PITTINOS FINANCIAL ADVISERS, LLC
Teaching Note
Case Synopsis
Independent financial advisers must decide which funds they will recommend to their
clients. This case examines this decision for a small financial planning firm owned by
Christopher Pittinos. Pittinos Financial Advisers, LLC, is located in a south Philadelphia
neighborhood and promotes itself as providing a customized plan for each client. Two principles
guide that plan. First is to recognize and address the tradeoff between the security of a client’s
investments and a client’s desire to achieve retirement independence. Many of Pittinos’s clients
are neighbors and friends who are concerned about the security of their investments, especially
considering the market events that had occurred beginning in fall 2009. The second is Pittinos’s
view of market efficiency. It is this second view that is most critical to the selection of funds for
the firm.
Pittinos is considering four new mutual funds for possible inclusion in his
recommendations to clients. The case provides information about the managers, investment
objectives, performance, and other characteristics of these funds. The students’ task is to
examine these four funds, calculate their risk-adjusted performance, and compare and contrast
them as investment options.
Intended Audience and Teaching Objectives
The case is designed as an introduction to the issues of market efficiency and
performance measurement. The case can be used either in an introductory finance course, where
the emphasis would be on market efficiency, or in an investments course, where the emphasis
would be on benchmarking fund performance. The teaching objectives for the case are as
follows:
