Q & A Database

The GIPS Standards Q&A database contains questions and answers (Q&As) on various searchable topics that provide additional interpretation on an issue. Q&As are considered to be authoritative guidance and must be followed in order to claim compliance with the GIPS standards.

Content from prior Q&As was included in the GIPS Standards Handbook as much as possible and many Q&As were archived. Change the Status drop-down filter to "Archived" to see the archived Q&As.

The GIPS Standards Helpdesk is available for individual questions and typically responds to inquiries within 3 business days.

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Effective

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Archived

Effective: 1 January, 2004 - 31 December, 2019

Categories: Supplemental/Additional Information

Source: Guidance Statement on the Use of Supplemental Information

Are there any limits to what can be shown as supplemental information?
Yes. The definition and guiding principles of the Guidance Statement on the Use of Supplemental Information are very specific about the types of information that can and cannot be shown as part of a compliant presentation. When in doubt, firms should always turn their focus to the first guiding principle of the Guidance Statement, which is also the fundamental objective of the GIPS standards: to ensure fair representation and full disclosure of performance.

Specifically, firms that claim compliance with the GIPS standards must not present performance or performance-related information that is false or misleading. For example, the following two items are misleading and unrepresentative; therefore, compliant firms are prohibited from presenting this information (unless specifically requested from the firm by a prospective or existing client in a one-on-one presentation):
1. Model, hypothetical, backtested, or simulated results linked to actual performance results
2. Non-portable performance from a prior firm linked to current ongoing performance results
This is not an exhaustive list and is only provided to show examples of potentially misleading information.