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.

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Effective: 1 November, 2012 - 31 December, 2019

Categories: Dispersion

Source: GIPS Handbook, 3rd Edition

How should a firm that calculated portfolio returns quarterly prior to 1 January 2001 and monthly thereafter meet the GIPS standards requirement of including a measure of internal dispersion in a compliant presentation?

When disclosing the internal dispersion of portfolio returns within each composite, only the portfolios that have been included in the composite for the full annual period are included in the internal dispersion calculation. The returns (monthly or quarterly) of those full-year portfolios must be calculated and linked together to determine the annual returns for each portfolio. The annual returns of these portfolios must be used to compute the composite internal dispersion.

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