The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association has announced its latest round of registration for Level I and II examinations.
Craig Asche, Executive Dire
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association has announced its latest round of registration for Level I and II examinations.
Craig Asche, Executive Director of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, confirmed registration is now open for February 2005 Level I and Level II exams for financial professionals seeking CAIA designation. Upcoming exams will take place February 2005 in testing centres around the world.
The growing interest in hedge funds, real estate, managed futures, commodities and private equity underlines the importance of establishing an industry designation for professionals specializing in alternative investments. Since CAIA’s inception in 2002, the number of candidates seeking the designation of Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst has more than tripled annually.
More than 1,000 individuals from 34 different countries representing over 300 organizations have received or are seeking CAIA designation. Most are employed as investment advisors, financial consultants, asset managers, fund administrators, mid/back office personnel, accountants and lawyers, and come from a variety of institutions including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Blackstone Group, Blumont Capital, BNP Parisbas, Calyon Financial, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, GAM, HSBC, ING, Ivy Asset Management, Man Group plc, Merrill Lynch, Norshield, Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company, Tremont and UBS.
Asche said: “At first, most candidates were enrolling of their own volition. But now we‚re seeing institutional sponsorship of group registrations.” Citigroup is signing up multiple employees and Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) now requires all of their employees to earn the CAIA designation.
Founded by the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM) and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), CAIA’s Board of Directors includes Thomas Schneeweis, Director of CISDM, Florence Lombard, Executive Director of AIMA and Alexander Ineichen, Global Head of Alternative Investment Strategies Research at UBS.
To reach both the buy and sell sides of financial markets on a global scale, CAIA‚s Advisory Board and the Curriculum and Examination Committee work to balance academic insight with practitioner relevance in developing the program. Recent additions to these respective bodies include Mark Anson, CIO of the California Public Employees‚ Retirement System (CalPERS), and Jane Buchan, Managing Director of the Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO).
CAIA’s mission is to promote ethical and professional conduct within the alternative investment community, enhance industry knowledge through ongoing educational programs and facilitate communication among industry academics and practitioners alike.
For further information about the CAIA program visit www.caia.org
