CAIA Association Aims High for '08

Thu., Jul 17 - HedgeWorld.com [excerpt]

By Maggie Shea, Financial Correspondent
July 17, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. (HedgeWorld.com)-The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association added 550 new members last week after they passed the Level II CAIA exams, given in March, certifying their mastery of alternative investment concepts and practices. This brings the total number of CAIA designees to more than 2,000 worldwide.

The organization is aggressively working to increase awareness of the designation in different regions and across alternative investment industry sectors, which is why Steve Wallace, associate director of industry relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, joined the association about six weeks ago Previous HedgeWorld Story. "It shows how much we've grown. Previously, there wouldn't have been much of a need for me-[Executive Director] Craig [Asche] could handle everything," he said in an interview.

Mr. Wallace said the CAIA designation already is well known in the three main alternative industry hubs: New York, London and Switzerland, though the organization is becoming better understood elsewhere.  He'll be promoting the designation in Madrid this week, then in Geneva and Zürich, Switzerland, next month, followed by trips to Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Copenhagen, Denmark and Australia in the fall.

"We see a lot of potential across the EMEA region," he said. "People are starting to understand what CAIA stands for. We used to be confused with the [Chartered Financial Analyst designation]. We now are a globally recognized qualification as alternatives have just become part of life."

Indeed, according to Nelson Lacey, director of examinations at the CAIA Association, the ever-changing industry makes for often heated discussions when the curriculum and exam committees meet each year to update the Integrated Topics portion of the Level II exams. Mr. Lacey also is a professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

There currently are more than 3,000 industry professionals worldwide signed up for the September cycle of Level I and Level II CAIA exams. The pass rate is roughly 70%, Mr. Wallace said.