CAIA Association Names Pierre Saint-Laurent Head of Canadian Chapter
Mon., Nov 05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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AMHERST, MASS; November 5, 2007 - The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association® today named Pierre Saint-Laurent head of its Canadian Chapter, succeeding Steve Kangas, who served in the position for the last two years. Mr. Saint-Laurent, who received his CAIA designation in 2004, will oversee the Toronto-based chapter, which services approximately 100 members from across the country.
"The alternatives industry has grown rapidly in Canada," said Craig Asche, executive director of the CAIA Association. "Many Canadian finance professionals work with complex alternative investments covering a variety of strategies and markets. This has created a strong need for targeted education. As a result, we have seen dramatic growth in our Canadian chapter and expect the number of members to continue rising into the foreseeable future. Pierre has the access, the energy and the industry knowledge to lead the chapter effectively, grow our membership, offer a variety of new events and ultimately expand the chapter network to other Canadian cities. We are grateful for the work that Steve has done in bringing the chapter to this point, and look forward to Pierre continuing that effort."
As head of the Canadian chapter, Mr. Saint-Laurent will be responsible for increasing the CAIA Association's visibility and reach. The organization plans a number of networking and informational events for its Canadian members over the coming year.
"In Canada, there is a strong need for training and certification as well as increased proficiency in alternatives," said Mr. Saint-Laurent. "The CAIA Association is best-suited to meet these needs because of its international reach, its evolving curriculum and ability to stay on top of industry critical issues."
In addition to his role with the CAIA Association, Mr. Saint-Laurent currently serves as president of AssetCounsel Inc., a financial services consultancy serving the analytics, product development and marketing/communications needs of Canadian retail, private wealth and institutional money managers and distributors.
He was formerly vice-president and shareholder of Talvest Fund Management, a division of TAL Asset Management (now CIBC Asset Management), as well as vice-president at StrategicNova (acquired by Dundee Wealth Management). He also taught at HEC Montréal (the University of Montreal Business School) between 1984-1992 and served as research economist at Hydro-Quebec in two of its divisions between 1992-1994. He continues to lecture at the BBA and MBA levels in finance and economics at HEC Montréal.
Mr. Saint-Laurent holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Montreal, with doctoral studies in Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. He holds the CAIA and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designations and is working toward completing the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations. He has also been both a CAIA and CFA examination grader.
About The CAIA Association
The CAIA Association (www.caia.org) is an independent, not-for-profit global organization committed to education and professionalism in the field of alternative investments, and is the sponsor of the CAIA designation. CAIA has chapters in New York, London, Zurich, Singapore, and Toronto, and anticipates opening additional chapters in the near future.
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