October 2007
Director's Comments
The CAIA Association has been engaged in a flurry of year-end activities, including our latest trips to Australia, Paris and London.
Australia
We're grateful for the warm reception from fellow alternative investment practitioners and members down under. We would especially like to thank Kim Ivey of AIMA Australia and everyone else who opened their doors to private presentations on the benefits of the CAIA program and designation and provided us with such a cordial welcome.
Business meetings in Australia were interspersed with interviews with the press and local media, all very interested in the CAIA program and designation and the growing attention garnered by the alternative investment industry. These included appointments with the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA), the Securities and Derivatives Industry Association (SDIA), the Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA), the Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL), Future Plus, AMP Capital and John Evans - Associate Professor at the Australian School of Business of the University of New South Wales, Deputy Director of the Centre of Pensions and Superannuation Research, and newly-elected member of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund's Advisory Board. In addition, we conducted interviews with Bloomberg, Money Management Magazine, the Financial Standard, and Business Review Weekly.
As always, the best part of traveling on behalf of the CAIA Association is the prospect of meeting CAIA members across the globe, and Australia was no exception. We were joined for dinner by Thomas Henker (Professor at the School of Banking and Finance at the University of New South Wales and CAIA Curriculum and Examination Committee member) and his lovely wife (also a Professor at UNSW), along with CAIA members Bob Oliver of Commonwealth Bank, Blake Henricks of Macquarie Bank and Simon Gibbins of Westpac Institutional Bank. The CAIA Association is only as strong and as well-regarded as our members, and we are continually reminded that when we gather in one place, we are in distinguished company.
And finally, we attended the Hedge Funds Rock event sponsored by CureOurKids.com.au. Every year, hedge fund managers, supported by well-known, highly-respected companies from Australia's financial sector, gather up their rock star ambitions and perform on behalf of finding a cure for childhood cancer. This year thousands of dollars were raised in support of this worthy cause. Despite the speculation and uncertainty that seems to dominate the news about our industry, there are plenty of good things to report.
Paris
Following on the heels of our successes in Australia, we were pleased to meet with many candidates, members, and alternative investment practitioners in Paris, where we gave a presentation on the CAIA program to an audience of traditional and alternative investment professionals interested in the CAIA program. This was followed by a member dinner, at which we had the opportunity to meet with ten engaged CAIA members and discuss future outreach in France. While in Paris, we were delighted to meet with several local organizations, including Paris Europlace, the Association Francaise des Investisseurs en Capital (AFIC - France's Association of Private Equity professionals), the Association Francaise de la Gestion Financiere (AFG - France's Association of Asset Managers). Our thanks go out to CAIA member Bill Holmberg in particular, for organizing a presentation to his colleagues at AXA Investment Managers.
London
While in London, our agenda was similarly packed with presentations to potential candidates, firms and associations. We were able to meet with Samba Financial (courtesy of fellow CAIA member John Gillbanks), Mayor Sam Lewis of Albourne Village, The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), and host a well-attended presentation at the Savoy for potential candidates, as well as visit the beautiful new AIMA offices.
The capstone affair was an educational event sponsored by the CAIA London chapter, which featured a presentation by Mark Yusko, founder of Morgan Creek Capital and a member of CAIA's Advisory Board. Mark's unique approach to portfolio construction, as well as his views of the current and future economic environment, provided for a very engaging talk and was followed by an hour-long Q & A session. The ensuing cocktail reception provided members and candidates an opportunity to network and further discuss these thought-provoking topics. A copy of the presentation will be posted on our site shortly, and is highly recommend reading for all who were unable to attend.
The next and final leg of our global trek will begin with informational and educational events in New York and continue with visits to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea. We look forward to meeting friends - old and new - as the year draws to a close. It is quite fitting that we'll end the year in the company of alternative investment professionals who work in some of the most robust and noteworthy economies in the world.
Best regards,
E. Craig Asche
Executive Director
March
2008 Exam Registration Now Open
- Register for an exam here.
- Exam dates: March 10 - 21, 2008.
- Early registration for the March examinations ends November 12, 2007.
- Exam registration closes January. 28, 2008.
September 2007 Exams Results Release Information
Level I: As of October 9th, candidates who completed the Level I examination can log in to the website and receive notification of their general exam results.
Level II: Candidates who completed the
Level II examination can log in and receive their general exam results
beginning October 22nd.
For complete grade release details, please visit Exam Results.
For more information about the grading process, please review the Grading
FAQs.
Post Exam
Survey Reminder
A friendly reminder to all Level II candidates...
You should have received an email inviting you to complete a survey
about the CAIA Level II curriculum as well as your study and
examination experience. Please take the
time to click on the link included in the email and tell us your
opinion about the entire process. Your feedback is important
to us and an invaluable resource in guiding our future decisions around
curriculum and examinations.
Curriculum
Update
The largest change to the curriculum during the last year was the application of a policy shift to a program exclusively focused on alternative investments. This entailed three changes: 1) removing the traditional investments material from the main curriculum 2) introducing a voluntary PDR (pre-diagnostic review) for candidates to check that they have the background knowledge recommended for success in the program; and 3) introducing a new Level I textbook (François-Serge Lhabitant's Quantitative Insights). Other major changes included the annual update to the CAIA Level II Integrated Topics, and the introduction of a new book on private equity: Beyond the J-Curve by Pierre-Yves Mathonet and Thomas Meyer.
Looking forward to September 2008, at a minimum, the
curriculum will
reflect the outcomes of the first member-based curriculum development
initiative. This initiative was focused on the next annual update to
the CAIA Level II Integrated Topic Readings.
Look for more information on this curriculum development initiative in
future newsletters.
Changes to the March '08 curriculum are virtually non-existent for the first exam cycle since the inception of the program. Two minor exceptions are worth mentioning: 1) an article detailing the results of the SEC Rule 203 (b) was removed because the ruling was overturned and 2) further changes were made to the structure of the Level II exam questions to more adequately assess candidates' ability to synthesize concepts across the curriculum. Specifically, while remaining in the published collection CAIA Level II Integrated Topics, the article by Clive Taylor ["Hedge Fund Managers: Summary and Implications of New Rules Requiring SEC Registration." The Journal of Investment Compliance, Spring 2005, p. 9-17] is no longer in the curriculum, and candidates will not be tested on that material. The changes to the Level II topic weights and question format are repeated below.
Level II Exam Topic Weights and Question Format
All eleven Level II topics may be tested in either a multiple choice
format, essay format, or both formats. The specific weighting for each
part is provided in the table below.
| Part of Exam | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Professional Standards and Ethics | 12.5% | |
| Part 2: Hedge Funds and Managed Futures | 22.5% | |
| Part 3: Venture Capital and Private Equity | 12.5% | |
| Part 4: Real Estate | 12.5% | |
| Part 5: Integrated Topics | 40% | |
| 5A: | Asset Allocation to Alternatives in a Global Setting | |
| 5B: | Securitization in Alternatives, New Products, and Structured Products | |
| 5C: | Risk Management and Performance Analysis | |
| 5D: | Regulation and Taxation | |
| 5E: | Case Analyses | |
| 100% | ||
| Minutes | Format | |
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Multiple Choice (all parts) | |
| 30 | Optional Break | |
| 90 | Essay (all parts) | |
| 210 | Total Exam Minutes | |
The first 120 minutes of the exam will contain 100 multiple choice questions, constituting 70% of the possible points. The second 90 minutes of the exam will consist of essay questions, constituting 30% of the possible points. Although essays comprise 30% of the weight of the exam, additional time is provided to develop essay answers.
Earning Credibility as an Alternative Investments Specialist
Five CAIA members Share Their Views of the
Investment Industry's Fastest Growing Designation
Despite their rise in popularity over the past decade, alternative
investments-particularly hedge funds-remain the least understood of
asset classes, and not just among investors, but even among investment
professionals themselves. Even with all the career opportunities that
have become available to investment professionals in response to
alternatives' emergence into mainstream investment strategy, two
barriers often stand between these individuals and the positions they
seek.
* First, how do you acquire a baseline,
working knowledge of alternative investments?
* Second, equipped with such knowledge,
how do you earn recognition for this expertise with employers and
clients?
More than 5000 investment professionals around the world have found a
single answer to these two questions in the Chartered Alternative
Investment Analyst (CAIA) program.
CAIA Events Roundup - Fall 2007
Don't forget to register yourself and your colleagues for an "Introduction to the CAIA Association" presentation in a city near you. Our final public presentation for 2007 will be held in New York City on November 5. We will close out the year with a tour of Asia that includes Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. And if you don't see your area listed, we encourage you to contact our offices to arrange a private presentation for your firm. You can reach us at events@caia.org. The introductory events allow you to pose questions directly to CAIA representatives and network with other AI professionals.
Our private presentations have been extremely well-received and afford us an intimate setting to get to know potential members and candidates and to present the benefits of the CAIA program. We look forward to meeting the firms, associations and alternative investment professionals who anticipate our arrival in Asia. As 2008 approaches, we anticipate even more such gatherings and opportunities. Stay tuned!
- New York - November 5
JAI Featured Article
Water as the Next Commodity
In conjunction with Institutional Investor Journals, we are
proud to
offer you access to a featured article from the latest edition of the
Journal of Alternative
Investments, the official journal of the CAIA
Association. We hope you will take advantage of this unique
opportunity to read cutting edge research from the leading journal of
the alternative investment sphere.
This quarter's highlighted article, "Water
as the Next Commodity", is only available to JAI subscribers
and through our website.
Alternative Viewpoints ... powered by CAIA
The CAIA Association is pleased to announce that AllAboutAlpha.com is launching a regular column, Alternative Viewpoints, written exclusively by CAIA Association members.
AllAboutAlpha.com's new column, Alternative Viewpoints, aims to provide the thoughtful and reasoned opinions typical of CAIA members on the various topics covered by AllAboutAlpha. Founded by a CAIA member, the site covers many of the topics found in the CAIA curriculum - albeit in a unique style characteristic of a "blog". As a result, we believe this opportunity will prove to be a valuable career-development and networking venue for our members.
AllAboutAlpha.com is read by over 10,000 unique readers each
month in
the hedge fund and greater asset management industry. Click here
to read the full text of the inaugural article by Ryan Teal, CAIA
entitled, "Alternative Viewpoints: Being Like Jesse James".