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Check in with the new CAIA Blog a few times a week to read CAIA staff members' musings on new developments in the AI sphere. We welcome comments here, but if a lively conversation starts, we invite you to move your discussions to the CAIA Forums, which are structured for greater give-and-take in sharing ideas.

Real Estate Round-Up Causes Stampede of Interest
Mon, 08/09/2010
Borrowing from the long-standing real estate adage, July's CAIA Canada Real Estate Round-Up was made for members, members, members. Our sixth event of the year was the third to feature CAIA Briefing Notes (which you can download from the event page) and are designed to give attendees a heads-up on the subject discussed, data points showing the topical trends of the area and areas of current interest and discussion. Also included (and I say this...
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CAIA Chicago kicks off educational series with an expert panel in private equity and distressed debt
Fri, 07/23/2010
On Thursday July 15th CAIA Chicago kicked off its educational event series with a presentation entitled Current State and Trends in the Private Equity and Distressed Debt Markets. This event was held at Morningstar’s new auditorium. CAIA Chicago assembled a distinguished panel of experts and practitioners from both Private Equity and Distressed Debt. Speaking from the Consulting viewpoint was Dr. Louis Finney- a principal at Mercer Investment...
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University of Montreal HEC Academic Partnership Signing Ceremony
Tue, 06/22/2010
Earlier this year, the CAIA Association established an academic partnership program to encourage business schools to increase the coverage of the alternative investments (AI) in their curriculum. The growing importance of AI has prompted many business schools to want to increase their coverage of this subject, especially in the areas of hedge funds and private equity.  We have the foundation of knowledge to assist schools seeking to expand AI...
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Good Spirits Prevail at Canada Chapter Post-Examinations Event
Mon, 06/14/2010
Recently, the Toronto chapter of CAIA Canada held its semi-annual C+C (Congratulations and Commiserations) event at the storied and oaken-walled Cambridge Club. To celebrate those who got through and comfort those who would try once again in the fall, Marc Laverdiere, Scotch Whisky Ambassador, presented an informative and much-liked whisky tasting featuring three unique-tasting single malts from Highland distilled The Macallan. Like alternative...
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CAIA Exhibit at the CFA Annual Conference
Thu, 06/03/2010
Last month several CAIA staff members had the opportunity to meet some of the 1,500 CFA charterholders at the CFA 2010 Annual conference in Boston, Mass.  Most of the CFA charterholders who stopped by the CAIA exhibit wanted to know the difference between the CAIA and the CFA.  We explained that the CAIA and the CFA are complementary designations with distinct sets of expertise: the CFA takes a generalist approach of presenting all asset classes...
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Blue Sky Thinking
Mon, 05/24/2010
It's attitude, not altitude, as the saying goes. As some readers know, the London skyline (like much of Europe) is rather squat, with the highest located at 1 Canada Square at 50 stories (235 metres/801 feet). The Global Absolute Return Congress (Global ARC), long supported by CAIA, was held at the Landmark Hotel in London and CAIA London took the opportunity to host a reception on the fifth floor of the famed hotel (originally constructed as...
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Pulp Non-Fiction
Mon, 05/10/2010
Last night CAIA Canada tipped its hat to another curriculum component with its 2010 Timber Talk in the aptly oak-paneled dining room of the Cambridge Club in downtown Toronto. Speaking was Tim Cayen, Director of Business Development with Hancock Timber Resource Group and Eva Greger, Managing Director with GMO Renewable Resources LLC. Both participants gave very cogent and convincing arguments for inclusion of timber in institutional portfolios....
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Tenth CAIA Grading Jamboree Held in Amherst
Mon, 04/26/2010
Another milestone for the CAIA Association was reached this April when twenty-four CAIA Members came to Amherst to participate in the tenth semi-annual CAIA Grading Jamboree. At this event, graders participate in training, then grade essay responses for the Level II examinees. "I look forward to the grading experience and welcome the invitation to assist CAIA in this important work," said Jerry Harris, a veteran CAIA grader. This impression...
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CAIA Boston Career Management Panel: Standing Room Only for Dynamite Content
Mon, 03/29/2010
The CAIA Boston Career Management panel, held last week on March 25th, was sold out -- standing room only, with close to 80 people there for a lively and frank discussion! While attendance at our events has historically been strong, I was a bit nervous that our migration from "free to fee" would dampen enthusiasm and attendance. Happily, I could not have been more wrong. First, many thanks to our expert panel. Lynn Tidd from Russell...
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CAIA Canada hosts sold-out infrastructure luncheon at historic Toronto club
Fri, 03/26/2010
High on the wall in the dining room of Toronto’s historic Albany Club hangs an imposing painting of Canada’s first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald.  Like many famous portraits from the 19th century, it appears as though Macdonald’s eyes actually follow you as you move around the room.  Yesterday, “Sir John A.” as he is colloquially known in Canada, cast his curious gaze upon a room full of institutional investors, consultants...
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