Bernardo Vizcaino, CAIA, is the author of the April Member Poll. When he helped to launch Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence (OIFI) in collaboration with Opalesque, he was featured in the July 2009 Smart Moves. He has been a CAIA member since November 2008.

Alternative investments have had to contend - at different times of their lifecycle - with sometimes hostile regulatory environments, reticent political support, harsh media treatment, and a skeptic public. Given the initial opacity of the industry and the sometimes disbanded nature of its participants, it seems that this predicament is being repeated in the Islamic finance industry.

Michael Cimmino, CAIA, is the author of the January Member Poll. He is also featured in this month’s Smart Moves.

It was recently revealed that household debt as a percentage of disposable income in Canada surpassed the United States for the first time in more than a decade. This increase also coincides with a rise in the average mortgage amount for a Canadian household. After receiving much praise for successfully navigating the recent financial crisis, do you think Canada will follow in the steps of the United States and other peripheral European countries?

240 members responded to last month’s poll predicting U.S. Federal Reserve asset purchases by 2011: the clear majority (61%) answered $100 Billion - $1 Trillion.

During the last quarter of the year we will feature a series of forecast polls.  This month, Kristaps Licis, Senior Associate Director of Exams, CAIA Association, asks about the production of green technology in 2015.

Rare earth metals (Neodymium, Lanthanum, Ytterbium, Promethium, etc., 17 in total) are crucial ingredients for modern green energy technologies such as electric cars and wind turbines. Currently, Peoples Republic of China controls around 97% of the world’s supply of rare earth metals. In 2009 and 2010, China cut rare earth metal export quota by 20% each year. Further quota cuts are expected in 2011 and 2012. Green energy manufacturers argue that soon, their only option will be to move their operations into mainland China.

Sergio Miguez Martin, CAIA, the author of the September CAIA Member Poll, has been a CAIA member since 2006. He is a Co-Chair of the Iberia Chapter.

Markets’ current focus on the possibility of a "double-dip" for the US economy is increasingly causing the main financial assets to behave erratically throughout this year.

Hamad M Ali Hasan, CAIA, is the author of the July CAIA Member Poll. He is the first CAIA member to contribute a poll question and response set.