Member Update - July 2009
Dear Member,
When asked about the most important facet of holding the designation, CAIA members' universal response is that membership in an exclusive community of AI professionals is a key benefit of being a CAIA. But the true value of being a part of the Association extends beyond membership itself, beyond the extra letters that follow your name on your business card. The real benefit is in the ability to access other members of the CAIA global network, to share ideas, make valuable business contacts, attend events, and stay current in an ever-changing field.
We recognize how critical professional networking is to our members, and as part of our ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for CAIA members to connect, we've held a record number of social networking events across the globe in recent weeks. All of us at the Association extend our thanks to the many CAIA members who organized and participated in these events. From Mumbai to Vienna, Seoul to Atlanta, feedback has been resoundingly positive and we plan to hold many more networking events this year. For a partial list of recent events, please see the Chapter Notes section below.
"I am doing research on leveraged buyouts in the UK...looking for the equity investments of PE funds on a per-deal-basis." - CAIA member
In response to your feedback, we've created a new CAIA members-only group on LinkedIn. In addition to our Association groups on LinkedIn and Xing (open to members, candidates, and the public), the members-only group is an excellent forum for communicating with fellow CAIA designees. In fact, one CAIA member has already posted a question to the membership (see above). CAIA members have also created subgroups for members and candidates in France and Brazil. If you're interested in networking with fellow members and AI practitioners, we encourage you to join the LinkedIn and Xing groups. And if you have an answer to the question above, please post your response on the discussion board!
Kind regards,
Maia Porter
Director of Member Services
AllAboutAlpha.com's Research Dossier Highlight
Changing rules: the regulation, taxation and distribution of hedge funds around the globe
By: PricewaterhouseCoopers
Published: June 2009
From Forward: The reduction in worldwide securities markets coupled with net redemptions over the last 9 months have resulted in industry assets under management falling significantly - estimates suggest some 30% from their peak. Some hedge funds have closed, some have restructured and some fund managers have gone out of business. The business environment remains extremely challenging yet the regulatory consequences of the credit crunch and their potential impact on the marketplace are only beginning to emerge. Click here to continue.
Alternative Viewpoints... powered by CAIA
Investing in hedge funds in emerging markets: the "prudent approach", posted June 24 on AllAboutAlpha.com
After being beaten up along with most hedge fund strategies in 2008, emerging markets hedge funds are roaring back this year along with the fortunes of their target regions. Hedge Funds Review reports that, "While prone to volatility, emerging markets hedge funds have historically posted strong gains following market bottoms. In the 12 months following the trough of each of the five largest performance declines, funds have produced an average gain of 23.3%."
And Citigroup recently told Bloomberg News, "There is going to be an outsized investment back into Asia. Some of the big pensions are going to be looking at Asia; it's coming onto the radar screens."
We wondered if this was just a matter of emerging markets beta, or whether emerging markets hedge funds provide added value? For a perspective on this, we turned to our resident emerging markets expert, Peter Douglas, CAIA, Principal, GFIA pte ltd.
For long-term investors, hedge funds are the most prudent approach to access the opportunities inherent in emerging markets.
Emerging market equity investing has typically been characterized by dramatic price movements through market cycles in both directions. In addition, the inefficient, diverse and often rapidly developing nature of emerging capital markets creates challenges which can create unexpected risks for non-specialist investors.
In a recent report, GFIA analyzed how hedge funds specializing in emerging market investing can both exploit these market inefficiencies, and protect themselves from extremes of price movements, thereby generating stronger risk adjusted returns over time. Click here to continue.
Smart Moves
Bernardo Vizcaino, CAIA, is Managing Director of Amsar Partners, an independent Islamic finance consultancy that provides due diligence services on Shariah compliant investments. Recently, Bernardo along with his colleagues helped to launch Opalesque Islamic Finance Intelligence (OIFI) in collaboration with Opalesque. OIFI is a monthly publication designed with a practitioner approach focusing on relevant content for investors, product manufacturers, and fund managers of the Islamic financial community. As an editor, Bernardo's involvement with OIFI continues.
Prior to joining Amsar Partners, Bernardo worked for Eurekahedge where he developed their Islamic funds platform as well as other areas of research, including SRI, 130/30 and alternative funds. Before Eurekahedge, he worked at Citigroup in the corporate bank division, known as Global Corporate and Investment Bank (GCIB).
Bernardo has written extensively and given presentations at various conferences on the topic of Islamic Finance. As a lecturer at Charles Sturt University in Australia and RMIT Unversity in Singapore, Bernardo taught courses in finance and statistics.
Bernardo holds a Masters degree in Applied Finance from Macquarie University and has been a CAIA member since 2008.
If you would like to announce a new job, promotion, speaking engagement, or published article, please e-mail member@caia.org.
Chapter Notes
Members, candidates, and friends gathered worldwide for a record number of 48 events in May and June compared to 50 events in all of 2008! We want to thank all the chapter leaders and active members in non-chapter locations who were involved in organizing these meetings - without your support these events would not have been possible! July and August will be quieter, with most chapters taking a break to plan more interesting events for the fall. There are only a few events in the works for the month of July, in Toronto, Singapore, and, possibly, Tokyo. E-vites will be circulated once the details have been confirmed.
Here are the results of the highly successful events that took place in June:
CAIA Boston held a social networking event on June 11th at the Vintage Lounge with over 50 attendees. To continue networking, you are invited join the CAIA Boston LinkedIn group by clicking here.
CAIA Canada hosted an educational event entitled "Private Equity Opportunities and LP Performance Measurement" on June 12th in Toronto. The summary of the event and speakers' bios can be accessed by clicking here.
CAIA Canada will be holding a networking and careers event in Toronto on July 8th. Executive recruiters have been invited to this event and will include Beqaj International Inc., and Robert Half Financial Services Group, with others possibly joining as well. To view event details and to register please click here.
CAIA Chicago More than 60 members, candidates, and guests gathered at a social networking event on June 25th. Several members expressed an interest in getting involved with chapter committees. Stay tuned for an increased level of activity in Chicago in the fall.
CAIA Germany membership organized a highly successful educational panel in Frankfurt on June 9th on "Commodities - Portfolio construction, outlook and market mechanics." Event details and speakers' bios can be viewed by clicking here.
Members also met in Munich on June 18th and expressed an interest in holding similar networking events in the future.
CAIA Hong Kong membership held an educational event on June 25th featuring Robert Chiu, Chairman Asia-Pacific, EFG Private Bank. In recognition of the high level of activity in Hong Kong and strong commitment demonstrated by the membership, CAIA is planning an official Hong Kong chapter launch in the fall.
CAIA Iberia hosted an interesting educational panel on June 15th entitled "The Evolving Investment Regulatory Landscape in the European Union". Presentations can be viewed on the CAIA Iberia website.
CAIA London members gathered for the chapter's June social at the Counting House. The next social will be announced by e-mail.
CAIA New York With over 70 attendees, the networking event on June 24th was a success. Stay tuned for more exciting events in New York in the fall!
CAIA Paris membership had a successful social gathering on June 11th. As a result of this meeting, members in Paris have launched the CAIA France Members group on LinkedIn, which you can join by clicking here. (For more information about CAIA LinkedIn subgroups, see the Director's Comments.)
CAIA San Francisco Members in the Bay area gathered for an educational event on June 18th on "The Finances of Social Security and Health Care Reform" featuring John Shoven, Charles Schwab Professor of Economics at Stanford University as the guest speaker. The chapter has organized a series of very successful events so far this year and is planning more for the fall.
CAIA Singapore hosted a first of its kind open social networking event on June 25th, which was attended by over 60 members, candidates, and other guests. To keep the momentum, CAIA Singapore is organizing an educational event in July which will be announced shortly.
CAIA Singapore invites its members to attend an educational event on July 8th, entitled "Climate Change and Renewable Energy: Why China is developing renewable energy?" with Shirley Low of SAM Sustainable Asset Management AG as the guest speaker. To view event details and to register please click here.
CAIA Southern California membership gathered on June 11th for a well-attended social networking event. You are invited to join the LinkedIn group created by the CAIA Southern California membership by clicking here.
CAIA Switzerland The networking event in Zurich on June 17th was the largest gathering we've seen so far with over 100 attendees. Two more educational events are scheduled in Switzerland for the fall - one in Geneva and the other in Zurich - and a networking event in Geneva is als a possibility.
Many other events organized by active members in Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Mumbai, Dubai, Cape Town, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Luxemburg, Vienna, Helsinki and Copenhagen generated great turnouts and fostered an interest for further networking opportunities.
Job Board Highlight
London-based VP in Capital Development
Our client, a growing alternative investment management firm that specialises in niche real estate, distressed, natural resource, and special situations investments, is currently seeking a London-based capital raiser to join their growing team. The successful candidate will be responsible for raising capital for their current and prospective alternative investment funds. In particular, such a candidate will be responsible for developing relationships with and implementing programs designed to target segments of the European institutional investment community.
For details about this position, please click here.
CAIA on the Road
The CAIA Association is available to give private, on-site presentations of the CAIA program in each of the cities we visit. These presentations are an excellent way to increase your company's awareness of the value of the CAIA program, as well as to highlight your significant achievement in earning the designation. Contact events@caia.orgfor more information on planning an exclusive informational meeting for your colleagues.
Here are some of the places the CAIA Association will visit in the upcoming months:
July
London 3
London 9 - 10
Frankfurt 13
There are no trips planned in August.
September
Boston 8 -9
Milan 8 - 9
Luxembourg/Vienna 28 - 30
Bibliography
The following is a recent addition to the CAIA Bibliography:
Credit Contagion from Counterparty Risk
Philippe Jorion;Gaiyan Zhang
Standard credit risk models cannot explain the observed clustering of default, sometimes described as "credit contagion." This paper provides the first empirical analysis of credit contagion via direct counterparty effects. We find that bankruptcy announcements cause negative abnormal equity returns and increases in CDS spreads for creditors. In addition, creditors with large exposures are more likely to suffer from financial distress later. This suggests that counterparty risk is a potential additional channel of credit contagion. Indeed, the fear of counterparty defaults among financial institutions explains the sudden worsening of the credit crisis after the Lehman bankruptcy in September 2008. To read more, click here.
2009, Journal of Finance.
If you would like to submit an article, working paper, or white paper to the CAIA Bibliography, please send an e-mail to member@caia.org. The CAIA Association is currently expanding the bibliography to include more publicly available industry research reports. If you believe your company has such articles available that would be of interest to CAIA members, please email member@caia.org as well.
Industry Conferences
Remember to put your CAIA membership to work for you and take advantage of the discounts offered by leading conference providers.
July
Family Office and Private Wealth Management Forum
July 8 - 10, 2009
CAIA members receive a 20% discount