In Brief
CAIA Association: A New Year's Message from the CEO
By Florence Lombard, Chief Executive Officer
The end of the year is an ideal time to reflect on that year's events. As the world continues to grapple with unprecedented economic problems, the need for a thorough understanding of fast growing and complex sectors of finance and asset management becomes ever more apparent. The CAIA Association's evolving contribution to this need, with our pinpoint focus on alternative investments, fulfills an important role in the ability of finance leaders to come together to make important decisions and in the ability of financial professionals to deliver performance for their investors.
As we celebrate the CAIA Association's 10th anniversary in 2012, we are poised to meet the growing demand for education and information. In 2011, the CAIA Association grew its capacity internally and added new resources around the world. First, we successfully transitioned to a new management team and welcomed new staff members in several departments. We re-structured our global business development team with the appointments of Caroline Bault to the newly created Managing Director of Global Business Development position, based in London, Sebastien Lacroix as Director of Industry Relations - Asia in Singapore, Joanne Murphy as Senior Advisor in Hong Kong, and Sam Chung as Senior Advisor for Korea.
Here in the Americas, Robert Cliche, formerly the IT Director at the CAIA Association's headquarters, assumed his new role as the Director of Business Development - Americas in addition to helping open the CAIA Association's newest office in New York City. Finally, our Board of Directors welcomed two new members, Andrew Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Alternative Investment Management Association and Robert DeRito, Head of Financial Risk Management, APG Asset Management US.
Second, our member community bloomed in new ways. In June, our roster surpassed 5,000 members and is now more than 5,400 active and engaged holders of the CAIA Designation. New chapters were launched in the city of Los Angeles, Luxembourg, and also in Korea, where interest in alternative investment increased in the past few quarters. We introduced new Affiliate Membership options to those who have passed the Level I and II exams and are working to meet the educational or professional requirements for full membership as well as a Retired Membership status for those who wish to maintain their CAIA membership and are retired, unemployed, enrolled in degree programs, or experiencing extenuating circumstances.
Finally, we ended the year on a celebratory note in awarding finance industry visionary Mark Anson with the prestigious CAIA Leadership Award for his role in the development of the CAIA Curriculum, the pillar of our mission and the benchmark in alternative investment education.
This sampling of the exciting new directions in which the CAIA Association expanded in 2011 ensures that we remain at the forefront of leadership in alternative investment education. Please join us this year as CAIA marks its 10th anniversary including a year-long celebration as the global leader in alternative investment education.
CAIA News
November 30 - Finance Industry Innovator Mark Anson to Receive the CAIA Leadership Award for Excellence in Alternative Investment Education
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA) announced today that Mark J.P. Anson, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Oak Hill Investment Management, is the recipient of the 2011 Annual CAIA Leadership Award. This award, the most prestigious given for Alternative Investment leadership, is sponsored by the CAIA Association, the only organization that provides globally recognized education and training in Alternative Investments.
Anson will receive the CAIA Leadership Award in recognition of his long-standing work as a pioneer in the field of alternatives as well as his unwavering support of the CAIA Association and its mission to raise the standards of knowledge, ethics, and professionalism in this dynamic area of financial management.
Thought leadership and prolific writing on behalf of the alternative investment industry were among the rigorous criteria used by CAIA to select the recipient of this award. Anson has published over 100 research articles, won two Best Paper Awards, authored five financial textbooks including the Handbook of Alternative Assets, the primary text used by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst program until 2009. He is also a contributing author of Core Topics in Alternative Investments, one of the textbooks used in the CAIA program now.
"CAIA is very fortunate for the immense contributions made by Mr. Anson to the industry as well as to our Association and its members. In addition to writing our original core Level I curriculum, he is also a key member of our Curriculum Advisory Committee and was one of our first CAIA charter designees in the class of September 2003," said Florence Lombard, CEO of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, and the recipient of the 2010 CAIA Leadership Award. "Mark's dedication to alternative investment industry and his ability to integrate alternatives into some of the world's largest investment portfolios makes him a true leader and visionary who is most deserving of this award."
Anson's extraordinary career includes top roles as former president and executive director of Investment Services at Nuveen Investments, an asset management firm with nearly US$200 billion assets under management, chief executive officer of Hermes Pensions Management Ltd., an institutional asset management company with $80 billion AUM, former chief executive officer of the British Telecom Pension Scheme, the largest pension fund in the United Kingdom, and former chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest pension fund in the United States.
"My personal experience with the CAIA program began when I was the Chief Investment Officer for the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)," said Mr. Anson. "At that time, CalPERS was expanding its foray into Alternative Investments: Hedge Funds, Commodities, Currency, Venture Capital, and Private Equity. I realized that I needed to have the highest level of professional development in order to meet the challenges of investing in the sophisticated world of Alternative Investments. So, I decided to sit for the CAIA exam. However, achieving my charter was just a stepping stone—my CAIA training has continued to provide me with the knowledge and expertise required to be a successful investor in Alternative Assets."
November 23 - Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, the leader in Alternative Investment Education, Launches Korea Chapter
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association® (CAIA), a global, independent, not-for-profit international professional educational organization, is opening a new chapter in Korea.
The CAIA Korea Chapter will be launched on November 24, 2011, in Seoul, South Korea.
"This new chapter reflects the sustained growth and interest for the CAIA designation in Korea and beyond in the Asia-Pacific region that saw 66% growth in candidates in 2011," said Florence Lombard, CEO of the CAIA Association. "With the advent of a new regulatory framework, Korea is opening up to alternative investments and will see an interest from local and foreign companies to establish new businesses in that country. CAIA's presence there will help local members network and expand their knowledge of the alternative investment sector. The launch of CAIA Korea will support our vibrant member base in the region."
Korea is the third CAIA chapter to form in Asia; CAIA Singapore was established in 2005, CAIA Hong Kong in 2009.
"Asian fund managers are looking at Korea as one of the markets with the most potential, with a significant accumulation of wealth in the country," said Sam Y. Chung, PhD, Academic Advisor to the CAIA Association.
Dr. Chung noted that with the encouragement of the Financial Supervisory Service in Korea, more money is flowing into financial fields like the green industry, corporate restructuring and distressed securities.
CAIA members in Korea, with the support of a local chapter, will be extremely well positioned to succeed in this rapidly growing alternative investment market," Dr. Chung said.
CAIA Korea brings the number of CAIA chapters formed in financial centers across the globe to 15. The CAIA designation certifies knowledge of alternative investments and promotes adherence to high standards of professional conduct. Only investment professionals who pass rigorous examinations earn the CAIA designation to become members.
"Finance professionals around the globe are increasingly aware of the need to have a strong foundation of knowledge in alternative investments, and they turn to the CAIA Association for education and leadership," said Ms. Lombard. "Qualified professionals earn the CAIA designation, the only globally recognized designation for alternative investment expertise."
AllAboutAlpha.com
Hedge funds fill their monthly letters and conference calls with details of how quickly they can liquidate their portfolios within increasingly shorter timescales. Many managers now have strict stated limits on their ability to take so-called illiquid investments. Investors are focusing more on liquidity throughout their due diligence and the flow of funds to 'liquid' strategies reflects their growing domination. The number of funds offering monthly, weekly, daily liquidity multiplies by the day in response. And regulators actively champion this hunt for liquidity as an aspiration for the financial community.
That is frightening. Though a virtue in moderation, liquidity rapidly becomes a vice in excess. Read more.
Exam News
March 2012 Exam Registration Now Open
Register for an exam here.
- Exam Dates:
- Level I Exam Session: March 8 – 21, 2012
- Level II Exam Session: March 1 – 14, 2012
- Mark your calendar as exam registration closes January 31, 2012 at 11:59 PM EST.
Register now to secure your seat: Pearson VUE testing centers are open to scheduling for the March 2012 CAIA exam period. Your personalized scheduling instructions are available by logging into your CAIA account and clicking on Scheduling Instructions beneath Quick Links on the CAIA.org homepage. All exams are scheduled directly through Pearson VUE, our global testing provider. We strongly recommend booking your exam appointment as soon as possible to ensure a seat at your preferred testing center. For more information about the testing centers, please visit the Exam Locations.
Chapter Events
CAIA Switzerland Social Event in Zurich
January 19, 2012, The Amber Bar & Club
CAIA Canada Evening with Toronto's Recruiting Elite
January 23, 2012, The Cambridge Club
Smart Moves
Peter D. Gerlings, CAIA, has joined Rogerscasey, Inc. as Managing Director, Investment Solutions. Peter is responsible for Rogerscasey's Multi-Manager Solutions platform, which includes MasterManagerSM portfolios, target date retirement funds, and model portfolios for financial intermediaries.
A CAIA member since March 2005, Peter explains, "I was one of the first institutional investment consultants to focus on alternative asset strategies, including hedge funds. I was also one of the early adopters of the CAIA designation, and it helped me considerably in carrying out due diligence on the various alternative asset managers used by his clients. The program's strong focus on hedge funds, private equity, real estate and commodities helped provide a foundation for critically analyzing the various alternative asset strategies that have come to market over the past several years, and allowed me to help my clients earn superior risk-adjusted returns. I still rely on the knowledge I gained from the CAIA program in my day to day responsibilities at Rogerscasey."
Peter has over 20 years of institutional investment experience, most recently with K2 Advisors where he helped develop a series of portable alpha, real return and liability-driven investment solutions. Prior to K2 Advisors, Peter was with New England Pension Consultants where he focused on manager research for both traditional asset strategies and later, alternative assets. In addition to his research responsibilities, he also consulted to various sophisticated pension, endowment, foundation, Taft-Hartley and family office clients in Europe and the United States.
Peter holds a BA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and an MBA from Boston University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and is a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society.
Christopher Schelling, CAIA, recently joined the Kentucky Retirement Systems as the Director of Absolute and Real Return strategies. In this role, he will oversee all aspects of the externally managed cash-plus and inflation hedging mandates which total about 20% of the aggregate plan assets of roughly $14 billion (across 10 separate pension and insurance plans).
According to Chris, "The CAIA designation was a critical factor in opening up this opportunity for me, not only due to the competencies achieved by successfully completing the program but also through professional contacts made via my membership in the CAIA organization. I have been advocating to colleagues, both past and current, to pursue the CAIA designation if they are at all interested in a career in the alternatives track. I'm happy to say I have already made more than a few converts!"
Chris has over 10 years of investment experience. Most recently, he was a Senior Researcher in the Hedge Fund Group at Mercer Investment Consulting and performed investment due diligence on hedge funds of all strategies. Prior to Mercer Investment Consulting, he was Director, Alternative Strategies in the Capital Markets Consulting Business of Thomson Reuters providing strategy analytics, investor intelligence, and trade surveillance and reverse engineering across a wide range of investment and trading strategies. Chris has also held a number of middle office roles in asset management and brokerage.
Chris earned a BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois, an MBA from University of Illinois-Chicago and an MS in Financial Markets from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Chris is a member of the CAIA Class of March 2008.
Mark J.P. Anson, CAIA, was named the recipient of the 2011 CAIA Leadership Award in recognition for his work as a pioneer in the field of alternatives, and for his support of the CAIA Association's mission to raise standards of knowledge, ethics, and professionalism in the field.
Since 2010, Mark has been Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Oak Hill Investment Management (OHIM). Prior to joining OHIM, he was President and Executive Director of Investment Services at Nuveen Investments. Mark has also served as Chief Executive Officer of the British Telecom Pension Scheme, and Chief Investment Officer for California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). As the CEO of Hermes Pensions Management, Mark was an original drafter and signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing.
Mark is a member of the CAIA Class of February 2004. He writes, "My personal experience with the CAIA program began when I was the Chief Investment Officer for the California Public Employees' Retirement System. At that time, CalPERS was expanding its foray into Alternative Investments: Hedge Funds, Commodities, Currency, Venture Capital, and Private Equity. I realized that I needed to have the highest level of professional development in order to meet the challenges of investing in the sophisticated world of Alternative Investments. So, I decided to sit for the CAIA exam. However, achieving my charter was just a stepping stone—my CAIA training has continued to provide me with the knowledge and expertise required to be a successful investor in Alternative Assets."
Mark is the author of the seminal Handbook of Alternative Assets, the core curriculum for CAIA's Level I exam, and has published four other financial textbooks and over 100 research articles, winning two Best Paper Awards. He is also a key member of the CAIA Curriculum Advisory Board.
In addition to his CAIA designation, Mark holds the Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Public Accountant, certified Management Accountant, and Certified Internal Auditor designations.
Michael McGaughy, CAIA, has had his new book published. Inside China's Corporations maps and explains the corporate structure and control of China and Hong Kong's conglomerates - both family and government-owned. It highlights their key people, structure, and business lines at both the parent and listco levels. The book follows several other similar reports he has written on ASEAN, Indonesian and Malaysian conglomerates and prominent business families.
Michael, who earned the CAIA charter in 2010 and is a member of the CAIA Hong Kong chapter executive committee, explains, "The CAIA program rounded out my fundamental buy- and sell-side analysis and manager selection background. Having been based in Asia for most of my career the program was particularly useful in understanding new products and ideas that are relatively new to the region and some times not here yet. Networking opportunities at local chapter events is helping to diversify my contact base and provides additional insight and knowledge."
Michael consults to asset allocators, funds and research organizations on manager and product selection, marketing and fundamental equity, ETF and index analysis, through his company Kairo, Ltd. He is an award winning analyst, with diverse financial background spanning buy- and sell-side equity research, private-equity fund management, fund- of-hedge funds management, business development and investor relations.
Michael has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Vermont.
Blessing Taruza, CAIA, is a fund controller with Citco Fund Services (CFS), the largest hedge fund administrator in the world (as reported in HFN's most recent survey). In the latest Global Custodian Survey, CFS was "Top Rated," which has positioned it as an administrator of choice for many hedge fund and fund of funds clients.
A native of Zimbabwe, Blessing earned the CAIA charter in March 2010. He writes, "Earning the CAIA designation has allowed me to comprehend (what I initially thought to be) the complex world of alternative assets. For example, one of my largest clients is a hybrid fund, which is generically a hedge fund with a private equity structure. Had I not done the CAIA, the complexity intrinsic to these hybrid funds would not have been more tractable to my analytical skills. Furthermore, the CAIA designation has been highly instrumental in helping me understand the different aspects of the offering memorandum (especially the calculation of the payment waterfall, where the incentive fees are based on an IRR). There are so many advantages the CAIA has afforded so I will be succinct and just say it has become part and parcel of my life. The rather priceless CPE that I continue to receive is my "one-stop-shop" in terms of keeping abreast of developments in this intermittent and dynamic world of alternative assets."
Blessing's previous experience includes working in public accounting with Deloitte and in financial services specializing in hedge funds with RSM McGladrey. He also worked in industry and commerce as an internal audit manager for a life and property casualty insurance firm before moving on to becoming an internal audit manager for the Reserve Bank.
In addition to his CAIA designation, Blessing's relevant qualifications include a BCOMPT (HONS) degree from the University of South Africa and Certified Public Accountant licenses in both Virginia and Colorado. He is also a CFA charterholder.