Newsletter - May 2011
- CAIA Comments
- CAIA News
- Mini Quiz
- Exam News
- CAIA Member Poll
- Chapter Notes
- CAIA Out Front
- Smart Moves
CAIA Comments
The CAIA designation continues to gain momentum globally
Caroline Bault
Managing Director, Global Business Development
It has been a very active few weeks since I joined the CAIA Association last March with a new chapter launch in Europe, new partnerships signed with leading hedge funds associations in the US, as well as private equity associations internationally, CAIA staff attending and participating in several alternative conferences around the globe from Hong Kong Hedge Fund conference and AlphaHedge in Bermuda in April to the CFA Annual Conference and Global ARC in the UK in early May, new academic partnerships signed up and not to forget several educational and networking events across the globe providing ample opportunities for our members and candidates to connect and learn about the latest alternative industry developments.
This month saw the successful launch of CAIA sixth European Chapter in Luxembourg, 100 members, candidates and guests from Luxembourg, France and Belgium attended to hear Professor Bill Fung, of the London Business School present his latest findings on hedge fund research. Luxembourg's alternative investment community is expanding fast, driven by a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape in Europe and increased demand for administrative services following the AIFM Directive implementation and growing investors' appetite for UCITS products. CAIA now has active local chapters in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the UK all offering regular educational and networking events. For more on local education and networking events please visit the Events page.
Our member base is growing globally and we look forward to announcing soon that it has reached the 5,000 mark ahead of our tenth anniversary next year. Interest and support for the designation continues to gain momentum across the alternative investment industry as investors, managers and consultants strive to deliver the best possible performance for their clients. Education matters and alternative investment practitioners recognize the value of relevant and practical knowledge in a highly complex and rapidly evolving industry. CAIA's comprehensive and rigorous curriculum remains unchallenged and is still the best way to showcase knowledge and talent in the alternative industry through the designation's globally recognized educational standards of excellence.
The Global Business Development Team is committed to continue to grow our community of CAIA Designees and to offer alternative industry practitioners and investors opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of current alternative investment issues to allow them to better serve their clients in this highly competitive industry. Our dedicated business development team in the United States, Canada, London and most recently Singapore and Hong Kong is actively working to partner with leading financial institutions and engaging our 5,000 members globally to help them promote the CAIA designation among their peers and beyond. We hope to offer our members, candidates and corporate supporters a better service and support.
As we engage more companies and individuals to raise the profile of the designation, no doubt new opportunities will emerge and we look forward to engaging the CAIA community globally and sharing our future developments and successes with you.
CAIA News
Former Director of News and Research at HedgeWorld Joins CAIA Association
Kristin M. Fox is the new Managing Editor of AllAboutAlpha.com, the CAIA Association's publication covering research, analysis, and opinions in alternative investments. Christopher Holt, CAIA, Founder of AllAboutAlpha.com and current Director of Industry Relations/Americas for the CAIA Association, was the previous Managing Editor.
"As a seasoned financial editor and writer, Kristin will be instrumental in developing content and an editorial plan in keeping with the CAIA Association's mission of promoting knowledge, ethics and professionalism in the field of alternative investments," said Florence Lombard, CEO of the CAIA Association. "Her appointment also will allow Chris Holt to focus on industry relations and expanding the CAIA Association's presence in the Americas." Fox will be based in Chicago, Illinois. Visit AllAboutAlpha.com for more information on the appointment.
CAIA Association Featured in Hedge Funds Review Article
Florence Lombard, CEO of the CAIA Association, was interviewed during a recent business trip to New York for an article in Hedge Funds Review. The article "CAIA Designation Gaining Momentum in Hedge Fund Industry" was published in the May 6 issue of the Hedge Funds Review.
According to the publication, the burgeoning popularity of CAIA is one element of the changes currently sweeping the alternative investment industry.
CAIA Luxembourg Chapter Launched
On May 5, the CAIA Association launched a chapter in Luxembourg. It is the association's 14th global chapter and sixth chapter in Europe. About 100 attended the launch, which included a presentation on hedge fund research by Bill Fung, visiting research professor at the Hedge Fund Center, London Business School.
CAIA Chapters are in the following locations: Boston, Canada, Chicago, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iberia (Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar & Andorra), London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Switzerland. Only those investment professionals who pass the CAIA Level I and Level II exams can become members and use the CAIA designation.
Mini Quiz
Consider a situation in which the domestic one-year risk-free interest rate is 10%, the current spot exchange rate with a particular foreign currency is 1.00, and a one-year futures contract on the foreign currency has a price of 1.05 domestic units per unit of foreign currency. Assuming continuous compounding, which of the following rates is closest to the one-year risk-free interest rate in the foreign currency?
Choose one
- 5.12%
- 10.24%
- 15.36%
- 20.48%
See bottom right of section for answer.
To test your alternative investment knowledge, take a quick Mini Quiz on caia.org. The five questions on the site are drawn at random from sample questions found in the CAIA Exam Study Guides.
Answer: a
Exam News
Registration for the September CAIA Exams is Open
- Exam Registration: Register online through Monday, August 1
- Exam Dates:
- Level I Exam Session: September 19 – September 30
- Level II Exam Session: September 12 – September 23
- Exam Testing Center Appointment:
Registered candidates must contact Pearson VUE to reserve a seat at one of the testing centers around the globe. For personalized scheduling, candidates must log into their CAIA account and click Scheduling Instructions beneath Quick Links on the CAIA.org homepage. For more information about testing centers, please visit Exam Locations.
CAIA Member Poll
What will help the Islamic finance industry break out of its niche status?
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.
According to results of the CAIA member poll in April, it will take a combination of approaches to help break the Islamic finance industry out of its niche status. The poll question was submitted by CAIA member Bernardo Vizcaino and was posted in the April issue of the CAIA Member Update Newsletter and on caia.org.
Chapter Notes
Educational and Networking events
For a complete listing of CAIA chapter events, visit the events page on caia.org.
CAIA Boston Educational Event
Monday, June 6, Downtown Harvard Club
"Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Role of Hard Assets in a Paper Asset World"
CAIA France Educational Event
Wednesday, June 15, ESCP Europe
"Boom and Spikes in Commodity Markets: Funds or Fundamentals?"
Helyette Geman, ESCP Europe & University of London
CAIA members only
CAIA Iberia Networking Dinner in Lisbon
Thursday, May 26, Ibo Restaurante
CAIA Iberia Networking Event in Madrid
Thursday, June 2, Pedro Larumbe Terrace
UPCOMING MEMBER COMMUNITY EVENTS:
CAIA Educational Event in Amsterdam
Tuesday, June 7, ABN Amro Headquarters "Looking at the Post Crisis: A New Equilibrium for Private Equity"
CAIA Networking Event in Dallas
Tuesday, May 24, Capital Grille
CAIA Networking Event in Japan
Thursday, May 26, Location TBA
CAIA Out Front
IMN's 10th Annual Canada Cup of Investment Management
June 7, 7:30 a.m. - June 8, 12:15 p.m.
InterContinental Toronto Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Christopher Holt, CAIA Association's Director of Industry Relations (Americas) will be in attendance.
Niagara Institutional Dialogue
June 13, 2011 - June 15, 2011
Queen's Landing, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Christopher Holt, CAIA's Director of Industry Relations (AMRS), is the Conference Chairman
REITWeek 2011: NAREIT's Investor Forum
June 7, 3:00 p.m. - June 9, 10:00 a.m.
The Waldorf Astoria, New York, NY
Smart Moves
Peter J. (PJ) de Marigny, CAIA, has moved to Renovatio Asset Management of Newport Beach, California. At his new firm, he will head the firm's risk management function and continue to manage the DITMo strategy, which uses "Deep-In-The-Money" covered calls to enhance portfolio income. De Marigny presents and writes on various risk management subjects and examines additional strategies to add to DITMo Strategies.
De Marigny is a 14-year veteran portfolio and private wealth professional. He writes, "My approach to asset management as a member of the hedge community is based on my training in financial risk management. The CAIA has provided me the absolute best training on viewing alternatives from a higher industry viewpoint to complement my function as a hedge portfolio manager. The CAIA provides credibility to private wealth advisors in alternatives and allows private equity, risk and portfolio managers to clearly see the forest in the trees of our specific purviews."
De Marigny began his career at Citigroup where he was the top consultant of the combined South Nevada branches. He ran DITMo Strategies as Treasurer and was a managing director of Sirius Capital for a private family office. He continued with his own and other advisors running DITMo Strategies and was briefly VP of Business Development for Quant Risk Group's abcQuant applications for hedge fund analytics.
De Marigny holds a BS in Accounting from St. Francis College (NYC), a BA in Biblical Studies from Ambassador College (Pasadena, CA), an MBA with QI Concentration from Colorado State (Fort Collins, CO), and MS in Banking & Financial Services Management from Boston University. He is a member of the Wharton Circle and holds numerous professional designations in treasury, private wealth, money management, financial risk, foundations and endowments, and alternatives.
A CAIA member since April 2008, De Marigny is Regional Director of Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Los Angeles/Orange County Chapter, and is looking forward to a joint CAIA/GARP meeting in July.
Justin J. Pawl, CAIA, the co-founder of Evolved Alpha, LLC, recently announced that its flagship multistrategy hedge fund is opening to new investors following the first year of operations.
Pawl has more than thirteen years of financial markets experience gained through alternative investment and investment banking positions. Prior to co-founding Evolved Alpha, he was a founding Partner and co-Portfolio Manager for the Alpha Titans fund-of-funds, and was responsible for investment strategy research, due diligence and portfolio construction. He also managed the firm's key counterparty relationships and risk management platform.
Prior to Alpha Titans, Pawl was the Senior Analyst for Santa Barbara Market Neutral Fund (SBMNF), where he was responsible for researching and analyzing alpha-return strategies and was a Vice President of a BNP Paribas subsidiary. He began his career with a boutique investment banking firm.
According to Pawl, who earned his CAIA designation in April 2009, "The academic knowledge gained in the process of earning the CAIA designation has nicely complimented the practical experience of my alternative investments career."
Pawl holds a B.A. in Environmental Science and a Master's Degree with Honors in Biogeochemistry, both from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition to earning the CAIA designation, he is a CFA charterholder.
Hilary Wiek, CAIA, has joined Rogerscasey as a Director in their Alpha Research group, focusing on global public equity managers for the investment consulting firm. Her prior employers include the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission, Buckingham Financial Group, DPL Inc., and Key Asset Management (now Victory Capital Management). Wiek's experiences in manager research go back to the early days of her career when she managed a mutual fund buy list for a bank trust company, building to her role as the Director of Public and Private Equity at the South Carolina program, where she was responsible for the initial building of exposures to the private equity and international public equity asset classes.
A member of the CAIA Class of March 2008, Wiek writes, "I initially entered the CAIA program early in my tenure at South Carolina when that program was adding a plethora of new asset classes including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and derivatives overlays, and it was a terrific way to learn more about these areas that, other than private equity, I had had little opportunity to work with in prior positions. Although my new position is not directly responsible for alternative assets, I am part of a group that reviews hedge fund and private equity opportunities and I'm thankful that the CAIA designation has made me better prepared for the job ahead."
Wiek graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a Business Leadership major, finance emphasis, and from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management with an MBA emphasizing finance and economics. She is also a CFA charterholder.