


Exam Registration for the September 2022 Cycle is open until August 8. Register today!
Our live InfoSeries webcasts will boost your expertise on the latest industry growth areas and share insights into the CAIA exams. Featuring CAIA and industry experts, these brief, interactive sessions will encourage and answer your questions. Find out more and join one today.
Check each region for those scheduled in your preferred time zone.
Description: There's never been a more crucial time to stand out. The transformative effect of data science on the finance industry requires today's finance professionals to understand the application of big data, data mining, workflow automation and machine learning in investment decisions. The Financial Data Professional (FDP) is a global designation for investment professionals with data science skills. The Financial Data Professional Institute (FDPI), established by CAIA Association, has designed a self-study program to provide financial professionals with an efficient path to learn the essential aspects of financial data science. Senior Advisor, Hossein Kazemi and Managing Director, Keith Black will share how you can obtain your Financial Data Professional credential.
Panelists: Hossein Kazemi, PhD, CFA, Senior Advisor, FDP Institute, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: The democratization of alternative investments beyond the institutional allocator salutes a new investor – the individual. Clients are finding their desired financial outcomes to be ever more elusive, resulting in a wave of new and innovative investment products coming to market. While this sparks investor interest, it also highlights a critical education gap across the entire value chain of the private wealth management industry. This panel discussion will explore the evolution of the private wealth management industry, whose investment toolkit is increasingly being augmented by the ongoing democratization of alternative investment strategies, and further introduce CAIA Association’s recently announced learning platform, UniFi by CAIA™.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer, Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Anna Snider, CAIA, Head of Due Diligence, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Bank of America, Fran Kinniry, CFA, Principal, Head of Vanguard Investment Advisory Research Center, Vanguard, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association
Description: With the intersection of product democratization and the evolution of advice in the wealth management space many questions arise:
-What is the role of governance?
-How important is product knowledge?
-What is the true meaning of funded contentment beyond the four corners of your financial balance sheet?
Join panelists Brian Portnoy, CFA and Founder of Shaping Wealth; Martina Kelly, Director of Funds, IOB Ireland; Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association for a lively discussion exploring the evolution of the wealth management space.
Panelists: Brian Portnoy, CFA, Founder of Shaping Wealth, Martina Kelly, Director of Funds, IOB Ireland, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association
Session 1: The State of Alternative Investments
Description: In this first session of the internship boot camp with AIMA & CAIA Association, we will cover an overview of alternative investments and address current trends across the industry and asset classes.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer; Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Michelle Noyes, CAIA; Managing Director, Americas, AIMA, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP; Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association
Thursday, June 16 – 12:00pm Time zone: ET
Session 2: Alternative Data and ESG Investing
Description: In this second session of the internship boot camp with AIMA & CAIA Association, we will cover the differences between traditional and alternative data, applications of both, and how it relates to ESG investing.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer; Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP; Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and Keith Black, PhD, CAIA, CFA, FDP; Managing Director and Program Director, FDP Institute
Friday, June 17 – 12:00pm Time zone: ET
Session 3: Practitioner Career Panel
Description: In this third web seminar, please join Rom Beneche, Director, AIMA, as he hosts a panel of industry professionals talking about their career paths and how they made it from their university days to the roles they hold today. Panelists will cover a range of investment and non-investment roles in the alternatives industry.
Panelists: Victoria Hart, Investor Relations Principal, Versor Investments, Jessica Henry, ESG Analyst, Man Group, Zachary Bird, CPA, Manager, Marcum, and moderated by Rom Beneche, Director, AIMA
Description: Join FDP Institute to discuss the options for Candidates to take the FDP Exam
Option 1: At a Prometric Test Center (October 17-30, 2022)
Option 2: Via ProProctor (remote proctoring) from your home or office (October 30 & 31, 2022)
This webinar is open to anyone interested in the FDP Exam.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Efficient Data Analysis provides solid predictive power for Investment Management. Data can also be cumbersome and generate Chaos if not handled properly. Learn how to make sure to get the utmost of it for your business! Presentation lasted approximately 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.
Panelists: Olus Kayacan, CFA, CAIA, Strategic Advisory-Data Analyst, IOKE, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Innovations in technology have revolutionized financial services to an extent that large financial institutions are behaving like technology companies! It is no secret that technological innovations like Data Science and AI are fundamentally changing how financial products are created, tested and delivered. While it is exciting to learn about technologies themselves, there is very little guidance available to companies and financial professionals about how they should retool and gear themselves towards the upcoming revolution. In this master class, we discussed key innovations in Data Science and AI and connected applications of these novel fields in forecasting and optimization. Through case studies and examples, we demonstrated why now is the time you should invest to learn about the topics that will reshape the financial services industry of the future!
Panelists: Sri Krishnamurthy, CFA, Founder, Quant University, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: The Portfolio for the Future simultaneously represents a “back to basics” mantra and a forward-looking view of where our industry and capital markets are headed. What defined success over the past decades may very well be at a tipping point at a time where many of these secular trends may be challenged moving forward. Rising inflation, tightening monetary policy, low and volatile interest rates, and high valuations mean that the Portfolio for the Future will be defined by five distinct “marks”: Broadly Diversified, Less Liquid, Rooted in a Fiduciary Mindset, Actively Engaged, and Dependent on Operational Alpha.
Panelists: Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: The Portfolio for the Future simultaneously represents a “back to basics” mantra and a forward-looking view of where our industry and capital markets are headed. What defined success over the past decades may very well be at a tipping point at a time where many of these secular trends may be challenged moving forward. Rising inflation, tightening monetary policy, low and volatile interest rates, and high valuations mean that the Portfolio for the Future will be defined by five distinct “marks”: Broadly Diversified, Less Liquid, Rooted in a Fiduciary Mindset, Actively Engaged, and Dependent on Operational Alpha.
Panelists: Elizabeth Burton, CAIA, Chief Investment Officer, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (HIERS), Bill Kelly, President and CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: In this webcast, learn from fellow CAIA Member and Media Alternative Asset Manager Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett on how the increased competition from Amazon, Apple, and Disney+ has irrevocably changed the media industry, as well as discussions on what opportunities have opened up for investors looking to diversify their portfolios, the important risk factors for entering the media industry for the first time, and practical advice for investors based in Asia wanting exposure to this burgeoning asset class.
Panelists: Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett, Chief Investment Officer, New Asia Ferrell Asset Management, Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association, and moderated by Theresa Han, CFA, CAIA, Managing Director, Absolute Return Strategies, CAIA Hong Kong Chapter Executive
Description: CAIA Member Greg Kaufmann and Duke Kim, Director of Institutional Client Solutions at The Giving Block, hosted the second part of an educational webcast around NFTs. In the first event, we covered investing in this emerging asset class. This second part was a practicum. We walked members through the process of transferring crypto from an exchange to a wallet and from there, we showed you how to buy an NFT. Time permitting, we looked at an NFT marketplace, viewed a live minting process, provided a brief introduction to Discord, reviewed some interesting NFT projects, and highlighted some additional resources.
Panelists: Duke Kim, Director of Institutional Client Solutions, The Giving Block, and Greg Kaufmann, CAIA
Description: Our new report “CAIA Insights: The Rise of India’s Private Equity Market” has been released, where we showcase insights, spotlight opportunities, and summarize our call to action for this fast-evolving sector. Combining commentary penned by leading PEVC industry specialists, alongside CAIA’s crafted content, and supported by our knowledge and data partner – Venture Intelligence – we position tangible insights, actionable intelligence and provide knowledge on a market too big to ignore. To coincide with the report’s release, our launch webinar brought together a number of its authors to spotlight key themes, discussed why India’s emergence as one of the world’s most entrepreneurial and technology-orientated nations presents massive opportunities, and showcased India’s growing and increasingly sophisticated alternative investment industry.
Panelists: Harsh Singhal, Senior Investment Professional, Sridhar Sankararaman, Managing Director, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association, Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and moderated by Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: Our new report “CAIA Insights: The Rise of India’s Private Equity Market” has been released, where we showcase insights, spotlight opportunities, and summarize our call to action for this fast-evolving sector. Combining commentary penned by leading PEVC industry specialists, alongside CAIA’s crafted content, and supported by our knowledge and data partner – Venture Intelligence – we position tangible insights, actionable intelligence and provide knowledge on a market too big to ignore. To coincide with the report’s release, our launch webinar brought together a number of its authors to spotlight key themes, discussed why India’s emergence as one of the world’s most entrepreneurial and technology-orientated nations presents massive opportunities, and showcased India’s growing and increasingly sophisticated alternative investment industry.
Panelists: Ninad Karpe, Partner, 100X.VC, Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, Harsh Singhal, Senior Investment Professional, Sridhar Sankararaman, Managing Director, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and moderated by Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: The pursuit of diversification for the average financial advisor is not as straightforward as it once was. From private capital to collectibles, the barriers to access alternative asset classes are lower than ever, thanks to regulatory changes and product innovation. In this webcast, Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, discussed Phil’s background, his approach to asset allocation and portfolio construction for his clients, and his new book, The Allocator’s Edge.
Panelists: Phil Huber, CFP, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Savant Wealth Management, and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: To support FDP Candidates and those considering the pursuit of the FDP Charter, we offered a brief, live webinar with our Curriculum team.
A typical Orientation Session includes the following:
• Review sample exam questions.
• Learn exam-taking tips.
• Have your questions answered by our exam experts.
Formal remarks of the presentation lasted approximately 45 minutes, with 15 minutes for Q&A. This webinar featured members of the FDP Curriculum Team as well as Candidate Relations. The following topics were discussed: Curriculum materials, exam format, and available resources. For each topic we discussed the required readings, keywords, learning objectives and sample questions.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and Kim Durand, Projects and General Operations Manager, FDP Institute
Description: The democratization of alternative investments beyond the institutional allocator salutes a new investor – the individual. Clients are finding their desired financial outcomes to be ever more elusive, resulting in a wave of new and innovative investment products coming to market. While this sparks investor interest, it also highlights a critical education gap across the entire value chain of the private wealth management industry. This panel discussion will explore the evolution of the private wealth management industry, whose investment toolkit is increasingly being augmented by the ongoing democratization of alternative investment strategies, and further introduce CAIA Association’s recently announced learning platform, UniFi by CAIA™.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer, Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Anna Snider, CAIA, Head of Due Diligence, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Bank of America, Fran Kinniry, CFA, Principal, Head of Vanguard Investment Advisory Research Center, Vanguard, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association
Description: With the intersection of product democratization and the evolution of advice in the wealth management space many questions arise:
-What is the role of governance?
-How important is product knowledge?
-What is the true meaning of funded contentment beyond the four corners of your financial balance sheet?
Join panelists Brian Portnoy, CFA and Founder of Shaping Wealth; Martina Kelly, Director of Funds, IOB Ireland; Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association for a lively discussion exploring the evolution of the wealth management space.
Panelists: Brian Portnoy, CFA, Founder of Shaping Wealth, Martina Kelly, Director of Funds, IOB Ireland, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and moderated by Bill Kelly, CAIA, CEO, CAIA Association
Session 1: The State of Alternative Investments
Description: In this first session of the internship boot camp with AIMA & CAIA Association, we will cover an overview of alternative investments and address current trends across the industry and asset classes.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer; Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Michelle Noyes, CAIA; Managing Director, Americas, AIMA, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP; Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association
Thursday, June 16 – 12:00pm Time zone: ET
Session 2: Alternative Data and ESG Investing
Description: In this second session of the internship boot camp with AIMA & CAIA Association, we will cover the differences between traditional and alternative data, applications of both, and how it relates to ESG investing.
Panelists: Claire Sawyer; Relationship Manager, UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP; Managing Director and Head of UniFi by CAIA™, CAIA Association, and Keith Black, PhD, CAIA, CFA, FDP; Managing Director and Program Director, FDP Institute
Friday, June 17 – 12:00pm Time zone: ET
Session 3: Practitioner Career Panel
Description: In this third web seminar, please join Rom Beneche, Director, AIMA, as he hosts a panel of industry professionals talking about their career paths and how they made it from their university days to the roles they hold today. Panelists will cover a range of investment and non-investment roles in the alternatives industry.
Panelists: Victoria Hart, Investor Relations Principal, Versor Investments, Jessica Henry, ESG Analyst, Man Group, Zachary Bird, CPA, Manager, Marcum, and moderated by Rom Beneche, Director, AIMA
Description: The Portfolio for the Future simultaneously represents a “back to basics” mantra and a forward-looking view of where our industry and capital markets are headed. What defined success over the past decades may very well be at a tipping point at a time where many of these secular trends may be challenged moving forward. Rising inflation, tightening monetary policy, low and volatile interest rates, and high valuations mean that the Portfolio for the Future will be defined by five distinct “marks”: Broadly Diversified, Less Liquid, Rooted in a Fiduciary Mindset, Actively Engaged, and Dependent on Operational Alpha.
Panelists: Elizabeth Burton, CAIA, Chief Investment Officer, Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii (HIERS), Bill Kelly, President and CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: CAIA Member Greg Kaufmann and Duke Kim, Director of Institutional Client Solutions at The Giving Block, hosted the second part of an educational webcast around NFTs. In the first event, we covered investing in this emerging asset class. This second part was a practicum. We walked members through the process of transferring crypto from an exchange to a wallet and from there, we showed you how to buy an NFT. Time permitting, we looked at an NFT marketplace, viewed a live minting process, provided a brief introduction to Discord, reviewed some interesting NFT projects, and highlighted some additional resources.
Panelists: Duke Kim, Director of Institutional Client Solutions, The Giving Block, and Greg Kaufmann, CAIA
Description: Our new report “CAIA Insights: The Rise of India’s Private Equity Market” has been released, where we showcase insights, spotlight opportunities, and summarize our call to action for this fast-evolving sector. Combining commentary penned by leading PEVC industry specialists, alongside CAIA’s crafted content, and supported by our knowledge and data partner – Venture Intelligence – we position tangible insights, actionable intelligence and provide knowledge on a market too big to ignore. To coincide with the report’s release, our launch webinar brought together a number of its authors to spotlight key themes, discussed why India’s emergence as one of the world’s most entrepreneurial and technology-orientated nations presents massive opportunities, and showcased India’s growing and increasingly sophisticated alternative investment industry.
Panelists: Harsh Singhal, Senior Investment Professional, Sridhar Sankararaman, Managing Director, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association, Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and moderated by Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: The pursuit of diversification for the average financial advisor is not as straightforward as it once was. From private capital to collectibles, the barriers to access alternative asset classes are lower than ever, thanks to regulatory changes and product innovation. In this webcast, Phil Huber, CFA, CFP®, and Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, FDP, discussed Phil’s background, his approach to asset allocation and portfolio construction for his clients, and his new book, The Allocator’s Edge.
Panelists: Phil Huber, CFP, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Savant Wealth Management, and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: By now, you probably know what an NFT is. You have also probably heard of the staggering sums being made by individuals. More recently, several funds have launched that are approaching investing in NFTs in an institutional manner. CAIA is excited to have put together a panel of Funds to discuss the various approaches being used to invest in this emerging asset class. We reviewed the term NFT, how NFTs are valued as well as some of the investment strategies being employed. This panel will be followed a few weeks later with a practicum on how to buy NFTs.
Panelists: Greg Kaufmann, Andrew Steinwold, Sfermion, Jalak Jobanputra, Future Perfect Ventures, and Heidi Pease, WAVE Financial
Description: There are many methods for conducting performance attribution with portfolios containing only liquid assets. A lack of periodic asset return data and a clear definition of what constitutes an appropriate market benchmark thwarts efforts to perform similar types of attribution analyses for portfolios of private equity funds (and other illiquid investments). This presentation covered a proposed methodology for decomposing private fund portfolio performance in an article, “Private Portfolio Attribution Analysis,” published in the Fall 2021 edition of The Journal of Alternative Investments.
Panelists: Greg Brown, PhD, Executive Director, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, and Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association
Description: ESG is no longer a mere add-on in a portfolio or investment strategy. For an increasing number of investors in alternatives, a thoughtful approach to ESG issues has become table stakes. As the industry continues to define the role of ESG and develop approaches to measure and analyze the effect of these issues on their portfolios, industry professionals must continue to educate themselves about the key trends and developments related to ESG across alternative asset classes. CAIA, in partnership with Nuveen, hosted a thought-provoking webinar series organized exclusively for the benefit of institutional investors across the world. In this fourth session, we discussed how asset owners can best integrate some of the most material ESG issues into their portfolios, regardless of asset class.
Panelists: Marc deBree, CAIA, Head of Real Estate and Alternatives, TIAA General Account, Andrew Collins, FSA, Director of ESG & Responsible Investing, San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS), Daniel Ingram, Senior Vice President, Wilshire, and moderated by Maria Long, Research and Content Director, Standards Board for Alternative Investments
Description: In a joint effort, KPMG International, CREATE-Research, and CAIA Association examined the role of capital markets in the transition to a low-carbon world. This report investigated the experiences to date of climate investing and the changes we can expect in the next three years, as we move towards a new investment paradigm. The research includes insights from 90 institutional investors, alternative investment managers, long only managers and pension consultants in 20 countries in all the key regions. This panel discussion focused on the insights, findings, and takeaways gathered from this report. Download the report here.
Panelists: Anthony (Tony) Cowell, Global Lead Engagement Partner and Head of Asset Management, KPMG, Cayman Islands, Amin Rajan, Chief Executive Officer, CREATE-Research, Jodie McTaggart, Principal, KPMG IMPACT, KPMG Islands Group, and moderated by Bill Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, CAIA Association
Description: We officially launched CAIA LatAm, CAIA Association's 32nd Global Chapter! Made up of representatives from Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, the Chapter Executive Committee will work to provide opportunities for local CAIA Members in many locations to network, share knowledge, and create an environment that fosters the growth of the local alternative investment industry. The Chapter will also host educational events featuring thought leaders, who will discuss a variety of alternative investment trends and strategies. CAIA Association CEO Bill Kelly, CAIA Executive Vice President John Bowman, and the LatAm Chapter Committee hosted this special launch event as they outlined their mission and plans for 2022!
Panelists: Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, Daniel Mueller, CAIA, CAIA LatAm Chapter Head, and CAIA LatAm Chapter Committee
Description: In this presentation, Keith Black discussed the digital asset and cryptocurrency markets and the innovative solution to build a global, decentralized, and secure network that facilitates payments and other transactions. Keith explored how proof-of-work, such as Bitcoin mining, and proof-of-stake protocols, such as Cardano, are used to secure networks and complete transactions. Behind many of these currencies are real businesses, such as projects built on top of Ethereum smart contracts that facilitate borrowing and lending as well as options and futures trading. Stable coins pegged to USD or EUR can earn yields of up to 7% with minimal volatility. Returns and volatility data were presented, as well as evidence on how digital assets can add return to a diversified portfolio without adding to portfolio volatility. Risks of digital assets were also discussed, including regulatory risks, technology risk, and valuation risk. Keith’s presentation was followed with a discussion with Josh Kernan, who provided an update on digital assets and the current market environment.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and Josh Kernan, CAIA, Partner, Permian Capital Management, LLC
Description: The Portfolio for the Future simultaneously represents a “back to basics” mantra and a forward-looking view of where our industry and capital markets are headed. What defined success over the past decades may very well be at a tipping point at a time where many of these secular trends may be challenged moving forward. Rising inflation, tightening monetary policy, low and volatile interest rates, and high valuations mean that the Portfolio for the Future will be defined by five distinct “marks”: Broadly Diversified, Less Liquid, Rooted in a Fiduciary Mindset, Actively Engaged, and Dependent on Operational Alpha.
Panelists: Bill Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: In this webcast, learn from fellow CAIA Member and Media Alternative Asset Manager Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett on how the increased competition from Amazon, Apple, and Disney+ has irrevocably changed the media industry, as well as discussions on what opportunities have opened up for investors looking to diversify their portfolios, the important risk factors for entering the media industry for the first time, and practical advice for investors based in Asia wanting exposure to this burgeoning asset class.
Panelists: Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett, Chief Investment Officer, New Asia Ferrell Asset Management, Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association, and moderated by Theresa Han, CFA, CAIA, Managing Director, Absolute Return Strategies, CAIA Hong Kong Chapter Executive
Description: Our new report “CAIA Insights: The Rise of India’s Private Equity Market” has been released, where we showcase insights, spotlight opportunities, and summarize our call to action for this fast-evolving sector. Combining commentary penned by leading PEVC industry specialists, alongside CAIA’s crafted content, and supported by our knowledge and data partner – Venture Intelligence – we position tangible insights, actionable intelligence and provide knowledge on a market too big to ignore. To coincide with the report’s release, our launch webinar brought together a number of its authors to spotlight key themes, discussed why India’s emergence as one of the world’s most entrepreneurial and technology-orientated nations presents massive opportunities, and showcased India’s growing and increasingly sophisticated alternative investment industry.
Panelists: Ninad Karpe, Partner, 100X.VC, Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, Harsh Singhal, Senior Investment Professional, Sridhar Sankararaman, Managing Director, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association, John Bowman, CFA, Executive Vice President, CAIA Association, and moderated by Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: Quantitative investors have long used traditional data sources, such as income statements and balance sheets of public firms, to drive stock selection models. With the explosion in the amount and diversity of data in the last five years, alternative data sources are quickly revolutionizing quantitative investing. Alternative data sources can include natural language processing of news and social media content, review of credit card transactions and consumer emails, and geolocation data using cell phone signals and satellite images. Listen in as the Japan Alternative Data Accelerator Association and Financial Data Professional Institute have a discussion on the applications of alternative data in financial markets.
Panelists: Masashi Tsujinaka, CEO, Nowcast Inc., Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, Joanne Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association, Wendy Leung, Assistant Director, Asia Pacific, External Relations, CAIA Association, and moderated by Akira Yamamoto, CAIA Japan Chapter Executive
Description: There are many methods for conducting performance attribution with portfolios containing only liquid assets. A lack of periodic asset return data and a clear definition of what constitutes an appropriate market benchmark thwarts efforts to perform similar types of attribution analyses for portfolios of private equity funds (and other illiquid investments). This presentation covered a proposed methodology for decomposing private fund portfolio performance in an article, “Private Portfolio Attribution Analysis,” published in the Fall 2021 edition of The Journal of Alternative Investments.
Panelists: Tyler Johnson, CFA, Managing Director, StepStone Group, and Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: There are currently over 11,000 cryptocurrencies and digital assets. With many experiencing price volatility of over 100% per year, or five times the volatility of stocks, there is substantial disagreement on how to value these assets. Some valuation models used for traditional equity valuation can be used to price these assets. Investors may also find it useful to understand business models, emerging industries, and oligopolistic models.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and moderated by Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Session 1: Private Markets: An Update
Description: Prime advertising airtime is now being purchased by private firms rather than public firms. Still little is known to the general audience about the size, scope, and extent to how big the private markets are! In this webinar, a presentation was provided covering Private Equity and Venture Capital looking at key features across investments size, top deals, volume, cheque sizes, sector focus and more. The presentation also summed up the activity of larger players and looked more closely at the buzz surrounding Unicorns. Finally, our session concluded with a look at exit types and size pointing to the recent trends.
Panelists: Vinoth A, Head of Research, Venture Intelligence, Arun Natarajan, Founder, Venture Intelligence, and Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association
Tuesday, November 30, 2021, 5:00 pm Time zone: IST
Session 2: The Fundamentals of Venture Capital
Description: In this presentation, Aaron Filbeck discussed Private Equity (PE) investments and also focus on Venture Capital (VC). Aaron shared insight into the life cycle and performance of VC funds and present a framework for the PE investment process, from the development of portfolio objectives, through liquidity management, and manager selection. Our session concluded with a look at the risks involved in VC investments.
Panelists: Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, CAIA Association, and Wendy Leung, Assistant Director, External Relations, Asia Pacific, CAIA Association
Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 5:00 pm Time zone: IST
Session 3: Private Investor Insights
Description: The world saw Governments pump some US$14 trillion of fresh capital into markets in 2020. Record inflation numbers have been registered across the globe and a point in instance of 5.4% in the US in both June and July 2021. Asset valuations have been at an all-time high with new metrics being suggested to justify the rationale. Private markets are considered the main street whereas the private investors as the falcon in the sky for spotting opportunities.
Panelists: Hemal Naran, Co-founder, Mkoba Private Equity, Ninad Karpe, Partner, 100X.VC, and moderated by Deepti Sagar, CAIA, Director, Atom Privé Financial Services
Thursday, December 2 – 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 4: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) in India
Description: Stock market listing of SPACs is an important technique for raising equity capital. Both listing and fund-raising by SPACs reached all-time records between 2017 to 2021. According to spacdata.com so far in 2021, a record 547 SPAC IPOs in the US have raised nearly US$150 billion. Full-year 2021 SPAC issuance in the US is likely to surpass the record numbers in 2020. SPACs were nearly two-thirds of all US IPOs in 2021. The equity funds raised by SPACs are used to invest in a wide variety of businesses including startups, growth stage enterprises and in new categories. The growth of the SPAC market in the US has had a contagion effect in many markets which are also contemplating the creation of domestic SPAC markets in countries such as India, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Panelists: Vikas Bagaria, Leader, Global Capital Markets Group, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, D Muthukumaran, Chief Financial Officer, Renew Power, and moderated by Arvind Mathur, CFA,FRM, Chairman, Private Equity Pro Partners
View the recording
Friday, December 3 – 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 5: Intermediary Insights on PE/VC Transactions
Description: Law of large numbers ensures flattened generalisation which is often not the case for focused private market players. Service intermediaries can provide a distilled test of state of the union since they draw their strength from several focused enterprises. In this webinar we brought together senior industry voices representing experts in the fields of valuation, legal, tax and structuring. Each shared their insights and observations. The webinar focused on providing a holistic conversation on the temperature of Indian private markets.
Panelists: Rishi Aswani, CFA, Managing Director, Alternative Asset Advisory, Duff & Phelps, a Kroll business, Vidushi Gupta, Partner, Corporate, M&A and Private Equity Practice Group, Khaitan & Co, Tushar Sachade, Partner, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, and moderated by William Kelly, CEO, CAIA Association
Monday, December 6 - 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 6: Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets
Description: In this presentation, Keith discussed the digital asset and cryptocurrency markets and the innovative solution to build a global, decentralized, and secure network that facilitates payments and other transactions. Keith explored how proof-of-work, such as Bitcoin mining, and proof-of-stake protocols, such as Cardano, are used to secure networks and complete transactions. Behind many of these currencies are real businesses, such as projects built on top of Ethereum smart contracts that facilitate borrowing and lending as well as options and futures trading. Stable coins pegged to USD or EUR can earn yields of up to 7% with minimal volatility. Returns and volatility data was presented, as well as evidence on how digital assets can add return to a diversified portfolio without adding to portfolio volatility. Risks of digital assets was also discussed, including regulatory risks, technology risk, and valuation risk.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and moderated by Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, Liaison Office, India, CAIA Association
Tuesday, December 7 - 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 7: The Case for Liquid Alternatives
Description: Investing is challenging as it is both complex and complicated. Each point requires continuous learning and updating of mental frameworks. Conflicts and contradictions are found everywhere. For example, data from the mutual fund industry shows that most funds fail to outperform their benchmarks, but investors in hedge funds allocate primarily for alpha generation as shown by the latest JP Morgan industry survey. If mutual funds do not generate any alpha, why should hedge funds? Perhaps the assumption is that hedge funds have more flexibility with regards to investing, which provides for a greater opportunity to generate alpha. However, they also charge high fees that directly reduce alpha. Fortunately for investors, many classical hedge fund strategies have become available in low-cost mutual fund and ETF formats, which might represent the best of both worlds. In this webinar, we compared liquid alternatives and evaluated the benefits of adding these to an equity portfolio.
Panelists: Nelson Lacey, Director of Examinations, CAIA Association, and moderated by Mirjam Dekker, MBA, MS HRD, Project Manager, FDP Institute
Wednesday, December 8 - 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 8: Careers in Alternative Investments
Description: The idea of this webinar is to take an academician’s approach to career building advice, observations seen in recruiting patterns, usage of various types of resources (online and off), focus and importance of various types of skill sets (hard / soft / combination) and how to extract the maximum value t from various educational course (MBA, Charters, Certificates, Corporate Training), etc. We had distinguished speakers - both local and global – who shared best practices a young professional should consider to chalk out an ambitious career.
Panelists: Peter Mackay, Assistant Professor of Finance, HKUST, Abhilash Misra, Chief Executive Officer, NSE Academy Ltd., and moderated by Seydina Fall, CFA, Associate Director, CAIA Association
Thursday, December 9 - 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 9: Onshoring the Offshore with International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) Authority
Description: This session provided an update about the maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India. The IFSC Authority (IFSCA) has been established in 2020 as a unified regulator for development and regulation of financial services, financial products and financial institutions in the IFSCs in India. The senior officials from IFSCA provided an overview of the priorities of IFSCA, recent developments and the emerging opportunities at the IFSC, particularly relating to fund management activities. The session focused on the regulatory framework for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in the IFSC, the benefits for AIFs in the IFSC, steps taken by IFSCA and other authorities to onshore the fund management activities and a brief overview of the ongoing policy reforms with respect to fund management in the IFSC.
Panelists: Arjun Prasad, Deputy General Manager, Manoj Kumar, Executive Director, Mihir Upadhyay, Deputy General Manager, and moderated by Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Friday, December 10 - 5:00pm Time zone: IST
Session 10: Tokenisation
Description: Tokenisation approaches have vast potential for addressing the challenges related to investment in illiquid asset classes, with advantages including:
- improved liquidity
- faster, cheaper transactions
- greater transparency
- broadened access to more investors
While increased liquidity should be generally beneficial, the industry and its regulators must continue to ensure that investors are equipped to understand the quality and risks inherent in each tokenised investment. In this webinar we took a dive into tokenisation of assets with a panel discussion in the second half.
Panelists: Jonathan Cheung, Director, HKbitEX, and moderated by Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: Listen in as CAIA Association’s Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, Jo Murphy, and Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, India Liaison Office, provided an update on the private equity industry and introduced CAIA Association. Further, Wendy Leung, Assistant Director, Asia Pacific, External Relations, at CAIA Association, had a conversation with CAIA Member, Aswini Bajaj, CEO of Leveraged Growth about his CAIA journey.
Panelists: Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, Shreekant Daga, CAIA, CFA, FRM, Associate Director, India, Aswini Bajaj, CAIA, CEO, Leveraged Growth, and Wendy Leung, Assistant Director, Asia Pacific, External Relations, CAIA Association
Description: ESG is no longer a mere add-on in a portfolio or investment strategy. For an increasing number of investors in alternatives, a thoughtful approach to ESG issues has become table stakes. As the industry continues to define the role of ESG and develop approaches to measure and analyze the effect of these issues on their portfolios, industry professionals must continue to educate themselves about the key trends and developments related to ESG across alternative asset classes. CAIA, in partnership with Nuveen, hosted a thought-provoking webinar series organized exclusively for the benefit of institutional investors across the world. In this third session, we discussed how real assets participants can protect themselves from transition and physical risks associated with climate change.
Panelists: Katie Vaz, Managing Director, Clarion Partners, Suzanne Tavill, Global Head of Responsible Investment, StepStone Group, and moderated by Derek Jun, CFA, CAIA, Head of Investment Risk, Nuveen Real Assets
Description: In this presentation, Keith Black discussed the digital asset and cryptocurrency markets and the innovative solution to build a global, decentralized, and secure network that facilitates payments and other transactions. Keith explored how proof-of-work, such as Bitcoin mining, and proof-of-stake protocols, such as Cardano, are used to secure networks and complete transactions. Behind many of these currencies are real businesses, such as projects built on top of Ethereum smart contracts that facilitate borrowing and lending as well as options and futures trading. Stable coins pegged to USD or EUR can earn yields of up to 7% with minimal volatility. Returns and volatility data was presented, as well as evidence on how digital assets can add return to a diversified portfolio without adding to portfolio volatility. Risks of digital assets were also discussed, including regulatory risks, technology risk, and valuation risk.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: Diversification and digitalization are key factors in this challenging as well as shifting economy, in which African institutional investors juggle between currency restriction, language barriers and government regulation. During this webinar we speak about how to diversify investments by allocating to Alternative investments while complying to ESG standards.
Panelists: Phathutshedzo Mabogo, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, Mbakisi Gopolang, Investment Analyst, Debswana Pension Fund, Yann Robbiola, Partner and CEO, LS Advisors, and Laura Merlini, CAIA, CIFD, Managing Director, EMEA, CAIA Association
Description: The African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association hosted a fireside chat and data presentation on private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investing in Africa. William (Bill) J. Kelly, President & CEO of the CAIA Association, and Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, CEO of AVCA, discussed the opportunities and challenges that are shaping the direction of private investment in Africa, including technological and digital innovation, currency risk, and the continent’s demographic dividend. As part of the webcast, AVCA’s CEO presented AVCA's latest research and findings from the 2021 H1 African PE Data Tracker, providing a provisional look at investment, exits and fundraising activity in Africa in the first half of the year.
Panelists: Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, Chief Executive Officer, African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, and William J. Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, CAIA Association
Description: ESG is no longer a mere add-on in a portfolio or investment strategy. For an increasing number of investors in alternatives, a thoughtful approach to ESG issues has become table stakes. As the industry continues to define the role of ESG and develop approaches to measure and analyze the effect of these issues on their portfolios, industry professionals must continue to educate themselves about the key trends and developments related to ESG across alternative asset classes.
Listen to CAIA, in partnership with Nuveen, on a thought-provoking webinar series organized exclusively for the benefit of institutional investors across the world. In this first session, we discussed the role of data and disclosure as investor interest moves to private capital. We seek to answer the overarching question: what are some of the lessons public market investors have learned that can be mitigated or avoided in private markets?
Panelists: Debarshi Basu, Director, Head of Quantitative Research, BlackRock Sustainable Investing, Jeff Cohen, CAIA, Director of Capital Markets Integration, Head of Private Investment Initiatives, Value Reporting Foundation, Thomas Hyldahl Filholm Kjærgaard, Head of ESG, Velliv, and moderated by Tulsi Byrne, Director of ESG Integration, Fixed Income, Nuveen
Description: This session on analyzing cryptocurrency fund performance opens with a keynote presentation by Dr. Daniele Bianchi, during which he shares his findings from his latest paper. His presentation is followed by a panel discussion with Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, Bastien Buchwalter, Associate Professor of Finance at SKEMA Business School, and Ken Odeluga, Head of Research and Content at CF Benchmarks. The panel shares insights on performance measurement, benchmarking, and portfolio considerations within the crypto asset space.
Panelists: Daniele Bianchi, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London, Sui Chung, CEO, CF Benchmarks, Bastien Buchwalter, Assistant Professor of Finance, SKEMA Business School, and Ken Odeluga, Head of Research and Content at CF Benchmarks
Description: During this webcast we address the story beyond the numbers of the manager selection process both globally and within the African continent. The Africa Rising narrative has been phenomenal for Africa and has led to several transformational developments. Africa continues to attract foreign institutional investors as well as a burgeoning set of local asset owners to the continent. These institutional investors utilize a broad array of alternative investment strategies in order to meet their investment and developmental objectives. We discuss asset allocation trends, evolving alternative investment strategies, and how to assess proper due diligence. In addition, learn the risks an asset owner should take into consideration, and why qualitative factors are as important or more important than quantitative factors in alternative manager due diligence.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CAIA, CFA, FDP, Managing Director, Content Strategy, CAIA Association, and Hemal Naran, CAIA, Partner, Makalani Management Company
Description: In a follow-up to Preqin’s 2020 study on Women in Alternative Assets, findings show where the biggest advances in female representation are being made, and where there is room for more proactive effort. The data in this report has been sourced from Preqin’s database of more than 200,000 industry professionals to highlight the trends in the workforces of active fund managers and investors. Listen in for a discussion on the highlights from this report and Preqin’s overview of the alternative investments landscape.
Panelists: Shifra Ansonoff, Global Head of Research & Data Operation, Preqin, Paola Bissoli, Co-Head Chapter, Zurich, Director of Business Development, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Puy Carazo, Chapter Executive, Iberia, Head of Wealth Investment Advisory, WM Spain, Elena Koycheva, CAIA, CFA, CIPM, Chapter Head, London, Bluebay Asset Management, and Silvia Writzel, Co-Head Chapter, Germany, Relationship Management, Institutional Clients, Asset Allocation AG. Moderated by Kristina Koutrakos, Chapter Head, Washington DC, Director of Portfolio Strategy, Virginia Retirement System. Opening and closing remarks by Laura Merlini, CAIA, CIFD, Managing Director, EMEA Industry Relations, CAIA Association, and Debbie McLean, Managing Director, Global Relations, CAIA Association.
Description: African private markets probably present the premier opportunity for investing to contribute to the UN's SDGs while also creating attractive financial returns. The potential for bringing solutions for the bottom billion, leveraging Africa's mobile infrastructure, is vast and being used by a lively and creative venture community with increasing numbers of later stage opportunities and the emergence of unicorns such as Zipline and Flutterwave. At the same time, larger buyout and growth equity opportunities in sectors such as agribusiness and related logistics, distribution, and financial services companies are creating the potential for delivering impact at scale. Impact potential includes improvements in ESG, job creation, waste reduction, and the benefits of their products, such as fertilizers and other agricultural inputs.
Panelists: Michiel Timmerman, Managing Director, Mbuyu Capital, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Partner, Apis Partners, Tom Mason, Managing Director, Dudutech, Tracey Turner, Founder, Copia Global, and Borja Pujalrás Ortuño, CAIA, MFIA, Eurocapital Wealth Management
Description: Real estate in Africa has been one of the most important investments and stores of value for local investors for decades. There are many historical and cultural significances to land on the continent and we are going to explore African real estate as an investable asset class for international investors and asset managers. In this webcast focused on African Real Estate moderated by Adam Camenzuli, CFA, CAIA, Dr. Laila Macharia, Caroline Armstrong-Ogwapit, and Nimeet Dodhia share insights from their combined experience highlighting African real estate as an investable asset class.
Panelists: Adam Camenzuli, CAIA, CFA, Founder, Nyum.ba, Dr. Laila Macharia, Non-Executive Director, Centum Investment Company , Nimeet Dodhia, Founder and CEO, Butterfly Properties Limited, and Caroline Armstrong-Ogwapit, Non-Executive Director, National Housing Corporation (Kenya)
Description: African Art has been one of the developing segments at auctions over the past 15 years. From a historic focus on traditional African art, the interest over the past few years has shifted to modern and contemporary. With all the recent interest in African art, is now the time to invest? If so, where should interested collectors start? What is the best way to gain an understanding of the African art market? Where do collectors buy and sell? What are the upside and risks of investing in African art? In this webcast Serge Tiroche, interviewed by Christine Bourron, shares insights from his experience building a private collection, focused on contemporary art from across Africa and the diaspora.
Panelists: Christine Bourron, CEO, Pi-eX, and Serge Tiroche, Founder, Africa First
Description: The European Green Deal (EGD) is paving the way for stricter regulations and targeted measures towards a zero-carbon economy. The real estate sector is an integral part of the EGD by prioritizing on existing buildings, which generate circa 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. The goal is to kick-start a major Renovation Wave across Europe focusing on improving the sustainability levels of buildings in line with the principles of circular economy. Despite the overall excitement about the potential benefits of EGD, the implications for the real estate sector are still unclear.
This webcast focuses on ESG and real estate investing. Senior professionals share their views on the potential impact of EGD on different real estate stakeholders such as local governments, real estate owners / investors with special focus on REITs, tenants, developers and lenders.
Panelists: Christos Angelis, CAIA, Director, Masterdam and Chapter Head of CAIA Netherlands, and Jana Bour, EU Policy Manager, EPRA, and Laura Merlini, CAIA, CIFD, Managing Director, EMEA Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: There's never been a more crucial time to stand out. The transformative effect of data science on the finance industry requires today's finance professionals to understand the application of big data, data mining, workflow automation and machine learning in investment decisions. The Financial Data Professional (FDP) is a global designation for investment professionals with data science skills. The Financial Data Professional Institute (FDPI), established by CAIA Association, has designed a self-study program to provide financial professionals with an efficient path to learn the essential aspects of financial data science. Senior Advisor, Hossein Kazemi and Managing Director, Keith Black will share how you can obtain your Financial Data Professional credential.
Panelists: Hossein Kazemi, PhD, CFA, Senior Advisor, FDP Institute, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Join FDP Institute to discuss the options for Candidates to take the FDP Exam
Option 1: At a Prometric Test Center (October 17-30, 2022)
Option 2: Via ProProctor (remote proctoring) from your home or office (October 30 & 31, 2022)
This webinar is open to anyone interested in the FDP Exam.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Efficient Data Analysis provides solid predictive power for Investment Management. Data can also be cumbersome and generate Chaos if not handled properly. Learn how to make sure to get the utmost of it for your business! Presentation lasted approximately 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.
Panelists: Olus Kayacan, CFA, CAIA, Strategic Advisory-Data Analyst, IOKE, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Innovations in technology have revolutionized financial services to an extent that large financial institutions are behaving like technology companies! It is no secret that technological innovations like Data Science and AI are fundamentally changing how financial products are created, tested and delivered. While it is exciting to learn about technologies themselves, there is very little guidance available to companies and financial professionals about how they should retool and gear themselves towards the upcoming revolution. In this master class, we discussed key innovations in Data Science and AI and connected applications of these novel fields in forecasting and optimization. Through case studies and examples, we demonstrated why now is the time you should invest to learn about the topics that will reshape the financial services industry of the future!
Panelists: Sri Krishnamurthy, CFA, Founder, Quant University, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: To support FDP Candidates and those considering the pursuit of the FDP Charter, we offered a brief, live webinar with our Curriculum team.
A typical Orientation Session includes the following:
• Review sample exam questions.
• Learn exam-taking tips.
• Have your questions answered by our exam experts.
Formal remarks of the presentation lasted approximately 45 minutes, with 15 minutes for Q&A. This webinar featured members of the FDP Curriculum Team as well as Candidate Relations. The following topics were discussed: Curriculum materials, exam format, and available resources. For each topic we discussed the required readings, keywords, learning objectives and sample questions.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and Kim Durand, Projects and General Operations Manager, FDP Institute
Description: Dan Joldzic, CEO of Alexandria Technology and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP discussed how machines are interfacing with humans to effect manager selection and private asset secondary sales in this second installment of Turn Text to Alpha. After a quick recap of Part I (https://bit.ly/3r2k8nx), the webinar continued to discuss key questions that sit across technology and finance:
- Can machines actually uncover hidden patterns that escape the human eye and emotions?
- How would the interface between technology applications enhance our ability to pick the best managers and companies?
- What are the limitations on artificial intelligence and other machine learning based models that are most likely to hinder or interrupt results?
- Can AI be used to expedite the secondary sale of private assets?
Panelists: Dan Joldzic, CFA, FRM, CEO, Alexandria Technology, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Quantitative investors have long used traditional data sources, such as income statements and balance sheets of public firms, to drive stock selection models. With the explosion in the amount and diversity of data in the last five years, alternative data sources are quickly revolutionizing quantitative investing. Alternative data sources can include natural language processing of news and social media content, review of credit card transactions and consumer emails, and geolocation data using cell phone signals and satellite images. Listen in as the Japan Alternative Data Accelerator Association and Financial Data Professional Institute have a discussion on the applications of alternative data in financial markets.
Panelists: Masashi Tsujinaka, CEO, Nowcast Inc., Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, Joanne Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association, Wendy Leung, Assistant Director, Asia Pacific, External Relations, CAIA Association, and moderated by Akira Yamamoto, CAIA Japan Chapter Executive
Description: Map out your learning journey to obtain the FDP Charter. FDP managing Director Keith Black shares the value add of the FDP Charter, the updated curriculum, hiring trends, and how you can leverage your FDP learnings as you advance your career. The FDP team answered questions about the FDP program, where to obtain your curriculum, and our testing options. FDP Candidates have two options for the FDP Exam
Option 1: At a Prometric Test Center (April 4-17, 2022)
Option 2: Via ProProctor (remote proctoring) from your home or office (April 17+18, 2022)
This webinar is open to anyone interested in the FDP Exam.
Panelist: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute
Description: Listen in as Dan Joldzic, CEO & Quantitative Research, Alexandria Technology, discusses natural language processing (NLP). NLP techniques can be used to analyze a variety of data sources, including news reports, company regulatory filings and earnings calls, as well as posts on social media sites such as Reddit. The output from these models can be used for stock selection with varying time horizons and degrees of alpha capture. This data can also be used to analyze sentiment regarding the ESG footprint of both public and private companies.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, FDP Institute, and Dan Joldiz, CFA, FRM, CEO, Alexandria Technology
Description: Listen in as Lydia Ofori, CFA, CAIA, Adam Duncan, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP discuss how machines are interfacing with humans to effect manager selection and private asset secondary sales. The webinar discusses key questions that sit across technology and finance:
• Can machines actually uncover hidden patterns that escape the human eye and emotions?
• How would the interface between technology applications enhance our ability to pick the best managers and companies?
• What are the limitations on artificial intelligence and other machine learning based models that are most likely to hinder or interrupt results?
• Can AI be used to expedite the secondary sale of private assets?
Panelists: Lydia Ofori, CFA, CAIA, Founder & CEO, Hunter Labs Tech, Adam Duncan, Head of Investment Science Unit, Cambridge Association LLC, and Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, FDP Institute
Description: In this presentation, Keith Black discussed the digital asset and cryptocurrency markets and the innovative solution to build a global, decentralized, and secure network that facilitates payments and other transactions. Keith explored how proof-of-work, such as Bitcoin mining, and proof-of-stake protocols, such as Cardano, are used to secure networks and complete transactions. Behind many of these currencies are real businesses, such as projects built on top of Ethereum smart contracts that facilitate borrowing and lending as well as options and futures trading. Stable coins pegged to USD or EUR can earn yields of up to 7% with minimal volatility. Returns and volatility data was presented, as well as evidence on how digital assets can add return to a diversified portfolio without adding to portfolio volatility. Risks of digital assets were also discussed, including regulatory risks, technology risk, and valuation risk.
Panelists: Keith Black, PhD, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Director, Program Director, FDP Institute, and Jo Murphy, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Industry Relations, CAIA Association
Description: How to use a hedge fund database, based on open-sourced hedge fund return and how to gain access to the data and a slew of interesting examples. How do you efficiently clean and manage semi-structured data? Alex and Linus will demonstrate with examples based on factor analysis, correlations, and dispersions and explain why they probably should have picked a different programming language.
Panelists: Linus Nilsson, Founder, NilssonHedge, Alex Lostado, Quant Analyst, NilssonHedge and Brandon Kremer, Portfolio Manager, Heximer Investment Management
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