The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association today announced that Mark J. P. Anson, chief investment officer of Acadia Investment Management, the Family Office he founded with Robert M. Bass, has joined the Board of Directors. The CAIA Association is the provider of the CAIA Charter, the international alternative investment industry’s education benchmark.
"Mark has made innumerable and invaluable contributions to the industry and to the CAIA Association over the years, and we look forward to having him on the Board as we enter our second decade,” said Florence Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of the CAIA Association.
"Achieving the CAIA Charter was an important step in my understanding alternative assets and applying them to diversified portfolios,” said Anson. “I am looking forward to working closely with the CAIA Association Board and helping the Association continue to grow and reach new milestones in alternative investment education."
Anson is the author of five financial textbooks including the Handbook of Alternative Assets, the original textbook used for the CAIA program, and is a primary contributor to CAIA Level I: An Introduction to Core Topics in Alternative Investments, the current textbook.
“In addition to writing our original core Level I curriculum, he has been a key member of our Curriculum Advisory Committee and was one of our first CAIA Charter Holders in the class of September 2003. He also was the recipient of the 2011 CAIA Leadership Award,” added Lombard.
Anson's career includes top roles as former president and executive director of Investment Services at Nuveen Investments, a full service asset management firm with in excess of US$200 billion assets under management; chief executive officer of Hermes Pension Management Ltd., an institutional asset management company with US$80 billion in assets under management; former chief executive officer of the British Telecom Pension Scheme, the largest pension fund in the United Kingdom; and chief investment officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest pension fund in the United States. Mark has published more than 80 investment articles, won two Best Paper Awards and authored five financial textbooks. He earned a B.A. in Economics and Chemistry from St. Olaf College, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, and a Masters and a Ph.D. in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, all with honors. He has also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and Certified Internal Auditor professional designations.
About the CAIA Association
Founded in 2002, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association® is the international leader in alternative investment education and provider of the CAIA designation, the global industry benchmark. The Association grants the CAIA Charter to industry practitioners upon the successful completion of a rigorous two-level qualifying exam. The CAIA Association advocates for the highest standards of professional conduct. Additionally, it furthers its educational mandate through the dissemination of research, webinars, videos, as well as its three publications—Portfolio for the Future, a leading online voice; The Journal of Alternative Investments; and the Alternative Investment Analyst Review. Finally, it connects alternative investment experts around the world through chapter events, networking and social media platforms.
