Global leader in alternative investment education honors Bank Julius Baer, Jackson National Life Insurance Company and Preqin for their educational efforts
AMHERST, MASS. (November 12, 2015) – The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, the global leader in alternative investment education, last night held its annual Leadership Awards event in Zurich to honor the exceptional commitment that individuals and companies have demonstrated in the pursuit of education and building knowledge in the alternative investment space. Receiving the 2015 Corporate Recognition Awards were Bank Julius Baer, and Jackson National Life Insurance Company, and Preqin.
David Hsieh, Bank of America Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and William Fung, CEO, PI Asset Management, Inc., Toronto, Canada, received CAIA’s annual Award for Excellence in Alternative Investment Research in recognition of the profound impact their pioneering research has had on academic and industry research on the performance, risk attributes, and structure of the hedge fund industry. Professor Hsieh was the featured presenter, discussing “Hedge Fund Performance: the Good, the Bad, and the Missing.”
“The outstanding individuals and organizations we recognize at our annual awards event are advancing the pillar of CAIA’s mission which is to provide excellence in alternative investment education,” said William J.
Kelly, CEO of CAIA. “We are proud to honor David Hsieh and William Fung, whose work has influenced an entire generation of researchers, as well as our corporate award winners that have demonstrated leadership by promoting the highest standards in professional ethics and education for the industry.”
Annual Award for Academic Excellence and Alternative Investment Research Winners
David Hsieh and William Fung received the 2015 Award for Excellence in Alternative Investment Research for their outstanding contributions and landmark papers introducing rigorous treatments of several new concepts that are now commonly cited in academic and industry research. In addition to being used in the CAIA curriculum, Hsieh and Fung’s work became the standard reference in all academic and industry research on hedge fund performance. They introduced the concepts of alternative betas and alphas, which have become the foundation of the rapidly growing liquid alternative investment industry and its products.
2015 Annual CAIA Corporate Recognition Award Winners
Bank Julius Baer, a leader in the private banking space and a champion of education and the CAIA Charter, was honored for its forward-looking approach to increasing the competence and knowledge of alternative investments among individuals as well as institutions. “Julius Baer is delighted to receive this year’s Corporate Recognition Award from CAIA. We see this as recognition of our relentless efforts to educate our employees as well as our clients and grow their expertise in the area of alternative investments,” said Daniel Kerbach, Head Global Portfolio Management Education. “Education, particularly in this highly specialized and dynamic sector, is key to staying at the forefront of the industry and Julius Baer is committed to offering first-class products and always delivering first-class advice.”
Jackson National Life Insurance Company, which partnered with the CAIA Association this year to make education the cornerstone of their wholesaler training and advisor education program, received the award for its outstanding leadership and commitment to providing broad-scale access to leading-edge alternative investment education. “We believe alternative investing has the most impact when supported with the right combination of people, education and technology,” said Bill Burrow, Regional Director of Elite Access for Jackson National Life Distributors (JNLD). “Many advisors are not as familiar with alternative strategies as they are with traditional asset classes. To bridge that knowledge gap, Jackson created an extensive educational program that teaches advisors why alternatives can be a critical part of today’s modern portfolios.”
Preqin was recognized for its commitment to transparency in alternative investments, its dedication to providing consistent and actionable data about the industry, and for the value the company provides to the alternative investment community in building knowledge. "Preqin is delighted to accept a CAIA Corporate Recognition Award. Providing transparency to the alternative assets industry is at the core of our business, so to be recognized for the quality of our data means a great deal to us,” said Mark O’Hare, CEO of Preqin. “We would like to thank CAIA for providing education to the alternative assets industry, our clients for their continued support of our business, and the entire Preqin team who work so hard at gathering data and producing content to help inform and educate all participants in the growing alternatives market."
CAIA’s Educational Programs
The CAIA Association offers the only credential focused on the alternative investment space and has become the global benchmark for alternative investment education. The CAIA Charter, an educational designation uniquely designed for individuals specializing in institutional-quality alternative investments, is granted upon successful completion of two levels of qualifying exams combined with relevant professional experience and joining the Association Membership.
CAIA also offers the Fundamentals of Alternative Investments certificate program (”Fundamentals”), an introductory-level online course, designed to provide a foundation in the core concepts in alternative investing. This program represents a natural extension of CAIA’s mission to provide solutions to specific market needs for alternative investment education.
About the CAIA Association
The CAIA Association is the world leader in alternative investment education, offering the only education pro-gram uniquely designed for individuals specializing in institutional-quality alternative investments. The Association is best known for the CAIA Charter, an internationally-recognized credential granted upon successful completion of a rigorous two-level exam series, combined with relevant work experience. Earning
the CAIA Charter is the gateway to becoming a Member of the CAIA Association, a global network of more than 7,700 alternative investment professionals located in more than 80 countries.
To learn more about the CAIA Association, contact Deborah McLean (413) 253-7373 or mail to: dmclean@caia.org. For more information on the CAIA Charter, please visit caia.org.
