Flagship educational offering of the UniFi by CAIA ™program now “speaks the language of the advisor,” reflecting the insights and contributions of leading RIAs, wirehouses, asset managers, and more.
AMHERST, MA, (January 10, 2024) – The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, the global professional body for the alternative investment industry, is today unveiling a completely redesigned and refreshed Fundamentals of Alternative Investments (FAI) program.
FAI, the flagship offering of the UniFi by CAIA™ platform, was created almost a decade ago to provide a foundation of core concepts in alternative investments, filling a crucial education gap for a wide range of professionals, particularly those in wealth management and sales and marketing roles for alternative asset managers.
“The first generation of FAI played a critical role at a time when alternatives were just starting to go mainstream,” said Aaron Filbeck, CAIA, CFA, CFP®, CIPM, FDP, Managing Director, and Head of UniFi by CAIA™. “Now, we’re once again at a pivotal moment where a broader range of alternative strategies are being brought to market and used by an ever-larger contingent of the wealth manager, planner, and advisor communities. There is far more to the ‘fundamentals’ of this discussion at this point, which is why we are so pleased to be introducing this new and improved next generation of FAI.”
In addition to building an entirely new digital platform for delivery of FAI content, the UniFi by CAIA™ team has prioritized updating the philosophy underpinning this certificate program.
“While this is first and foremost an investment program, FAI now truly speaks the language of the advisor and focuses on the role each strategy can play in a goals-based, client-centric approach,” added Filbeck.
FAI now groups alternative investments according to their purpose in the portfolio, not just their product label, breaking down asset class barriers and drawing clearer connections for program participants between public/private and traditional/alternative approaches by looking through a full portfolio lens.
This reinvention of FAI was driven in no small part by UniFi by CAIA’s active and engaged Advisory Council, which is made up of a cross-section of highly experienced professionals from a range of job functions in both asset and wealth management, including:
- Anna Snider, CAIA, Head of Investment Selection, Chief Investment Office at Bank of America and Merrill, (Chair of the UniFi by CAIA Board)
- Jeremy Beal, Managing Director, Head of Asset Manager and Insured Solutions, Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley
- Phil Huber, Head of Portfolio Solutions at Cliffwater
- Kristin Kallergis, Global Head of Alternative Investments at JP Morgan
- Fran Kinniry, Principal, Head of Vanguard Investment Advisory Research Center at The Vanguard Group
- Richard Kozlowski, Head of Segmented Sales, BlackRock
- Sylvia Kwan, PhD, CAIA, Chief Investment Officer at Ellevest
- Jeff Masom, Head of US Distribution at Franklin Templeton
- Thomas Morrison, Senior Managing Director and co-President of Blackstone Private Equity Strategies (BXPE) at Blackstone
- Scott Reeder, Managing Director, Sixth Street
- Mark Robillard, CFA, CAIA, FRM, Vice President, Research Analyst, Alternatives at Fidelity Investments
- Chris Tarui, Head of Global Alternatives Distribution, U.S. Consultant Relations, and OCIO at T. Rowe Price
“The advisory council shares the foundational belief that the end client is best served by a highly educated, deeply informed advisor community who understands product types, risk/reward scenarios, and the powerful role that alternatives can play in a goals-based planning approach to portfolio construction,” said Ms. Snider.
The new FAI is being launched this evening at Unveiling the Future: The Next $20 Trillion in Alternative Investments, Club 101, New York, NY at 5:30pm. This event will explore the untapped potential in wealth management, as prominent figures from Bank of America, Blackstone, and Morgan Stanley share insights on opportunities, challenges, and strategies for growth.
“Building a strong knowledge foundation in alternative and private markets will be key for the decades ahead,” says Joan Solotar, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions. “Programs like this will help investment professionals deepen and broaden their understanding of and expertise in the evolving role of private investments in client portfolios.”
More information on UniFi by CAIA™ can be found here: https://caia.org/programs/unifi
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Media Contact:
Chris Sullivan
Craft & Capital
chris@craftandcapital.com
About CAIA Association
The CAIA Association, a global professional body, pioneers a new era in investment management. At the forefront of the shifting of alternative investment asset classes from 'alternative' to mainstream, CAIA embraces diverse expertise and interdisciplinary knowledge essential for responsible capital allocation and client stewardship. A Member-driven organization representing professionals in more than 100 countries, the organization seeks to prepare investors for a dynamic future, disrupting traditions, creating opportunities, and fostering long-term sustainability. To learn more about the CAIA Association and how to become part of a professional network that is shaping the future of investing, please visit https://caia.org/.
