Courses / CAIA

"The CfBS courses for CAIA levels I and II were a very important part of my preparation to successfully pass. The vast areas of topics of the CAIA curriculum were presented in a well organized way. The CfBS prep courses made me feel confident during the exams."

Dr. Frank Plessmann, CAIA, Angermuende, Germany

2012 CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) Exam Preparation Courses

The CfBS preparation courses for the 2012 CAIA exams take place in Zurich. The courses consist of 40 lessons for each level and are structured in accordance with the Learning Objectives of the CAIA Association. The courses teach the most complex and frequently asked concepts and give a framework to structure the exam preparation.

CfBS Center for Business Studies is an officially-recognized course provider of the CAIA Association.

Open Evening Session

CfBS offers an open evening session for (potential) CAIA candidates on the following date:

  • Tuesday, 12 June 2012 from 18.30 to 20.15 hrs.

To attend the live teaching class free of charge, please register by e-mail to info@cf-studies.ch.

 

CAIA Program

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) program is a globally recognized certification for professionals working in the field of alternative investments. The CAIA program covers the concepts, tools and practices essential for understanding alternative investments and is committed to high standards of professional conduct. The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association® was founded in 2002 and is the sponsoring organization for the CAIA designation. Since inception the CAIA program has grown rapidly and more than 6,000 candidates participated in the 2011 exams worldwide.

The exams for levels I and II are held twice each year, in March and September. Candidates can take only one exam within the same exam period and are only admitted to take the level II exam after passing the level I exam. The program can be completed within one year. The CAIA exams are computer-based. The level I exam has a multiple-choice format and lasts four hours. The level II exam is composed of multiple-choice and essay questions and lasts four hours.

More information about the CAIA program may be found at www.caia.org.

 

2012 CAIA Curriculum (September Exams)

The CAIA level I curriculum is tested with 200 multiple-choice questions and covers the following topics:

  • Professional Standards and Ethics (15% to 20%): CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct.
  • Introduction to Alternative Investments (15% to 20%): Types and Importance of Alternative Asset, Environment of Alternative Investments, Statistical Foundations, Risk, Return, and Benchmarking, Correlation, Alternative Returns, and Performance Measurement, Alpha and Beta, and Hypothesis Testing in Alternative Investments.
  • Real Assets (5% to 10%): Land, Infrastructure, and Intangible Real Assets, Real Estate Fixed-Income Investments, and Real Estate Equity Investments.
  • Hedge Funds (15% to 20%): Hedge Fund Strategies, Hedge Fund Returns and Asset Allocation, Macro and Managed Futures Funds, Event-Driven Hedge Funds, Relative Value Hedge Funds, Equity Hedge Funds, and Fund of Hedge Funds.
  • Commodities (5% to 10%): Commodity Futures Pricing, Commodity Markets, Investing in Commodity Futures, and Commodity Futures in a Portfolio Context.
  • Private Equity (5% to 10%): Venture Capital, Leveraged Buyouts, Mezzanine Debt, Distressed Debt, Equity Types of Private Equity, and Debt Types of Private Equity.
  • Structured Products (5% to 10%): Credit Risk and Structuring Cash Flows, Credit Derivatives, and Collateralized Debt Obligations.
  • Risk Management and Portfolio Management (15% to 20%): Lessons from Hedge Fund Failures, Risk Analysis, Due diligence of Fund Managers, Regression, Multivariate, and Nonlinear Methods, Portfolio Optimization and Risk Parity, Portfolio Management, Alpha, and Beta.

The material in the Foundations of the CAIA curriculum consisting of the Quantitative Investment Analysis book of the DeFusco et al. and the Investments book of Bodie/Kane/Marcus is an integrated part of the CAIA program and candidates are assumed to have an understanding of this material. This prerequisite material is incorporated into level I and level II examination questions.

The level II curriculum contains the following topics:

  • Professional Standards and Ethics (10% to 15%): CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct.
  • Private Equity (10% to 15%): Private Equity Funds Structure, Investment Process, Portfolio Context, Fund Manager Selection, Benchmarking, Monitoring, Valuation, Management of Liquidity, IRR, Distribution of Waterfall.
  • Commodities (10% to 15%): Commodity Markets Analysis, Asset Allocation, Long Commodity Exposure, Commodity Alpha, Commodity Indices, Oil Markets.
  • Managed Futures (10% to 15%): Industry Development and Regulation, Managed Futures Strategies, Risk and Performance Measurement, Benchmarking, Investment Products, and Investment Analysis.
  • Real Estate (10% to 15%): Real Estate Investments, Indices, Real Estate Equity Valuation, Investment Risks and Due Diligence, Residential and Commercial Mortgages, Mortgage Backed Securities, Asset Allocation, Alternative Real Estate Investment Vehicles.
  • Hedge Funds (10% to 20%): Convertible Arbitrage, Global Macro, Equity Long/Short, Fund of Hedge Funds and Investable Indices, Due Diligence, Operational Risk, Distressed Securities Performance Fees, Hedge Fund Manager Selection and De-Selection.
  • Current and Integrated Topics (20% to 25%): Structured Products, Asset Allocation to Alternatives, Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Manager Selection, Due Diligence, Regulation, and Research Issues in Alternative Investments.

All topics of the level II curriculum are tested in multiple-choice and essay format.

“CAIAA does not endorse, promote, review or warrant the accuracy of the products or services offered by CfBS Center for Business Studies, nor does it endorse any pass rates claimed by the provider. CAIAA is not responsible for any fees or costs paid by the user to CfBS Center for Business Studies nor is CAIAA responsible for any fees or costs of any person or entity providing any services to CfBS Center for Business Studies. CAIA®, CAIA Association®, Chartered Alternative Investment AnalystSM, and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association® are service marks and trademarks owned by CHARTERED ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT ANALYST ASSOCIATION, INC., a Massachusetts non-profit corporation with its principle place of business at Amherst, Massachusetts, and are used by permission.”