CAIA Level II: Advanced Core Topics in Alternative Investments

CAIA Association has developed two examinations that are used to certify Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts. The Level I curriculum builds a foundation in both traditional and alternative investment markets--for example, the range of statistics that are used to define investment performance as well as the many types of hedge fund strategies. The readings for the Level II exam focus on the same strategies, but change the context to one of risk management and portfolio optimization. Level II CAIA exam takers have to work through the following agenda:

• asset allocation & portfolio oversight
• style analysis
• risk management
• alternative asset securitization
• secondary market creation
• performance and style attribution 
• indexation and benchmarking

The CAIA Association is an independent, not-for-profit, global organization committed to education and professionalism in the field of alternative investments. It offers two exams (Level I and Level II) to financial professionals in this growing field. Upon successful completion, individuals are designated Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Charter Holders. The CAIA Association has members from over eighty countries on six continents.

Keith H. Black, PhD, CAIA, is the Associate Director of the Level II Curriculum at the CAIA Association. He was previously an associate at Ennis Knupp and, before that, an assistant professor at Illinois Institute of Technology.

Donald R. Chambers, PhD, CAIA, is the Associate Director of the Level 1 Curriculum at the CAIA Association and is the Walter E. Hanson/KPMG Professor of Finance at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Dr. Chambers previously served as the director of alternative investments at Karpus Investment Management.

Hossein Kazemi, PhD, is a Cofounder of and the Program Director for the CAIA Association. Dr. Kazemi is a Professor of Finance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, an Associate Director of the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Alternative Investments.