CAIA Association Launches Redesigned ‘Fundamentals of Alternative Investments’ Program
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, the global professional body for the alternative investments industry, recently unveiled a revamped “Fundamentals of Alternative Investments” 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. The program filled 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, 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 adviser 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,” said Filbeck.
In addition to building a 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 adviser 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. This update breaks down asset class barriers and draws 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 by CAIA’s Advisory Council, which is made up of a cross-section of professionals from a range of job functions in both asset and wealth management.
“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.”
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