CAIA and ISB sign first academic partnership in India to encourage Alternative Investment Education

New Delhi: The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, the global leader in alternative investment education and the Indian School of Business (ISB) have announced an academic partnership to promote alternative investment education in India.

The partnership, to be executed through the NSE-ISB Trading Lab at ISB, will allow ISB students to have access to CAIA Association curriculum and events and be eligible to apply for scholarships to earn the CAIA Charter.

A signing ceremony was held in Singapore recently, which featured remarks from Nelson Lacey, Director of Exams at CAIA and Professor of Finance at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, and Rajendra Srivastava, Dean and Novartis Professor of Marketing Strategy and Innovation, ISB. Also present at the event was Jo Murphy, Managing Director – Asia Pacific, CAIA.

“It’s a very exciting development for CAIA to have forged our first academic partnership in India, and it is doubly exciting for that partnership to be with ISB, one of the leading business schools in the country,” said Professor Nelson Lacey. “ISB is a prominent presence in the financial service sector within the Indian ecosystem and we could not be more pleased to provide scholarship opportunities to students and faculty that will enhance their understanding of key concepts in alternative investments.”

The alternative investment landscape in India is in its nascent stage and needs to grow further. Alternative investments include private equity, hedge funds, managed-futures,realestate, commodities and derivatives contracts. Most alternative investment assets are held by institutional investors or accredited, high-net-worth individuals and require additional knowledge and education to understand their complexities. There is ample scope to expand the base of investors in this space by providing them with education on alternative investments.

“India is one of the fast growing countries in the world, and its alternative investment community is filled with potential. We are proud to be strengthening our presence here and are confident that this partnership will empower us and ISB to strongly cement the Indian alternative investment sector’s future together,” said Ms. Jo Murphy. “We are deeply committed to reinforcing and promoting alternate investment industry education in the country, and cannot think of a finer partner in those efforts than the ISB.”

Commenting on the partnership Professor Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, ISB, said, “We are delighted to be the first Indian management school to associate with the world’s foremost alternative investment education and networking body, CAIA. This partnership enhances the mission of NSE-ISB Trading lab at ISB to propagate education in management of investment across the country and beyond. This relationship will also enable ISB to build a community of thought-leaders capable of shaping the future of finance—its theory, its practice and its regulation. Though currently a nascent asset class in India, Alternative Investment will scale up and this partnership will help our students to understand the ideas and benefits of alternative investments like never before”.

The CAIA Charter program is a rigorous, self-directed education for finance professionals seeking deep knowledge and expertise in alternative investing including hedge funds, private equity, structured products, commodities, and real assets. The CAIA designation, which is granted upon successfully passing Level I and Level II exams and meeting membership requirements, is valued by top employers and recognized globally as the highest standard of achievement in alternative investment education.

CAIA’s Academic Partnership Program includes some of the most prestigious universities in the world that incorporate alternative investments into their courses as represented by the topics covered in the CAIA Level I and Level II curriculum.

In addition to covering finance in all core programs, ISB offers a full range of finance electives, and houses the NSE-ISB Trading Lab, a multi-disciplinary initiative which in conjunction with the School’s existing departments and centres of excellence advances thinking on investment founded on global theory and inclusive practice. The Lab aims to increase real-world returns by studying and recommending best practices in asset allocation, equity, fixed income and commodity asset classes, as well as alternatives. The lab cooperates with leading financial institutions in India, as well as Indian regulatory bodies such as SEBI.