hi all, I just graduated with finance undergrad degree. i am confused if i should do CAIA or not. Reason for doing 1. It will complete in 1 yr. 2 hedge fund industry is growing 3.I might get an internship in a hedge fund firm. I’m having talks with a manager regarding it. Reason for confusion. 1. How well recognized is it ? 2. I have found through the websites that CFA is better but it takes at-least 3 years for it. I do want to put a 1st step in the door and mostly in the hedge fund industry. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
It can’t hurt, so go for it. Maybe do the CFA at the same time.
Hi chirag87, Great to see that you’ve thought long and hard about taking the CAIA program! The CAIA Association sponsors the only globally recognized designation for alternative investment expertise and recently welcomed its 5,000th member to the graduate pool. Many of those who have received the charter have gone on to attain senior level positions at BlackRock, Credit Suisse, etc. In other words, it is very well received in the finance community. As for comparing the CAIA and the CFA exams, it is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. The CFA tests general understanding of traditional investing, quant, etc., while the CAIA is geared towards testing specific knowledge in alternative investing, e.g. private equity, real estate, etc. Because of these differences in focus, one exam is only better than the other depending on what type of investing you want to pursue. I hope this explanation helps, and feel free to ask any more questions you may have about CAIA!