Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst

Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) (pronounced "KAI-ah") is a professional designation offered by the CAIA Association to investment professionals who complete a course of study and pass two examinations. The "alternative investments" industry is characterized as dealing with asset classes and investments other than standard equity or fixed income products. Alternative investments can include hedge funds, private equity, real assets, commodities, and structured products.

Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)

Established	2002
Type	Professional Designation
Purpose	Finance
Location	Amherst, Massachusetts
Area served	Worldwide
Membership	14,000 (2025)
CEO	John L. Bowman, CFA
Website	www.caia.org

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association was founded in 2002 by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM). As of May 2025, there are 14,000 CAIA members.^[1] CAIA designees are required to maintain membership in the CAIA Association and adhere to professional and ethical standards.

Curriculum

The CAIA curriculum is designed to provide finance professionals with a broad base of knowledge in alternative investments and consists of two exam levels that are revised regularly to incorporate relevant, practical industry developments, and the latest academic research. The Level I curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of alternative investment markets, while Level II concentrates on advanced topics in alternative investments. Both levels take a global perspective and incorporate issues of ethics and professional conduct.

The CAIA Level I exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions. The Level I curriculum covers seven topics, listed below. CAIA Level I candidates are assumed to have an elementary undergraduate understanding of the basic concepts of traditional finance and quantitative analysis.

The Level I curriculum covers:

• Professional Standards and Ethics
  • CFA Institute Standards of Practice (11th Edition).
• Introduction to Alternative Investments
  • What Is an Alternative Investment?
  • The Environment of Alternative Investments
  • Accessing Alternative Investments
  • Quantitative Foundations
  • Statistical Foundations
  • Financial Economics Foundations
  • Derivatives and Risk-Neutral Valuation
  • Measures of Risk and Performance
  • Alpha, Beta, and Hypothesis Testing

• Real Assets
  • Natural Resources and Land
  • Commodities
  • Other Real Assets
  • Overview of Real Estate
  • Real Estate Assets
  • Real Estate Methods
• Hedge Funds
  • Structure of the Hedge Fund Industry
  • Macro and Managed Futures Funds
  • Event-Driven Hedge Funds
  • Relative Value Hedge Funds
  • Equity Hedge Funds
• Private Equity & Private Debt
  • Private Equity Investing
  • Venture Capital
  • Buyout
  • Private Credit and Cash Based Strategies
  • Private Credit and Asset Based Strategies
  • Insurance Linked Strategies
  • Introduction to Structuring
  • Credit Risk and Credit Derivatives
• Digital Assets
  • Distributed Ledger Technology
• Additional Strategies
  • Funds of Funds

The CAIA Association recommends that candidates devote 200 or more hours of study to prepare for the Level I exam.

Level II

The CAIA Level II exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, plus three sets of constructed response (essay) questions. Candidates must apply the skills and knowledge from Level I to gain a deeper understanding of issues involved in each of the areas of alternative investments. The Level II curriculum covers nine topics, listed below.

The Level II curriculum covers:

• Emerging Topics
  • Digital Assets: Bitcoin, Web 3.0, and DeFi
  • Private Equity: Value Creation in Private Equity, and Forecasting Returns
  • Portfolio Management: Rebalancing Illiquid Portfolios, Managing Liquidity for Capital Calls, and Assessing Long Term Performance
• Institutional Asset Owners
  • Types of Asset Owners and the Investment Policy Statement
  • Foundations and the Endowment Model
  • Pension Fund Portfolio Management
  • Sovereign Wealth Funds
  • Family Offices and the Family Office Model

• Asset Allocation
  • Asset Allocation Processes and Mean-Variance Optimization
  • Total Portfolio Approach
  • Other Asset Allocation Approaches
  • Active Management
• Risk and Risk Management
  • Hedging, Rebalancing, and Monitoring
  • Benchmarking and Performance Attribution
  • Applied Benchmarking
  • Liquidity and Funding Risks
  • Risk Measurement, Risk Management, and Risk Systems
• Methods and Models
  • Modeling Overview and Fixed Income Models
  • Valuations and Hedging Using Binomial Trees
  • Multi-Factor Equity Pricing Models
  • Directional Strategies and Methods
  • Multivariate Empirical Methods and Performance Persistence
  • Relative Value Methods
  • Valuation Methods for Private Assets
• Accessing Alternative Investments
  • Hedge Fund Replication
  • Diversified Access to Hedge Funds
  • Access to Real Estate and Commodities
  • The Risk and Performance of Private and Listed Assets
• Due Diligence & Selecting Managers
  • Selection of a Fund Manager
  • Cases in Tail Risk
  • Investment Process Due Diligence
  • Operational Due Diligence
  • Due Diligence of Terms and Business Activities
• Volatility and Complex Strategies
  • Volatility as a Factor Exposure
  • Volatility, Correlation, and Dispersion Products and Strategies
  • Complexity and Structured Products
  • Complexity and the Case of Cross-Border Real Estate Investing
• Universal Investment Considerations
  • Professionalism and Fiduciary Responsibilities
  • Global Regulation
  • Geopolitics
  • Sustainability and Alternative Investments
  • Sustainability Analysis and Application

The CAIA Association recommends that candidates devote 200 or more hours of study to prepare for the Level II exam.

Historical pass rates

Grading begins once the examination window is closed, and Level I results are posted within three weeks after the final examination day. Level II exam results are available within six weeks after the last exam day, due to the need to grade essay questions.

The percentage of candidates that pass the CAIA exams changes from exam to exam.

	2025	2024		2023		2022		2021		2020		2019		2018		2017		2016		2015		2014		2013		2012		2011		2010		2009		2008		2007		2006
	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	March	Sept.	Feb.
Level I	48%	45%	46%	48%	45%	49%	49%	51%	54%	52%	54%	52%	54%	54%	64%	60%	63%	61%	59%	66%	66%	67%	67%	68%	68%	64%	68%	74%	71%	71%	72%	68%	73%	72%	72%	72%	76%	79%	75%
Level II	62%	60%	59%	65%	61%	57%	58%	58%	59%	65%	81%	64%	69%	62%	58%	57%	59%	66%	70%	67%	68%	66%	63%	62%	65%	62%	58%	59%	58%	56%	56%	58%	62%	70%	69%	65%	67%	63%	65%

Candidates may augment their study of the CAIA curriculum materials with third-party preparation programs. Those programs are offered by: AFI Escuela de Finanzas - Spain; Alpha Business School – Sri Lanka; Artificially Educated – United Kingdom; Berkeley Middle East Training – United Arab Emirates; Center for Business Studies - Switzerland; Edge Designations – South Africa; Escuela FEF – Spain, FK Partners - Brazil; Kaplan Financial – Hong Kong; Kaplan UK – United Kingdom; Kaplan Schweser – USA; Top Finance – France; Upper Mark, Inc. – USA.

Chapters

Once the program and eligibility requirements have been met, CAIA Members are able to join Chapters. There are 35 CAIA Chapters around the world. Chapter activities include educational panels with expert speakers and deliver on CAIA's mission to educate Candidates and Members about relevant topics in alternatives.

See also

• The Chartered Financial Analyst designation of the CFA Institute
• Certified International Investment Analyst
• The Financial Risk Manager (FRM) international professional certification offered by the Global Association of Risk Professionals
• The Certified Management Accountant certification offered by Institute of Management Accountants.
• The Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification offered by the PRMIA
• The Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement designation of the CFA Institute
• The Chartered Insurance Professional designation of the Insurance Institute of Canada