Amherst, United States
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association today announced that it is sponsoring the Award for Research Excellence on Alternative Investments and Hedge Funds in Asia, to be presented by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Singapore Chapter and INSEAD's Asia Pacific Institute of Finance (APIF). The two organizations will present this award, designed to encourage high-level applied research into the alternative investment and hedge fund industry in Asia at the INSEAD Asia Campus Auditorium at 1 Ayer Rajah Avenue, Singapore, at 6:00 p.m.
The inaugural winner is Assistant Professor Melvyn Teo of Singapore Management University's Finance faculty, whose winning paper is entitled "the Geography of Hedge Funds," and is based on research done between January and May 2006 in Singapore. The paper analyzes the relationship between the risk-adjusted performance of hedge funds and their proximity to their investments using data on Asian hedge funds. The study finds that funds with a physical presence (head or research office) in their investment region outperform other funds by 5.5 percent per year. The local information advantage is especially pervasive for emerging market and event driven funds.
"Sponsoring this award is a perfect match for an organization like ours, given our focus on raising the level of education and professionalism in the worldwide alternative investment industry," said Craig Asche, executive director of the CAIA Association. "The kind of research that the award is designed to recognize will help continue pushing the level of alternative investment knowledge ever higher."
Assistant Professor Teo wins a prize of US$10,000 and will have his paper published on both the CAIA Association (www.caia.org) and AIMA global (www.aima.org) Web sites. This award has been judged by a distinguished international research panel comprising:
-- Stephen Diggle, Principal of Artradis Fund Management Pte Ltd
-- Peter Douglas, AIMA Council Member for Singapore
-- Pierre Hillion, de Picciotto Chaired Professor of Alternative
Investments, and Professor of Finance, INSEAD
-- Thomas Schneeweis, Director of the Center for International
Securities and Derivatives Markets
The 2006 Research Award is a key part of a collective effort to stimulate technical innovation and increase understanding of the rapidly growing financial marketplace in Singapore and throughout Asia.
This project unites the Singapore Chapter of the AIMA, a not-for-profit trade association focusing on education, transparency and regulation of alternative investments, with INSEAD APIF, the leader in Asian executive education and Asia-relevant research in finance, and the CAIA Association, a global professional chartering organization dedicated to promoting alternative investment education.
"APIF recognizes that Alternative Investments are an increasingly important part of Asian finance," says Professor Pierre Hillion, the de Picciotto Chaired Professor of Alternative Investments at INSEAD. "We are fully committed to encouraging bright minds and helping to develop new thought leaders to address present challenges and create new innovations for the future."
About the CAIA Association
The CAIA Association (www.caia.org) is an independent, not-for-profit global organization committed to education and professionalism in the field of alternative investments, and is the sponsor of the CAIA designation. CAIA has chapters in New York, London, Zurich, Singapore, and Toronto, and anticipates opening additional chapters in 2007.
About AIMA (Singapore)
As the only truly representative global hedge fund association, AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has 1100 corporate members worldwide, based in 47 countries.
Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting services and fund administrators. They all benefit from AIMA's active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals and its excellent reputation with regulators, worldwide.
AIMA is a dynamic organisation that reflects its membership and provides them with a vibrant global network.
AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation, or CAIA - the industry's first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists.
About INSEAD
As one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas from around the world to change lives and transform organizations. The unique global perspective and multicultural diversity of INSEAD are reflected in all aspects of its research and teaching. Currently, at the school's two comprehensive and fully connected campuses in Asia (Singapore) and Europe (France), 143 renowned faculty members from 31 countries inspire more than 880 MBA participants, 56 executive MBAs, over 7,000 executives and 74 PhD candidates. On both campuses, faculty conduct leading edge research projects with the support of 17 Centres of Excellence. The INSEAD-Wharton Alliance extends the reach of INSEAD business education and research across three continents.
Asia Pacific Institute of Finance, APIF
Formed in 2004 with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, APIF has rapidly grown to become the acknowledged centre of excellence in Finance at INSEAD. APIF's objective is to provide financial education and research with a clear focus on Asia within a global context and maintain a strong reputation for providing innovative education in the Asia Pacific region. APIF focuses on strengthening the leadership capacity of financial executives, creation of specific financial research by drawing upon INSEAD's finance faculty and enhancement of skills and capabilities of financial professionals in Asia
For further information, please visit INSEAD's website www.insead.edu.
Dukas Public Relations Justin Perras 212-704-7385 Justin@dukaspr.com or Kristina Ferrari 212-704-7385 Kristina@dukaspr.com
Dukas Public Relations Justin Perras 212-704-7385 Justin@dukaspr.com or Kristina Ferrari 212-704-7385 Kristina@dukaspr.com , ,
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)