AIMA Publishes First Collaborative Guide for Institutional Investors

Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Author: AIMA

London, 5 November 2008: The Alternative Investment Management Association ("AIMA") announced today that it has published the world's first collaborative educational guide for institutional hedge fund investors.



AIMA's Roadmap to Hedge Funds <http://www.aima.org/en/knowledge_centre/education/aimas-roadmap-to-hedge-funds.cfm > has been authored by Alexander Ineichen, Senior Investment Officer at UBS Global Asset Management's Alternative Investment Solutions, on behalf of AIMA's Investor Steering Committee. It was developed in association with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIAA) and is co-authored by Kurt Silberstein of the California Public Employees' Retirement Systems ("CalPERS").



AIMA's Roadmap to Hedge Funds, which is aimed at intermediate level investors, has been launched at a point in the industry's development where the quantity of commentary on hedge funds is not necessarily supported by the required level of knowledge. It aims to 'de-mystify' the hedge fund industry and tackle the misconceptions on issues such as short-selling, fees, transparency and the notion that hedge funds are risky, speculative and increase systemic risk.



The Roadmap also offers guidance on creating and managing a hedge fund portfolio and gives an in-depth view of hedge fund strategies in investment, valuation, leverage, liquidity and risk management.



Alexander Ineichen, Senior Investment Officer at UBS Global Asset Management's Alternative Investment Solutions, said:



"Institutional investors now account for a significant and growing percentage of investment in the hedge fund industry. While diversified hedge fund portfolios have comfortably outperformed most balanced long-only equity-bond portfolios this decade so far, the perception of investing in hedge funds is still often negative. The Roadmap is being launched at a point in the industry's development where the quantity of hedge fund bashing is plentiful while the dissemination of high-quality hedge fund research is not."



This initiative also directly addresses recommendations by the Financial Stability Forum and G7 that the industry and its investors work proactively to develop positive initiatives.



Emma Mugridge, Director of AIMA commented: "AIMA always strives to work as closely as possible with the investor community to promote greater understanding of hedge funds. In the current climate, where hedge funds are suffering ill-informed criticism, it is even more important that we continue to demonstrate this work and educate people. We - AIMA and the hedge fund industry - have always believed in the need for positive, proactive initiatives and the Roadmap demonstrates this commitment to increasing transparency on the industry's role and activities."

For further information, please contact:

Eoin Brophy or Evan DeBarra, (Hume Brophy) on:

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7499 8736

Email: eoin.brophy@humebrophy.com; evan.debarra@humebrophy.com 

1. About AIMA

As the only truly representative global hedge fund association, AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has 1,280 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's interests and provides them with a vibrant global network. AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation (CAIA) - the industry's first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA's website www.aima.org <http://www.aima.org/ >





2. About AIMA's Investor Steering Committee

The AIMA ISC was formed in July 2007 and comprises a number of the world's leading institutional and other investors with the objective of providing strategic and practical guidance to AIMA on how best we might support the educational and information needs of the institutional investor community.



AIMA ISC members include Paul Spijkers CEO of ABP Investments US Inc; Kurt Silberstein, Portfolio Manager at CalPERS; Eric Breval, Managing Director of Fonds de Compensation AVS; Mark Taborsky, VP at Harvard Management Company; François-Serge Lhabitant, CIO of Kedge Capital; Vera Kupper Staub - CIO of Pensionskasse Stadt Zürich; Alexander Ineichen - Senior Investment Officer, UBS Global Asset Management; Gumersindo OIiveros - Director of Pension Plan and Endowments for The World Bank Pension Plan, and John Stevens - Managing Director, General Motors Asset Management.





3. About CAIAA

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association® is an independent, not-for-profit global organization committed to education and professionalism in the field of alternative investments. Founded in 2002 by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM), the CAIA Association is the sponsoring body for the CAIA designation. Recognized globally, the CAIA designation certifies one's mastery of the concepts, tools and practices essential for understanding alternative investments and promotes adherence to high standards of professional conduct.