HKUST Business School Joins Alternative Investment Network: MBA News

By Tim Dhoul Updated Feb 05, 2015

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CAIA Association partnership described as ‘win-win’

HKUST Business School partners with alternative investment body

Students at HKUST Business School now have an alternative outlet in which to pursue their interest in alternative investment, after the school announced a new academic partnership designed to spur on those who are more interested in commodities, real assets and private equity than in stocks, bonds and cash.

HKUST Business School becomes the 30th academic partner of the investment professionals’ organization, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association.

The link-up will see students at HKUST Business School gain access to the CAIA Association's curriculum, through which one can gain a chartered membership that grants access to a network of 7,000 professionals in more than 80 countries.

The news should have particular relevance for those taking the school’s specialized master’s degrees in investment management and financial analysis, or for MBA students who wish to concentrate in these areas.

In the US, for instance, the CAIA Association has an existing partnership with NYU Stern for MBAs who choose to specialize in quantitative finance or in financial instruments and markets, for instance. Elsewhere, the organization is also partnered with Cass Business School’s investment management MSc and the MBA program at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance.

CAIA Association partnership described as ‘win-win’

The CAIA Association’s first move into Hong Kong is said to be testament to the level of importance ascribed to the area in the growth of Asia Pacific’s alternative investment market.

Its CEO, Bill Kelly, said his organization and the CAIA Charter offered “a competitive advantage for practitioners in the growing field of alternative investing.”

HKUST Business School’s Peter Mackay, meanwhile, described it as, “a win-win collaboration,” in a press release, adding that the school’s finance-orientated students, as well as HKUST Business School alumni, stood to gain “a truly remarkable advantage on the job market,” from having access to offerings from the CAIA Association.

For finance-minded MBAs looking further afield than the big investment banks, there are plenty of opportunities in areas such as alternative investment out there, according to the latest QS MBA Jobs & Salary Trends Report, but they can sometimes be harder to come by without having access to the kind of network business schools go to great lengths to provide for their students and alumni.

Written by

Tim Dhoul

Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).