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Alternative Investments: CAIA Level I, 4th Edition is the curriculum book for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Level I professional examination. Covering the fundamentals of the alternative investment space, this book helps you build a foundation in alternative investment markets. You'll look closely at the different types of hedge fund strategies and the range of statistics used to define investment performance as you gain a deep familiarity with alternative investment terms and develop the computational ability to solve investment problems. From strategy characteristics to portfolio management strategies, this book contains the core material you will need to succeed on the CAIA Level I exam. This updated fourth edition tracks to the latest version of the exam and is accompanied by the following ancillaries: a workbook, study guide, learning objectives, and an ethics handbook.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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Fourth Edition
Donald R. Chambers
Mark J.P. Anson
Keith H. Black
Hossein B. Kazemi
Cover design: Wiley/ZoeDesignWorks Cover image: © LysenkoAlexander/Getty Images, © Anna_Om/Getty Images
Copyright © 2009, 2012, 2016, 2020 by The CAIA Association. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Names: Chambers, Donald R., author. | Anson, Mark Jonathan Paul, author. | Black, Keith H., author. | Kazemi, Hossein B., author. CAIA level I. | CAIA Association. Title: Alternative investments : CAIA level I / Donald R. Chambers, Mark J.P. Anson, Keith H. Black, Hossein B. Kazemi, CAIA Association. Other titles: CAIA level I | CAIA level one Description: Fourth Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2020. | Series: The Wiley finance | Revised edition of CAIA level I, [2015] Identifiers: LCCN 2019035282 (print) | LCCN 2019035283 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119604143 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119604174 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119604150 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Investments. | Securities. | Portfolio management. Classification: LCC HG4521 .C45123 2019 (print) | LCC HG4521 (ebook) | DDC 332.63–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035282LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035283
Cover
Preface
Foundation
Benefits
The CAIA Programs and the CAIA Alternative Investment Analyst Series
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
PART One: Introduction to Alternative Investments
CHAPTER 1: What Is an Alternative Investment?
1.1 Alternative Investments by Exclusion
1.2 Alternative Investments by Inclusion
1.3 The Blurred Lines Between Traditional and Alternative Investments
1.4 A History of Alternative Investing: The U.S. Case
1.5 Investments are Distinguished by Return Characteristics
1.6 Investments are Distinguished by Methods of Analysis
1.7 Eight Other Characteristics that Distinguish Alternative and Traditional Investments
1.8 Five Goals of Alternative Investing
1.9 Two Pillars of Alternative Investment Management
1.10 Overview of This Book
Review Questions
CHAPTER 2: The Environment of Alternative Investments
2.1 The Participants
2.2 Alternative Investment Structures
2.3 Key Features of Fund Structures
2.4 Financial Markets
2.5 Regulatory Environment
2.6 Liquid Alternative Investments
2.7 Taxation
2.8 Short Selling
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 3: Quantitative Foundations
3.1 Return and Rate Mathematics
3.2 Returns Based on Notional Principal
3.3 Internal Rate of Return
3.4 Problems with Internal Rate of Return
3.5 Other Performance Measures
3.6 Illiquidity, Accounting Conservatism, IRR, and the J-Curve
3.7 Distribution of Cash Waterfall
Review Questions
Note
CHAPTER 4: Statistical Foundations
4.1 Return Distributions
4.2 Moments of the Distribution: Mean, Variance, Skewness, and Kurtosis
4.3 Covariance, Correlation, Beta, and Autocorrelation
4.4 Interpreting Standard Deviation and Variance
4.5 Testing for Normality
4.6 Time-Series Return Volatility Models
Review Questions
CHAPTER 5: Foundations of Financial Economics
5.1 Informational Market Efficiency
5.2 The Time Value of Money, Prices, and Rates
5.3 The Three Primary Theories of the Term Structure of Interest Rates
5.4 Forward Interest Rates
5.5 Arbitrage-Free Models
5.6 Binomial Tree Models
5.7 Single-Factor Default–Free Bond Models
5.8 Single-Factor Equity Pricing Models
Review Questions
Note
CHAPTER 6: Derivatives and Risk-Neutral Valuation
6.1 Foundations of Forward Contracts
6.2 Forward Contracts on Rates
6.3 Forward Contracts on Equities
6.4 Forward Contracts on Assets with Benefits and Costs of Carry
6.5 Forward Contracts Versus Futures Contracts
6.6 Managing Long-Term Futures Exposures
6.7 Option Exposures
6.8 Option Pricing Models
6.9 Option Sensitivities
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 7: Measures of Risk and Performance
7.1 Measures of Risk
7.2 Estimating Value at Risk (VaR)
7.3 Benchmarking and Performance Attribution
7.4 Ratio-Based Performance Measures
7.5 Risk-Adjusted Return Measures
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 8: Alpha, Beta, and Hypothesis Testing
8.1 Overview of Beta and Alpha
8.2 Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Alpha
8.3 Single-Factor Models and Regression
8.4 Inferring Ex Ante Alpha From Ex Post Alpha
8.5 Return Attribution, Alpha, and Beta
8.6 Ex Ante Alpha Estimation and Return Persistence
8.7 Return Drivers
8.8 Using Statistical Methods to Locate Alpha
8.9 Sampling and Testing Problems
8.10 Statistical Issues in Analyzing Alpha and Beta
Review Questions
Notes
PART Two: Real Assets
CHAPTER 9: Natural Resources and Land
9.1 Natural Resources Other Than Land
9.2 Land
9.3 Timber and Timberland
9.4 Farmland
9.5 Valuation and Volatility of Real Assets
9.6 Pricing and Historic Data Analysis
9.7 Contagion, Price Indices, and Biases
9.8 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Timberland
9.9 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Farmland
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 10: Commodities
10.1 Investing in Commodities Without Futures
10.2 The Term Structure of Forward Prices on Commodities
10.3 Rolling of Forward and Futures Contracts
10.4 Normal Backwardation and Normal Contango
10.5 Commodity Exposure and Diversification
10.6 Expected Returns on Commodities
10.7 Commodity Futures Indices
10.8 Commodity Risk Attributes
10.9 Observations Based on Historical Returns
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 11: Other Real Assets
11.1 Commodity Producers
11.2 Liquid Alternative Real Assets
11.3 Infrastructure
11.4 Intellectual Property Overview
11.5 Cash Flows of Intellectual Property
11.6 Visual Works of Art and Historical Performance Data
11.7 R&D and Patents as Unbundled Intellectual Property
11.8 Intellectual Property Conclusions
Review Questions
Notes
References
CHAPTER 12: Real Estate Assets and Debt
12.1 Categories of Real Estate
12.2 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Styles of Real Estate Investments
12.3 Real Estate Style Boxes
12.4 Residential Mortgages
12.5 Commercial Mortgages
12.6 Mortgage-Backed Securities Market
12.7 Liquid Alternatives: Real Estate Investment Trusts
12.8 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Mortgage Reits
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 13: Real Estate Equity
13.1 Real Estate Development
13.2 Commercial Real Estate Valuation
13.3 Details of the Income Approach to Real Estate Valuation
13.4 Illustration of the Income Method of Real Estate Valuation
13.5 Alternative Real Estate Investment Vehicles
13.6 Equity Reit Returns
13.7 Key Observations Regarding Historical Risks and Returns of Equity REITs
Review Questions
PART Three: Hedge Funds
CHAPTER 14: Structure of the Hedge Fund Industry
14.1 Distinguishing Hedge Funds
14.2 Hedge Fund Fees
14.3 Hedge Fund Classification
14.4 Hedge Fund Returns and Asset Allocation
14.5 Evaluating a Hedge Fund Investment Program
14.6 Three Research Studies on Whether Hedge Funds Adversely Affect the Financial Markets
14.7 Hedge Fund Indices
14.8 Conclusion
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 15: Macro and Managed Futures Funds
15.1 Macro and Managed Futures Strategies
15.2 Global Macro
15.3 Managed Futures
15.4 Systematic Trading
15.5 Four Core Dimensions of Managed Futures Investment Strategies
15.6 Systematic Futures Portfolio Construction
15.7 Eight Core Benefits of Managed Futures for Investors
15.8 Evidence on Managed Futures Returns
15.9 Benefits of Managed Futures Funds
15.10 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Macro and Systematic Diversified Funds
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 16: Event-Driven Hedge Funds
16.1 The Sources of Most Event Strategy Returns
16.2 Activist Investing
16.3 Merger Arbitrage
16.4 Distressed Securities Funds
16.5 Event-Driven Multistrategy Funds
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 17: Relative Value Hedge Funds
17.1 Overview of Relative Value Strategies
17.2 Convertible Bond Arbitrage
17.3 Volatility Arbitrage
17.4 Fixed-Income Arbitrage
17.5 Relative Value Multistrategy Funds
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 18: Equity Hedge Funds
18.1 Commonalities of Equity Hedge Funds
18.2 Sources of Return
18.3 Market Anomalies
18.4 Implementing Anomaly Strategies
18.5 The Three Equity Strategies
18.6 Equity Hedge Fund Risks
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 19: Funds of Hedge Funds
19.1 Overview of Funds of Hedge Funds
19.2 Investing in Multistrategy Funds
19.3 Investing in Funds of Hedge Funds
19.4 Investing in Portfolios of Single Hedge Funds
19.5 Multialternatives and Other Hedge Fund Liquid Alternatives
19.6 Key Observations Regarding Historical Returns of Funds of Funds
Review Questions
Notes
PART Four: Private Securities
CHAPTER 20: Private Equity Assets
20.1 Introduction to Private Equity Terms and Background
20.2 Overview of Three Forms of Pre-IPO Private Equity Investing
20.3 Venture Capital
20.4 Venture Capital as a Compound Option
20.5 Growth Equity
20.6 Buyouts and Leveraged Buyouts
20.7 Buyouts of Private Companies
20.8 Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs)
20.9 Merchant Banking
20.10 Dynamics of Private Equity Opportunities
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 21: Private Equity Funds
21.1 Overview of Private Equity Funds
21.2 Private Equity Funds as Intermediaries
21.3 The LP and GP Relationship Life Cycle
21.4 Private Equity Fund Fees and Terms
21.5 Key Determinants of Venture Capital Fund Risks and Returns
21.6 Roles and Three Key Distinctions of Venture Capital and Buyout Managers
21.7 Leveraged Buyout Funds
21.8 Private Equity Liquid Alternatives
21.9 Private Equity Funds of Funds
21.10 Private Investments in Public Equity
21.11 Private Equity Secondary Markets and Structures
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 22: Private Credit and Distressed Debt
22.1 Types of Fund Private Credit Vehicles
22.2 Fixed-Income Analysis
22.3 Credit Risk Analysis and the Bankruptcy Process
22.4 Leveraged Loans
22.5 Direct Lending
22.6 Mezzanine Debt
22.7 Distressed Debt
22.8 Private Credit Performance and Diversification
Review Questions
Note
References
PART Five: Structured Products
CHAPTER 23: Introduction to Structuring
23.1 Overview of Financial Structuring
23.2 Major Types of Structuring
23.3 The Primary Economic Role of Structuring
23.4 Collateralized Mortgage Obligations
23.5 Structural Model Approach to Credit Risk
23.6 Interest Rate Options
23.7 Introduction to Collateralized Debt Obligations
Review Questions
Note
CHAPTER 24: Credit Risk and Credit Derivatives
24.1 An Overview of Credit Risk
24.2 Reduced-Form Modeling of Credit Risk
24.3 Credit Derivatives Markets
24.4 Interest Rate Swaps
24.5 Credit Default Swaps
24.6 Other Credit Derivatives
24.7 CDS Index Products
24.8 Five Key Risks of Credit Derivatives
Review Questions
Notes
CHAPTER 25: CDO Structuring of Credit Risk
25.1 Overview of CDO Variations
25.2 Balance Sheet CDOs and Arbitrage CDOs
25.3 Mechanics of and Motivations for an Arbitrage CDO
25.4 Cash-Funded CDOs Versus Synthetic CDOs
25.5 Cash Flow CDOs Versus Market Value CDOs
25.6 Credit Enhancements
25.7 Other Types of CDOs
25.8 Risks of CDOs
Review Questions
CHAPTER 26: Equity-Linked Structured Products
26.1 Structured Products and Six Types of Wrappers
26.2 Four Potential Tax Effects of Wrappers
26.3 Structured Products with Exotic Option Features
26.4 Popular Structured Product Types
26.5 The EUSIPA Classification
26.6 Global Structured Product Cases
26.7 Structured Product Valuation
26.8 Motivations Of Structured Products
Review Questions
Notes
Index
End User License Agreement
Chapter 1
Exhibit 1.1 Major Alternative Asset Categories (percentages approximate), 2017
Exhibit 1.2 The Blurred Lines Between Traditional and Alternative Assets
Exhibit 1.3 Popular Institutional Quality Assets, 1890–Present
Exhibit 1.4 A 2×2 Framework of Alternative Assets
Chapter 2
Exhibit 2.1 Structure of a Limited Partnership Investment Vehicle
Exhibit 2.2 Typical Master/Feeder Hedge Fund Structure
Chapter 3
Exhibit 3.1 The Solution to IRR in a Simplified Investment
Exhibit 3.2 Complex Cash Flow Pattern Examples
Exhibit 3.3 Cash Flows of Hypothetical Derivative Contract
Exhibit 3.4 An Example of Multiple IRRs
Exhibit 3.5 Cash Flows for Private Equity Investment
Exhibit 3.6 Modified IRR Example
Exhibit 3.7 Simplified PMEs for Two Funds with Two Cash Flows
Exhibit 3.8 J-Curve of Interim IRRs
Chapter 4
Exhibit 4.1 Skewness and Kurtosis
Exhibit 4.2 Covariance, Correlations, and Beta
Exhibit 4.3 Diversification between Two Assets
Exhibit 4.4 Confidence Intervals for the Normal Distribution Using Standard Deviation
Chapter 5
Exhibit 5.1 Value of a Zero-Coupon Bond
Exhibit 5.2 The Term Structure of Spot Interest Rates
Exhibit 5.3 Incremental Cash Flows of Moving from a One-Year Bond to a Two-Year Bond
Exhibit 5.4 The Term Structure of Single-Period Implied Forward Rates
Exhibit 5.5 A Two-Step Binomial Tree for a Stock Price (
S
)
Exhibit 5.6 Binomial Trees for Stock and Call Option with $9 Strike
Chapter 6
Exhibit 6.1 The Term Structure of Forward Contracts on an Equity Index
Exhibit 6.2 Forward Term Structures
Exhibit 6.3 Benefits and Costs of Direct Ownership
Exhibit 6.4 Term Structure of Natural Gas Futures Closing Prices
Exhibit 6.5 Riding and Rolling of Forward and Futures Contracts
Exhibit 6.6 Diagrams of Underlying Assets and Simple Option Combinations
Exhibit 6.7 Diagrams of Options Spreads and Combinations
Chapter 7
Exhibit 7.1 Example of the Distribution of a $100,000 VaR for a Portfolio Based on a Confid...
Exhibit 7.2 Sample Computations of M
2
Chapter 8
Exhibit 8.1 Errors in Hypothesis Testing
Chapter 9
Exhibit 9.1 Receivables and Deliverables in Exchange Option
Exhibit 9.2 Natural Resource Development as a Call Option
Exhibit 9.3 Returns Based on Market Price
Exhibit 9.4 Farmland
Exhibit 9.5 Market Prices and Appraisals Spanning the Financial Crisis
Exhibit 9.6 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 10
Exhibit 10.1 Cost of Carry
Exhibit 10.2 Term Structure of Forward Prices: Contango, Flat, and Backwardation
Exhibit 10.3 Corn Futures Prices
Exhibit 10.4 Crude Oil Futures Curve
Exhibit 10.5 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 11
Exhibit 11.1 Return Correlations of Oil Operating Firms to Oil (USO) and Equities (SPY)
Exhibit 11.2 Summary of Three Forms of Ownership
Exhibit 11.3 Infrastructure Investment Universe
Exhibit 11.4 Risk Profile of Infrastructure Investment Development Stages
Exhibit 11.5 Types of Infrastructure Investments
Exhibit 11.6 Infrastructure versus Other Asset Classes
Exhibit 11.7 Characteristics Associated with Infrastructure and Other Asset Categories
Exhibit 11.8 Schedule of Film Exhibition Venues
Exhibit 11.9 Estimated Returns to Art from Various Studies
Chapter 12
Exhibit 12.1 The Underlying Eight Attributes of the Three Real Estate Styles
Exhibit 12.2 Real Estate Portfolio Style Definitions
Exhibit 12.3 Equity and Fixed-Income Style Boxes
Exhibit 12.4 Real Estate Style Boxes
Exhibit 12.5 Amortization Schedule for a Fixed-Rate (6% per year), Constant Payment ($644.30...
Exhibit 12.6 Amortization Schedule for a Variable-Rate, Variable Payment, Fully Amortized 25...
Exhibit 12.7 PSA Benchmark Pattern
Exhibit 12.8 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 13
Exhibit 13.1 Decision Tree for the Sports Hotel
Exhibit 13.2A The Sports Hotel Decision Tree with Final Nodes Value
Exhibit 13.2B Sports Hotel Decision Tree with Final Decision Included
Exhibit 13.2C Sports Hotel Decision Tree with Final Decision and New Information Included
Exhibit 13.3 Estimates of Annual Net Operating Income
Exhibit 13.4 Projection of Net Operating Income over Next Four Years
Exhibit 13.5 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 14
Exhibit 14.1 Comparing Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds
Exhibit 14.2 Estimated Number of Funds Launched/Liquidated
Exhibit 14.3 Distribution of Industry Assets by Firm AUM Tier
Exhibit 14.4 Fee Calculations with and without Hurdle Rate
Exhibit 14.5 Percentage of NAV Earned by the Hedge Fund before Fees and Distributed to Manag...
Exhibit 14.6 Biases Associated with Hedge Fund Data
Chapter 15
Exhibit 15.1 Simple Moving Average Summary
Exhibit 15.2 Example with Two Moving Averages
Exhibit 15.3 Channel Breakout Strategy Summary
Exhibit 15.4 Relative Strength Index (RSI)
Exhibit 15.5 Relative Strength Index (RSI); Sometimes Termed Relative Strength Indicator
Exhibit 15.6 Relative Value Strategy
Exhibit 15.7 Dimensions of Managed Futures Strategies
Exhibit 15.8 Returns of Various Asset Classes and Hedge Fund Strategies, 2007 to 2009
Exhibit 15.9 Structural Characteristics of Managed Futures Funds, Multi-Managed Futures Fund...
Exhibit 15.10 The Total Futures Price and Spot Price Only Performance for a Representative Pu...
Exhibit 15.11 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 16
Exhibit 16.1 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 16.2 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 16.3 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 16.4 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 17
Exhibit 17.1 Price Behavior of a Convertible Security
Exhibit 17.2 Example of a Delta-Neutral Position in Stocks and Convertible Bonds
Exhibit 17.3 Components of the Return of a Traditional Convertible Arbitrage Strategy
Exhibit 17.4 Delta Hedging a Convertible Bond
Exhibit 17.5 Profit on a Delta-Hedged Position (Long Convertible, Short Stock)
Exhibit 17.6 Summary of Convertible Bond Arbitrage Risks
Exhibit 17.7 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 17.8 Summary of Volatility Arbitrage Risks
Exhibit 17.9 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 17.10 Summary of the Five Risks of Fixed-Income Arbitrage Funds
Exhibit 17.11 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 17.12 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 18
Exhibit 18.1 Expected Return, Tracking Error, and Breadth
Exhibit 18.2 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 18.3 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 18.4 Statistical Summary of Returns
Exhibit 18.5 Summary of Equity Hedge Fund Risks
Chapter 19
Exhibit 19.1 Correlation of Returns across Investment Strategies, January 2000 to December 2...
Exhibit 19.2 Estimated Strategy Composition by Assets Under Management, 4Q 2018
Exhibit 19.3 Hedge Fund Selection
Exhibit 19.4 Minimum Investments Required by Hedge Funds, 4Q 2018
Exhibit 19.5 Statistical Summary of Returns
Chapter 20
Exhibit 20.1 Major Distinctions between VC, Growth Equity, and Buyouts
Exhibit 20.2 The Life Cycle of a Start-Up Company and the J-Curve
Exhibit 20.3 Global Buyout Deal Values and Counts
Chapter 21
Exhibit 21.1 Private Equity Investment Process
Exhibit 21.2 Dual Roles and Entities of a Private Equity Firm
Exhibit 21.3 PE Funds Investment Program
Exhibit 21.4 Fund Standard J-Curve
Exhibit 21.5 Fund Manager–Investor Relationship Life Cycle
Exhibit 21.6 GP–LP Relationship Life Cycle Model
Exhibit 21.7 Impact of Catch-Up on NAV Attributed to LPs
Exhibit 21.8 Example of Waterfall Using a Hurdle Rate
Exhibit 21.9 Return Analysis of BDCS, May 2011 to December 2018
Chapter 22
Exhibit 22.1 Leverage and Debt Coverage Ratios Vary by Credit Rating
Exhibit 22.2 The Cyclicality of Global Default Rates
Exhibit 22.3 Priority of Claims in the Capital Structure
Exhibit 22.4 Mezzanine Financing and the Cost of Capital
Exhibit 22.5 Deal Multiples and Leverage Multiples Have Been Rising in Large U.S. LBOs
Exhibit 22.6 Comparison of Leveraged Loans, High-Yield Bonds, and Mezzanine Debt
Chapter 23
Exhibit 23.1 Capital Structure as Creating Structured Products
Exhibit 23.2 Simplified CMO Structure
Exhibit 23.3 Stylized Example of $1,620,000 Cash Flow to a Sequential-Pay CMO with Two Tranc...
Exhibit 23.4 Investor Motivations for Structured Products
Exhibit 23.5 Simplified CDO Structure
Chapter 24
Exhibit 24.1 Interest Rate Swap Example
Exhibit 24.2 Fixed and Floating Payments
Exhibit 24.3 Present Values of Fixed and Floating Payments
Exhibit 24.4 Interest Rate Swap Payments after a Change in Three-Month LIBOR
Exhibit 24.5 Present Values of Fixed and Floating Payments
Exhibit 24.6 Credit Default Swap
Exhibit 24.7 Total Return Swap on a Risky Asset
Chapter 25
Exhibit 25.1 Investor Motivations for Structured Products
Exhibit 25.2 A Balance Sheet CDO
Exhibit 25.3 An Arbitrage CDO Structure
Exhibit 25.4 Overview of Collateralized Debt Obligations
Chapter 26
Exhibit 26.1a Equivalence of Two Strategies
Exhibit 26.1b Binary Call Options
Exhibit 26.1c Up-and-In Barrier Call Option
Exhibit 26.2 Barrier Calls and Puts
Exhibit 26.3 Four Capital Protection Structured Products
Exhibit 26.4 Two Yield Enhancement Structured Products
Exhibit 26.5 Participation Structured Products
Exhibit 26.6 Leverage Structured Products
Exhibit 26.7 Investor Motivations for Structured Products
Cover
Table of Contents
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Alternative Investments is designed as the primary reading resource for the Level I exam of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association's Charter program, as well as a textbook for university courses and a resource for alternative investment professionals. This book began three editions ago as a revision of Mark Anson's Handbook of Alternative Assets and represents another milestone in our efforts to continuously improve and update the CAIA curriculum. This edition includes material from a variety of contributors to the third edition of the CAIA Level II textbook. To ensure that the material best reflects up-to-date practices in the area of alternative investments, the CAIA Association invited a group of leading industry professionals to review the series, covering core areas of alternative investments: real assets, hedge funds, private equity/credit, and structured products.
Since its inception in 2002, the CAIA Association has strived to be the leader in alternative investment education worldwide, and to be the catalyst for the best education in the field wherever it lies. The CAIA program was established with the help of a core group of faculty and industry experts who were associated with the University of Massachusetts and the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). From the beginning, the Association recognized that a meaningful portion of its curriculum must be devoted to codes of conduct and ethical behavior in the investment profession. To this end, with permission and cooperation of the CFA Institute, we have incorporated its Code of Ethics and the CFA Standards of Practice Handbook into our curriculum. Further, we leverage the experience and contributions of our members and other alternative investment professionals who serve on our board and committees to create and update the CAIA Association program's curriculum and its associated readings.
The quality, rigor, and relevance of our curriculum readings derive from the ideals upon which the CAIA Association was based. The CAIA program offered its first Level I examination in February 2003. Our first class consisted of 43 dedicated investment professionals who passed the Level I and Level II exams and met the other requirements of membership. Many of these founding members were instrumental in establishing the CAIA designation as the global mark of excellence in alternative investment education. Through their support and with the help of the founding cosponsors, the AIMA and the Center for the International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM), the CAIA Association is now firmly established as the most comprehensive and credible designation in the rapidly growing sphere of alternative investments.
The AIMA is the hedge fund industry's global, not-for-profit trade association, with over 2,000 corporate members worldwide. Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting services, and fund administrators. They all benefit from the AIMA's active influence in policy development; its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals; and its excellent reputation with regulators.
The CISDM of the Isenberg School of Management of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst seeks to enhance the understanding of the field of alternative investments through research, education, and networking opportunities for member donors, industry professionals, and academics.
The CAIA Association has experienced rapid growth in its membership over the past 17 years. It is now a truly global professional organization with over 11,000 members in over 90 countries. We strive to stay nimble in our process so that curriculum remains relevant and keeps pace with the constant changes in this dynamic industry.
Although the CAIA Association's origins are largely based in the efforts of professionals in the hedge fund and managed futures space, these founders correctly identified a void in the wider understanding of alternative investments as a whole. From the beginning, the CAIA curriculum has also covered private equity, commodities, and real assets, always with an eye toward shifts in the industry. Today, several hundred CAIA members identify their main area of expertise as real estate or private equity; several hundred more members are from family offices, pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds that allocate across multiple classes within the alternative investment industry. To ensure benefit to the widest spectrum of members, we have developed curriculum subcommittees that represent each area of coverage within the curriculum. Alternative investment areas and products share some distinct features, such as the relative freedom on the part of investment managers to act in the best interests of their investors, alignment of interests between asset owners and asset managers, and relative illiquidity of investment positions of some investment products. These characteristics necessitate conceptual and actual modifications to the standard investment performance analysis and decision-making paradigms.
Our curriculum readings are designed with two goals in mind. First, to provide the readers with tools needed to solve problems they counter in performing their professional duties. Second, to provide them with a conceptual framework that is essential for investment professionals who strive to keep up with new developments in the alternative investment industry.
Readers will find the publications in our series to be beneficial, whether from the standpoint of allocating to new asset classes and strategies in order to gain broader diversification or from the standpoint of a specialist needing to understand better the competing options available to sophisticated investors globally. In both cases, readers will be better equipped to serve their clients’ needs.
The CAIA Level I required readings are contained in this one text, supplemented only by the CFA Institute's Standards of Practice Handbook. Level I candidates are assumed to have mastered some knowledge of financial markets, securities pricing, and derivatives markets in advance of commencing studies for the Level I exam.
Many resources are freely available on our website (caia.org). We will continue to update the CAIA Level I Study Guide every six months (each exam cycle). The study guide outlines all of the readings and corresponding learning objectives (LOs) that candidates are responsible for meeting. The guide also contains important information for candidates regarding the use of LOs, testing policies, topic weightings, where to find and report errata, and much more. The entire exam process is outlined in the CAIA Candidate Handbook and is available at caia.org. Candidates can also access a workbook that solves the problems presented at the end of each chapter of this book and other important study aids.
We believe you will find this series to be the most comprehensive, rigorous, and globally relevant source of educational material available within the field of alternative investments.
Donald R. Chambers, PhD, CAIA
Associate Director of Curriculum
CAIA Association
June 2019
We would like to thank the many individuals who played important roles in producing this book. In particular, we owe great thanks to William Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of the CAIA Association, and our committee members:
CAIA Allocator Advisory Board and CAIA Job Task Analysis Committee
Sean Anthonisz, CAIA, Mine Super & The University of Sydney Business School
Frank Barbarino, CAIA, Templum, Inc
James Bennett, CAIA, Maine Public Employees Retirement System
Robert Bennett-Lovesey, CAIA, Global ARC & CAIA Singapore
Jim Bethea, CAIA, University of Iowa Foundation
Ryan Bisch, CAIA, Ontario Power Generation
Cameron Black, CAIA, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Dominic Blais, CAIA, Canadian Medical Protective Association
Joseph Borda, CAIA
Alex Bradford, CAIA, Starwood Capital
Elizabeth Burton, CAIA, Hawaii Employees Retirement System
Nathan Butler, CAIA, Voya Financial
Jenny Chan, CAIA, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Gang Chen, CAIA, PIMCO
Anthony (Tony) Cowell, KPMG
Edward (Ned) Creedon, University of Illinois Foundation
Pamela Fennelly Campbell, CAIA, Washington University
Darren Foreman, CAIA, Public School Employees Retirement System of Penn
Marcus Frampton, CAIA, Alaska Permanent Fund
Chase Frei, CAIA, Ashland Partners & Company LLP
John Freihammer, CAIA, Chicago Teachers Pension Fund
Craig Grenier, CAIA, Northeastern University Endowment
Weiyu Guo, CAIA, Huajin Capital (International) Ltd
Bobby Hagedorn, CAIA, Missouri Patrol Employees' Retirement System
Sajal Heda, CAIA, DAMAC Investment Company (Dubai)
Jeremy Heer, CAIA, The University of Chicago
Katy Huang, CAIA, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA
Drew Lerardi, CAIA, Exelon Corporation
Jason Josephiac, CAIA, United Technologies Corporation
Panayiotis Lambropoulos, CAIA, Employees Retirement Sysyem of Texas
Julia H. Lee, CAIA, Michigan State University
Grant Leslie, CAIA Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System
Yasir Mallick, CAIA, University of Toronto Asset Management
Tom Masthay, CAIA Texas Municipal Retirement System
Jason Morrow, CAIA, Utah Retirement Systems
Courtney Ann, CAIA, InvestorSpeak
Chad Myhre, CAIA, Public School & Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri
Michael Nicks, CAIA, Pepperdine University Endowment
Mansco Perry, CAIA Minnesota State Board of Investment
Steven Price, CAIA, Ohio School Employees Retirement System
Lin Qu, CAIA, Independent
Brian Quinn, CAIA, Newton Investment Management
Sarah Samuels, CAIA, NEPC
Andrew Sawyer, CAIA, Maine Public Employees Retirement System
Wolfdieter Schnee, CAIA, VP Fund Solutions (Liechtenstein) AG
Jamey Sharpe, CAIA, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Joseph Simonian, Quantitative Research, Natixis Investment Managers
Gaurav Singh, CAIA, Kuwait International Bank
Benjamin Skrodzki, CAIA, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Ken Stemme, CAIA, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust
Graham Tedesco, CAIA, Storage Deluxe
Ryan Tidwell, CAIA, Oklahoma State University Foundation
Hilary Wiek, CAIA, Formerly the Saint Paul & Minnesota Community Foundations
Shane Willoughby, CAIA, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois
Michael Weinberg, CIO, MOV37
Thomas Woodbury, CAIA, University of Pennsylvania Investment Office
Gerald Yahoudy, CAIA, New York State Teachers
Ernest Yeung, CAIA, Changsheng Fund Management Ltd
Jasmine Yu, CAIA, BNY Mellon
Contributing Authors
Jim Campasano
Michal E. Crowder
Satyabrota Das, CAIA
Malay K. Dey
Jaeson Dubrovay, CAIA
Urbi Garay
Kathryn Kaminski, CAIA
Jim Kyung-Soo Liew
George Martin
Pierre-Yves Mathonet
Thomas Meyer
Putri Pascualy
Jason Scharfman, CAIA
Ed Szado
Reviewers and Members of Curriculum Committee
James Bachman, CAIA
Gordon Barnes, CAIA
David Blitz
Douglas Cumming
Samuel Gallo, CAIA
Sean Gill, CAIA
James T. Gillies, CAIA
Mark Hutchinson
Georg Inderst
Tom Johnson, CAIA
Tom Kehoe, CAIA
Jeff H. Li
David McCarthy
Sanjay Nawalkha
Ludovic Phalippou
Mark Rzepczynski
Danny Santiago, CAIA
Christopher Schelling, CAIA
Richard Spurgin
Shelly Tilaye, CAIA
Evgeny Vostretsov, CAIA
Mark Wiltshire, CAIA
Special credit goes to CAIA staff for their valuable contributions in painstakingly bringing the fourth edition to completion.
CAIA Staff
Charles Alvarez Zamorano, CAIA, Associate Director of Research and Publications
Yaseen Gholizadeh, Curriculum Intern
Nelson Lacey, Director of Exams
Kristaps Licis, Senior Associate Director of Exams
Nancy E. Perry, Curriculum and Exams Associate
The CAIA Association is an independent, not-for-profit global organization committed to education and professionalism in the field of alternative investments. The Association was established in 2002 by industry leaders under the guidance of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets (CISDM) with the belief that a strong foundation of knowledge is essential for all professionals. The curriculum includes two exams (Level I and Level II) administered to professional analysts in this growing field so that, upon successful completion, the individuals are designated “Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts” (CAIA). The CAIA designation has a great deal of prestige in the global community. Members come from over 80 countries on six continents.
Dr. Donald R. Chambers, CAIA, is Associate Director of Programs at the CAIA Association; Chief Investment Officer of Biltmore Capital Advisors; and Emeritus Professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Dr. Chambers previously served as Director of Alternative Investments at Karpus Investment Management. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Alternative Investments.
Dr. Mark J. P. Anson, CAIA, CFA, CPA, PhD, JD, is a board member of CAIA and the President and Chief Investment Officer of the Bass Family Office—winner of the Family office of the Year award for 2014–2015. Dr. Anson previously served as President and Executive Director of Investment Services at Nuveen Investments Inc., Chief Executive Officer of both the British Telecom Pension Scheme and its wholly owned asset management company in London, Hermes Pension Management Limited, and Chief Investment Officer at California Public Employees’ Retirement System. He has published over 100 research articles in professional journals, has won two Best Paper Awards, is the author of six financial textbooks, and sits on the editorial boards of several financial journals.
Dr. Keith H. Black, CAIA, is Managing Director of Curriculum and Exams at the CAIA Association. He was previously an Associate at Ennis Knupp and, before that, an Assistant Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Alternative Investments.
Dr. Hossein B. Kazemi is a senior adviser to the CAIA Association. He is the Michael and Cheryl Philipp Professor of Finance at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Director of the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets; a cofounder of the CAIA Association; and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Alternative Investments—the official publication of the CAIA Association; and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Financial Data Science.
Part 1 begins with an introduction to alternative investments and a description of the environment of alternative investing. Chapters 3 to 6 include primers on quantitative methods, statistics, and financial economics as they relate to alternative investments, as well as a chapter on derivatives and risk-neutral valuation. The last two chapters of Part 1 discuss measures of risk and performance, as well as alpha, beta, and hypothesis testing. The material is designed to provide a foundation for Parts 2 to 5, which detail each of the four main categories of alternative investments.
Definitions of what constitutes an alternative investment vary considerably. One reason for these differences lies in the purposes for which the definitions are being used. But definitions also vary because alternative investing is largely a new field for which consensus has not emerged, as well as a rapidly changing field for which consensus will probably always remain elusive. Analyzing these various definitions provides a useful starting point to understanding alternative investments. So we begin this introductory chapter by examining commonly used methods of defining alternative investments.
Alternative investments are sometimes viewed as including any investment that is not simply a long position in traditional investments. Typically, traditional investments include publicly traded equities, fixed-income securities, and cash. For example, if an investment such as private equity is not commonly covered in detail in most books on investing, then many people would view it as an alternative investment.
The alternative-investments-by-exclusion definition is overly broad for the purposes of the CAIA curriculum. First, the term investment covers a very broad spectrum. A good definition of an investment is that it is deferred consumption. Any net outlay of cash made with the prospect of receiving future benefits might be considered an investment. So investments can range from planting a tree to buying stocks to acquiring a college education. As such, a more accurate definition of alternative investments requires more specificity than simply that of being nontraditional.
This book and the overall CAIA curriculum are focused on institutional-quality alternative investments. An institutional-quality investment is the type of investment that financial institutions such as pension funds or endowments might include in their holdings because they are expected to deliver reasonable returns at an acceptable level of risk. For example, a pension fund would consider holding the publicly traded equities of a major corporation but may be reluctant to hold collectibles such as baseball cards or stamps. Also, investments in very small and very speculative projects are typically viewed as being inappropriate for such an institution due to its responsibility to select investments that offer suitable risk levels and financial return prospects for its clients.
Not every financial institution, or even every type of financial institution, invests in alternative investments. Some financial institutions, such as some brokerage firms, are not focused on making long-term investments; rather, they hold securities to provide services to their clients. Other financial institutions, such as deposit-taking institutions like banks (especially smaller banks) might invest in only traditional investments because of government regulations or because of lack of expertise.
Of course, institutional-quality alternative investments are also held by entities other than financial institutions. Chapter 2 of this book discusses the alternative investment environment, including the various entities that commonly hold them (e.g., endowment funds and wealthy individuals).
Another method of identifying alternative investments is to define explicitly which investments are considered to be alternative. In this book, we classify four types of alternative investments:
Real assets (including natural resources, commodities, real estate, infrastructure, and intellectual property)
Hedge funds (including managed futures)
Private equity and private credit
Structured products (including credit derivatives)
These four categories correspond to Parts 2 to 5 of this book. Our list is not an exhaustive list of all alternative investments, especially because the CAIA curriculum is focused on institutional-quality investments. Furthermore, some of the investments on the list can be classified as traditional investments rather than alternative investments. For example, real estate and especially real estate investment trusts are frequently viewed as being traditional institutional-quality investments. Nevertheless, this list includes most institutional-quality investments that are currently commonly viewed as alternative. Exhibit 1.1 illustrates the relative proportion of these four categories of alternative investments.
The following sections provide brief introductions to the four categories.
Real assets are investments in which the underlying assets involve direct ownership of nonfinancial assets rather than ownership through financial assets, such as the securities of manufacturing or service enterprises. Real assets tend to represent more direct claims on consumption than do common stocks, and they tend to do so with less reliance on factors that create value in a company, such as intangible assets and managerial skill. So while a corporation such as Google holds real estate and other real assets, the value to its common stock is highly reliant on perceptions of the ability of the firm's management to oversee creation and sales of its goods and services. An aspect that distinguishes types of real assets is the extent to which the ownership of the real assets involves operational aspects, such as day-to-day management decisions that have substantial impacts on the performance of the assets. For example, in many instances, direct ownership of oil reserves or stockpiles of copper involve substantially less day-to-day managerial attention than does direct ownership of real estate, infrastructure, or intellectual property.
Exhibit 1.1 Major Alternative Asset Categories (percentages approximate), 2017
Source: Global Alternatives Survey 2017, Willis Towers Watson; CAIA Association estimates.
Natural resources focus on direct ownership of real assets that have received little or no alteration by humans, such as mineral and energy rights or reserves. Commodities are differentiated from natural resources by their emphasis on having been extracted or produced. Commodities are homogeneous goods available in large quantities, such as energy products, agricultural products, metals, and building materials. Most of the investments covered in the commodities section of the CAIA curriculum involve futures contracts, so understanding futures contracts is an important part of understanding commodities. Futures contracts are regulated distinctly and have well-defined economic characteristics. For example, the analysis of futures contracts typically emphasizes notional amounts rather than the amount of money posted as collateral or margin to acquire positions.
Commodities as an investment class refer to investment products with somewhat passive (i.e., buy-and-hold) exposure to commodity prices. This exposure can be obtained through futures contracts, physical commodities, natural resource companies, and exchange-traded funds.
Some real assets are operationally focused. For the purposes of the CAIA curriculum, operationally focused real assets include real estate, land, infrastructure, and intellectual property. The performance of these types of real assets is substantially affected by the skill and success of regular and relatively frequent managerial decision-making. Traditional common stocks are typically even more highly operationally focused.
Real estate focuses on land and improvements that are permanently affixed, like buildings. Real estate was a significant asset class long before stocks and bonds became important. Prior to the Industrial Age, land was the single most valuable asset class. Only a century ago, real estate was the most valuable asset of most individuals, because ownership of a primary residence was more common than ownership of financial investments.
Land comprises a variety of forms, including undeveloped land, timberland, and farmland. Although undeveloped land might appear to belong under the category of natural resources rather than operationally focused real assets, the option to develop land often requires substantial and ongoing managerial decision-making. Timberland includes both the land and the timber of forests of tree species typically used in the forest products industry. While the underlying land is a natural resource, timberland requires some level of ongoing management. Finally, farmland consists of land cultivated for row crops (e.g., vegetables and grains) and permanent crops (e.g., orchards and vineyards). Farmland necessitates substantial operations and managerial decisions.
Infrastructure investments are claims on the income of toll roads, regulated utilities, ports, airports, and other real assets that are traditionally held and controlled by the public sector (i.e., various levels of government). Investable infrastructure opportunities include securities generated by the privatization of existing infrastructure or by the private creation of new infrastructure via private financing.
Finally, while some descriptions of real assets limit the category to tangible assets, we define real assets to include intangible assets, such as intellectual property (e.g., patents, copyrights, and trademarks, as well as music, film, and publishing royalties). The opposite of a real asset is a financial asset, not an intangible asset. A financial asset is not a real asset—it is a claim on cash flows, such as a share of stock or a bond. Intangible assets, such as technology, directly facilitate production, thereby creating increased value. It can be argued that intangible assets represent a very large and rapidly increasing role in the wealth of society.
Hedge funds represent perhaps the most visible category of alternative investments. While hedge funds are often associated with particular fee structures or levels of risk taking, we define a hedge fund as a privately organized investment vehicle that uses its less regulated nature to generate investment opportunities that are substantially distinct from those offered by traditional investment vehicles, which are subject to regulations such as those restricting their use of derivatives and leverage. Hedge funds represent a wide-ranging set of vehicles that are differentiated primarily by the investment strategy or strategies implemented. Managed futures funds are included as hedge funds in Part 3.
The term private equity is used in the CAIA curriculum to include both equity and debt positions that, among other things, are not publicly traded. In most cases, the debt positions contain so much risk from cash flow uncertainty that their short-term return behavior is similar to that of equity positions. In other words, the value of the debt positions in a highly leveraged company, discussed within the category of private equity, behaves much like that of the equity positions in the same firm, especially in the short run. Private equity investments emerge primarily from funding new ventures, known as venture capital; from the equity of leveraged buyouts of existing businesses; from mezzanine financing of leveraged buyouts or other ventures; and from distressed debt resulting from the decline in the health of previously healthy firms.
Venture capital refers to support via equity financing to start-up companies that do not have a sufficient size, track record, or desire to attract capital from traditional sources, such as public capital markets or lending institutions. Venture capitalists fund these high-risk, illiquid, and unproven ideas by purchasing senior equity stakes while the start-up companies are still privately held. The ultimate goal is to generate large profits primarily through the business success of the companies and their development into enterprises capable of attracting public investment capital (typically through an initial public offering, or IPO) or via their sale to other companies. In the context of investment management, venture capital is sometimes treated as a separate asset class from other types of private equity.
Leveraged buyouts (LBOs) refer to those transactions in which the equity of a publicly traded company is purchased using a small amount of investor capital and a large amount of borrowed funds in order to take the firm private. The borrowed funds are secured by the assets or cash flows of the target company. The goals can include exploiting tax advantages of debt financing, improving the operating efficiency and the profitability of the company, and ultimately taking the company public again (i.e., making an IPO of its new equity). Management buyouts and management buy-ins are types of LBOs with specific managerial changes.
Mezzanine debt derives its name from its position in the capital structure of a firm: between the ceiling of senior secured debt and the floor of equity. Mezzanine debt refers to a spectrum of risky claims, including preferred stock, convertible debt, and debt that includes equity kickers (i.e., options that allow investors to benefit from any upside success in the underlying business, also called hybrid securities).
Distressed debt refers to the debt of companies that have filed or are likely to file in the near future for bankruptcy protection. Even though these securities are fixed-income securities, distressed debt is included in our discussion of private equity because the future cash flows of the securities are highly risky and highly dependent on the financial success of the distressed companies, and thus share many similarities with common stock. Private equity firms investing in distressed debt tend to take longer-term ownership positions in the companies after converting all or some portion of their debt position to equity. Some hedge funds also invest in distressed debt, but they tend to do so with a shorter-term trading orientation.
