The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) is a professional designation offered by the CAIA Association to investment professionals.

A CAIA specializes in alternative investment assets (other than equity and fixed income products). Alternative investments generally include alternative investments can include hedge funds, private equity, real assets, commodities, and structured products. The CAIA curriculum is designed to provide the professionals a broad knowledge of these investment areas.

To attain the CAIA designation, one has to pass exams at two levels: Level I and Level II.

Level I focuses on the fundamentals of Alternative Investment market, while Level II focuses more on advanced topics and application. Both the levels place strong emphasis on Ethics and professional codes of conduct.

The exams are conducted in March and September. Please see the CAIA Exam Page for details about the exam.

It's a paper based exam , and one has to go to a pre-selected exam center to write the exam.