CIFA Advanced Level
Alternative Investments Analysis glossary
Every term this guide defines, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it. Open it when a word in a question is unfamiliar, and test yourself on it in the last week: cover the definition and say it in one sentence.
5 terms from the free first chapter
C
- Compensation structures
Management and incentive fees (see the chapter on hedge funds), rather than a simple expense ratio.
Taught in Introduction to alternative investments
I
- Institutional structures
Funds of funds, separately managed accounts, and co-investment vehicles, layering additional structure between the underlying investment and the ultimate investor.
Taught in Introduction to alternative investments
R
- Regulatory structures
Different legal and regulatory regimes apply depending on jurisdiction and investor type (institutional versus retail), often exempting alternative vehicles from the fuller disclosure regime applied to public securities (covered in CIFA Regulation of Financial Markets, under investment funds).
Taught in Introduction to alternative investments
S
- Securities structures
Limited partnership interests, fund shares, or direct co-investment rights, rather than the standardised listed securities covered in CIFA Regulation of Financial Markets.
Taught in Introduction to alternative investments
T
- Trading structures
Often privately negotiated and illiquid, rather than traded on a securities exchange (covered in CIFA Regulation of Financial Markets).
Taught in Introduction to alternative investments
The full glossary adds every term from the other 13 chapters, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it.