SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS

The Association of International Life Offices (AILO) was established in 1987 and is a development and representation forum for the international life insurance industry. AILO comprises corporate members from the international insurance industry, offering their services to corporate and individual clients resident in a range of countries across the globe. A clear and current understanding of all local marketing, regulation and consumer protection legislation is essential for Members to maintain the highest industry standards. AILO assists its Members in a variety of ways to achieve and maintain these standards. A list of AILO’s current membership can be found on its website at www.ailo.org.

The Association of International Wealth Management (AIWM) is the non-profit association established to promote and strengthen global education in the wealth management industry as well as to set a globally recognised standard for the qualification of wealth management. Based in Switzerland , the AIWM operates globally. The association was founded by AZEK, the Swiss Training Center for Investment Professionals, LawInContext, the online interactive legal information and training service created by the global law firm Baker & McKenzie and Central Law Training (CLT), UK 's leading provider of postgraduate legal training and exclusive course provider of the renowned STEP Diploma in International Trust Management.

AVCO - Austrian Private Equity and Venture Capital Organisation - is the National Association of Austria's Private Equity and Venture Capital industry, which covers more than 80% of the private Austrian Private Equity market with its members.
AVCO is currently made up of full members, all of which are renowned Private Equity and Venture Capital firms, as well as associated members coming mainly from related service industries (consultants, accountants, lawyers etc.).

BAI is the lobby association for the alternative investment industry in Germany. Its main goal is to higher the level of awareness and deepen the public understanding of alternative investment strategies as an asset class. BAI engages in an intense dialogue with political institutions as well as supervisory authorities. The BAI pursues the aim to actively conduct legal reforms to build up an attractive and competitive regulatory environment for the alternative investments industry in Germany. At present, BAI counts more than 125 member companies from all areas of the alternative investments industry and is growing continuously.

The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association® is the global benchmark for alternative investment education. It administers the CAIA Designation and exams; sponsors research and publications; connects alternative investments experts around the world, and advocates the highest standards in professional conduct. The CAIA Association has more than 5,000 members in 75 countries and 15 affiliated Chapters.

More information can be found at www.caia.org. 

The CAIA Association has 15 chapters worldwide in the following locations: San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago, Canada, London, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea.

The Convention of Independent Financial Advisors (CIFA) is a non-profit Swiss foundation that aims to strengthen the role of independent financial advisors at the international level in order to better defend the interests of investors. Its annual congress – the International CIFA Forum – which attracts delegates from CIFA's 40 partner federations and associations, as well as individual IFAs, bankers, regulators and journalists, has become one of the major international forums for the financial intermediation community. Its eighth edition will be held on 28-30 April 2010 in Madrid (see www.cifango.org). Since 2007, CIFA is the first and still only financial NGO in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. It is thus in a position to make recommendations in legislative projects being developed by the ECOSOC. CIFA is also in consultative status with the UNCTAD.

The European Federation of Financial Advisers and Financial Intermediaries (FECIF) was chartered in June 1999 for the defence and promotion of the role of financial advisers and intermediaries in Europe.
FECIF is an independent and non-profit-making organisation at the exclusive service of its financial adviser and intermediary members from the 27 European Union member states, plus Switzerland and Norway, it is the only European body representing European financial advisers and intermediaries, is based in Brussels, the heart of Europe.

It's a group of economic interests formed in 1993 by specialized independent financial intermediaries who are confirmed professionals in the financial services industry in Switzerland. However the group is opened to contacts with any person interested in the business of wealth management seeking to promote dialogue with the banking partners and authorities at all levels. The code of conduct of SAIFA has been recognized by FINMA; therefore the Members IQ “Qualified Intermediaries” are subject to the supervision of SAIFA.

The Swiss Association of Market Technicians (SAMT) is a non-profit organisation (Civil Code Art 60ff) of market analysis professionals in Switzerland founded in 1987. The SAMT is a member of the International Federation of Technical Analysts (IFTA). Technical analysis is the study of prices and markets. It examines price behavior on an emprirical and statistical basis. It extends to the study of all published information on price trends, volatility, momentum, cycles and the interrelationship of prices, volume, breadth, sentiment and liquidity. A comprehensive understanting of technical analysis requires a knowledge of statistics and pattern recognition, a familiarity with financial history and cycles.

“The Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association (SECA) is the representative body for Switzerland’s private equity, venture capital and corporate finance industries. SECA has the objective to promote private equity and corporate finance activities in Switzerland. Members of the SECA include equity investment companies, banks, corporate finance advisors, auditing companies, management consultants, lawyers and private investors.”

The Swiss Funds Association (SFA) was established at the end of 1992 and its activities are focused primarily on ensuring optimal frameworks for its 163 members in Switzerland. Its members currently include almost all Swiss fund management companies, numerous representatives of collective investment schemes, custodian banks and institutional asset managers, as well as law firms, audit companies and other service providers in the fund sector. These cover more than 95% of the fund assets placed in Switzerland. The SFA is also a member of EFAMA, the Brussels-based European umbrella organization of national fund and asset management associations.

Swiss Financial Analysts Association (SFAA) was established in 1962 and now has more then 2000 members including financial and investment fund analysts, asset managers, wealth managers and fund managers. SFAA is actively involved in promoting the quality and image of the industry and encourages education and international networking within the field. AZEK, The Swiss Training Centre for Investment Professionals, which offers national and international qualifications in financial analysis/portfolio management and private banking/wealth management, and ISFA, the performance measurement company for equity analysis, both belong to the SFAA.

The Association of Austrian Investment Companies (VÖIG) was founded on 20 January 1988, and is an umbrella organisation for all Austrian investment fund management companies and all Austrian real estate investment fund management companies. VÖIG represents 100% of the fund assets managed by the Austrian investment fund management companies and real estate investment fund management companies. The purpose and the duty of this Association, which is organised under the law of associations, are to promote the investment industry in Austria and to provide comprehensive support to the Association’s members. VÖIG participates in the evaluation of national and international (primarily European) rules that affect the interests of its members. As a member of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), VÖIG has voting rights in various bodies at the European level.