About:

The Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets places the Isenberg School in the forefront of academic institutions that conduct research into derivatives and asset management and allocation-especially involving global markets. CISDM promotes interactions between the academic and business communities, and disseminates educational material on international financial markets to financial and nonfinancial firms.

The center owns and operates the CISDM Database (formerly the Zurich Capital Markets Database), which tracks the performance of hedge funds, commodity trading advisors, and managed futures funds. CISDM co-sponsors the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst SM (CAIA SM) program, the first global accrediting initiative for alternative investment professionals.

CISDM funds research activities for faculty and students and sponsors annual conferences in Amherst, New York, London, and other financial centers.

CISDM's quarterly periodical- The Journal of Alternative Investments -is distributed by Institutional Investor and is considered the world's leading refereed publication in its subject area.

The center's director, Thomas Schneeweis, is coeditor with Joseph Pescatore, UBS Financial Services, of The Handbook of Alternative Investment Strategies (Institutional Investor), a bible in the alternative investment field. CISDM maintains close contact with the financial industry through an executive board that includes more than twenty representatives from international investment houses.