What is CQAsia?
CQAsia is the Asian Chapter of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA).  CQA was started in Chicago, llinois, USA in 1993. At that time, Chicago had the critical mass of interested parties and a wide variety of institutions interested in quantitative research. Our intention from the beginning was to bring together the top quantitative investors from around the U.S. and the world. The organization quickly outgrew its Chicago roots and is now
truly international in scope. The majority of the current membership is from the east coast of the United States, mostly Boston and New York.
Currently less than 10% of the membership is from the Chicago area.

What is the goal of the CQAsia conference?
At CQA conferences we are not trying to make money, sell anything, or debate meaningless theories. Our goal is to promote a focused, active
discussion of topics that are of interest to our members. The emphasis is on good speakers who have the ability to convey their message in an
interesting, insightful, and possibly controversial way.

What is the format of the conference?

The CQAsia conference is held in Hong Kong in November of each year.  It is a two day event held at a location convenient to the Central business district. Speakers are from both from the U.S. and throughout the Asian Pacific region.A central part of the conference involves an academic competition at which cash prizes are awarded based upon a vote by the members. A call for papers is made early in the year and in July three papers are selected for presentation at the conference. The competition is limited to non-tenured professors and doctoral students.

Is there a newsletter, Journal, or some other type of official written material?

We have established an members e-mail list to enable everyone to communicate and share information on a regular basis. This ability to communicate with other members has become a valued feature of membership to the group. We also have a password protected members only section on this web site that has information and presentations from past conferences.

Why is membership restricted?
Our goal is to maintain the integrity of the group by selecting people that will add value to the proceedings. We seek members who are interested in
contributing to the discussions and whose jobs are directly related to quantitative investing. Another goal is to maintain a varied mix of money managers, plan sponsors, academics, and others that will maintain the diversity of the group.

How does the membership work?
Membership is by individual, not firm. If the members are individuals there is no confusion over who should attend from a certain firm. Also, it promotes discussion and participation by having the same people at each meeting. A member MAY NOT send a replacement to the meetings.
This is a very strict rule. The business model works because everyone doesn't show up for every event. It allows us to offer first-class
conferences at a very reasonable price.

How much does membership cost?
The membership fee for CQAsia is $500 US. This fee not only covers the CQAsia event in Hong Kong, but all other CQA events in the U.S.  All CQAsia "Charter" members are invited and encouraged to attend the other CQA events. Given the consistent high quality of our programs, we think
this represents one of the great values in the investment community. There are no other fees involved after you have paid your annual dues.

How do I join?
You can fill out the online application found by selecting the Apply For Membership button on the Membership menu on this web site. In order to maintain the integrity of the group we have established certain membership criteria. We currently have over 100 applicants on the waiting list for U.S. membership. Currently there is No Waiting List for CQAsia membership. With the proper sponsorship you will be admitted immediately for membership to CQAsia. After you are accepted for membership, you will be sent information on how to make your  membership fee payment.

We encourage you to fill out the application as soon as possible to become a "Charter" member of CQAsia. We will be admitting 50 individuals as "Charter" members to CQAsia in this introductory phase, after which we will have a wait list for membership.