James Burron has left the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) to set up an independent association, the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies and Assets (CAASA).
Burron will be launching CAASA alongside Caroline Chow, a former AIMA associate who left the organisation in January with Burron.
Burron was COO at AIMA for more than six years.
Commenting on his new venture, Burron said: “Many contacts encouraged us to found a Canadian alternatives trade association. The response from the industry, both here and abroad, has been very favourable. We have more than 70 companies that are very interested in next steps and about two dozen who have committed to join. Our new organisation will be a Canadian not-for-profit trade association.”
He added: “To be active across Canada as well as selectively in global centres, [CAASA’s] mandate is to promote the Canadian alternatives — hedge, real estate, private lending— bringing the best of it to the world and vice versa.”
“We are now establishing our infrastructure and polling those in industry to design CAASA’s offering—we have a blank slate and input and support from those in Canada and elsewhere has been great. We would like to bring together folks in an inclusive framework to promote everyone’s interests as well as that of the industry generally.”
Further details on the association are expected in soon.
