Overview
7th edition - Updated as of March 2026
This is the 7th edition of the AIMA & CAIA Risk Rating Guidelines for Alternative Funds in Canada. It focuses on the internal risk ratings placed on funds by dealer platforms in Canada and how they may differ from the historical risk-adjusted return of the specific fund or strategy indices (and for alternative mutual funds and alternative ETFs, how it may differ from the prospectus risk rating, as mandated by the Canadian Securities Administrators or CSA).
This 7th edition is meant as a guideline for further dialogue between asset managers and dealers around these important strategies. We hope dealers can more accurately consider these strategies’ risk profiles with regards to an individual investor’s risk and overall portfolio’s risk.
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Claire Van Wyk-Allan
Managing Director, Head of Canada and Investor Engagement
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Steven Novakovic
Managing Director, CAIA Association
Table 1
Table 1: Proposed risk rating for hedge funds and alternative mutual funds based on the median trailing standard deviation of funds within PivotalPath indices
Source: CAIA Association, AIMA, PivotalPath. Data as of 12/31/2025.
Table 2
Table 2: Proposed risk rating for private credit funds based on trailing standard deviation of S&P & Cliffwater indices
Source: CAIA Association, AIMA/ACC, 2025.
Table 3
Table 3: Proposed risk rating for private equity funds
Source: CAIA Association, 2025.
Table 4
Table 4: Proposed Risk rating for real estate funds
Source: CAIA Association, 2025.