Alternative investments represent a broad category of assets and are different than the three traditional ones: stocks, bonds, and cash. The purpose of Alternative investments is to provide growth and reduce risk through the diversification and investment in non-traditional strategies and assets.
Alternative assets can include:
Alternative strategies rely on the investment manager’s unique skills and expertise.
Some Alternative investment strategies include:
- Long/short
- Market neutral
- Arbitrage
- Multi-Strategy
Both alternative assets and strategies are a rapidly growing segment of the investment universe that is gaining popularity1 and use with retail investors. Once exclusively available to accredited investors and institutions only, in the past few years they have become democratized thanks to changes in regulations and a dramatic increase in product options – and are now available for a broader set of investors through prospectus offered mutual funds known as “Alternatives.”