why does an attorney need to manage alternative investments

by Edwin Kutch 7 min read

Our alternative investments attorneys represent investors who lost money as a result of investments in inappropriate, questionable, or downright fraudulent alternative investments.

Full Answer

Should you invest your wealth in alternative investments?

If so, join other Investors seeking higher returns, lower volatility, less correlation, and greater flexibility across their portfolios by investing some of their wealth in “Alternative Investments.” 1. Nature of the Investment Return

Why should you add alternative investment allocation to your portfolio?

So, to be diversified and to seek to achieve both lower volatility and increase returns, Investors are adding an Alternative Investment allocation in their portfolios. Investing in alternatives, especially in years that financial markets perform poorly, can add significantly to the overall performance of a portfolio. 2. Reduced Volatility

What is an example of an alternative investment?

Some common examples of alternative investments include venture capital, hedge funds, commodities or even real estate trusts. These alternative investment vehicles usually cater to institutional investors or individual investors with a high net worth due to their complexity. Why do alternative investments need a PPM?

Why do companies need a PPM document for Alternative Investment?

Companies need a PPM document before launching an alternative investment to provide investors with important information about the company and the specific securities the company is offering. The PPM allows investors to assess the risks associated with investing and also gives them a look at the potential benefits of doing so.

image

Why are alternative investments important?

Alternative investments typically have a low correlation to more traditional asset classes, as discussed. Alternative assets therefore provide an opportunity for portfolio diversification, reducing overall risk exposure across investments. Many alternative assets also provide a hedge against inflation.

Are alternative investments regulated?

Although alternative investment vehicles are regulated by the SEC, their securities do not have to be registered. As a result, most of these investment vehicles are only available to institutions or wealthy accredited investors.

What do alternative asset managers do?

Wathen: To put it very simply, an alternative asset manager is an asset manager that manages alternative assets. I guess the more important thing is, what is an alternative asset? The best description is that an alternative asset is something that the average Joe isn't likely to own as part of their portfolio.

What is an alternative investment management firm?

Alternative investment management companies are the structural (legal, corporate) entities that manage controversial alternative investment instruments such as hedge funds.

Who regulates alternative investment market?

These types of investments are heavily regulated by financial authorities such as the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) or the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). An alternative investment is a financial asset that does not fall into one of the three traditional investment categories.

What are the 4 main categories of alternative investments?

Alternative investments are supplemental strategies to traditional long-only positions in stocks, bonds, and cash. Alternative investments include investments in five main categories: hedge funds, private capital, natural resources, real estate, and infrastructure.

What are the common features of alternative investments?

Features of Alternative InvestmentsLow correlation with the traditional investments. This may be extremely beneficial to potential investors because the low correlation provides opportunities for portfolio diversification.Hard to determine the underlying value. ... Relatively low liquidity. ... High purchasing costs.

What are the main types of investment alternatives?

7 Types of Alternative InvestmentsPrivate Equity. Private equity is a broad category that refers to capital investment made into private companies, or those not listed on a public exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. ... Private Debt. ... Hedge Funds. ... Real Estate. ... Commodities. ... Collectibles. ... Structured Products.

How do you evaluate alternative investments?

Certain steps to consider: Get a clear idea of how an investment's underlying assets might generate cash flows or drive future value. Evaluate scenarios where those assets might become more, or less, valuable or vulnerable. Consider whether those assets are similar or different compared to the rest of your portfolio.

Who is the largest alternative asset manager?

According to the Global Alternatives Study, Bridgewater Associates is the world's largest manager with over USD 116 billion invested in direct hedge funds.

What are the factors involved in selection of investment alternatives?

Factors Influencing Selection of Investment AlternativesInvestment Alternatives with their Attributes. Investment alternatives for any person are divided into a real asset and financial asset. ... Analysis and Selection of Assets in a Portfolio. ... Allocation of Funds by Portfolio Theory of Diversification. ... Investment Monitoring.

How much are alternative investments?

A new study carried out by Dexia Asset Management shows the benefits of allocating 15% to 20% of a portfolio to alternative funds. Finding a good balance between risk and return is the first aim of any investment strategy.

What is an example of an alternative investment?

An alternative investment is an investment in assets different from cash, stocks, and bonds. Alternative investments can be investments in tangible assets such as precious metals or wine. In addition, they can be investments in financial assets such as private equity, distressed securities, and hedge funds.

Is an ETF an alternative investment?

Briefly, an ETF is a basket of securities that you can buy or sell through a brokerage firm on a stock exchange. ETFs are offered on virtually every conceivable asset class from traditional investments to so-called alternative assets like commodities or currencies.

Is BlackRock an alternative investment?

BlackRock is tomorrow's alternatives platform Our US$322 billion platform is designed to deliver outperformance with true partnership across a range of investment solutions in: real estate, infrastructure, private equity, credit, hedge funds and alternative solutions.

Is Bitcoin an alternative investment?

JPMorgan Says Bitcoin Is Undervalued By 28%, Cryptocurrencies Are Now A 'Preferred Alternative Asset'

What is alternative investment?

Alternative investments can serve as an effective diversifier, a robust inflation hedge, a volatility dampener, and a means of accessing alternative exposures for growth and income. More extensively available than ever, alternative investments are your path to invest like the institutions.

What is liquid alternative?

In recent years, liquid alternatives have emerged as a means of providing individual investors with the potential benefits of alternative investments, without the limitations of their historical offerings.

What are some examples of investments that hedge inflation?

For example, investing in a stock that generates a 4% return, but with inflation at 5%, would result in a loss of buying power. Commodities and infrastructure represent examples of investments often used to hedge inflation.

Why is inflation hedging important?

Put another way, the practice of inflation hedging can help protect the value of an investment.

What is fixed income investing?

Traditional investments for individual investors have long been limited to stocks (equity investing) and bonds ( fixed income investing). Equity investing involves taking an ownership position in a publicly traded company with objectives that include growth from capital appreciation as the value of the investment increases over time, as well as the potential for income from dividend payments. The fixed income investment approach also has been employed by individuals to generate income and to achieve the preservation of capital. Examples of fixed income investing include allocations to investments like corporate and government bonds, CDs and money market funds. Fixed income can provide a regular stream of income with less risk than stock investing.

Why is diversification important?

The returns and other performance metrics of alternatives typically exhibit low correlations to traditional asset classes such as stocks and bonds . Allocating to alternative investments has the potential to lessen volatility without sacrificing return, thus making them an effective risk management tool for minimizing the risk of an investment portfolio. While all investments involve some level of risk, adding diversifying investments with low or no correlation to other portfolio allocations may lower portfolio concentration, reduce volatility and achieve stronger risk-adjusted returns. It's important to note that no amount of diversification or correlation can ensure profits or prevent losses.

Do fixed income investments provide access to new exposures?

However, equities and fixed income allocations do not provide the accessibility to new or other distinctive exposures. That’s where alternative investments can bear very ripe fruit, enabling investment access to real estate, infrastructure, start-up businesses, and a host of other complements to traditional portfolios.

Full Transcript Below

Have you ever been on a rollercoaster? Here in the Midwest, we have an amusement park and one of their rollercoasters is called “the top fuel dragster”. This is one of the craziest rollercoasters I’ve ever seen. So the whole premise of it is that it is set up like you’re drag racing and the starting line is right down at ground level.

Types of alternative investments

Now alternative investments are a really broad category, but here are some things that you often will find in portfolios. Things like private equity real estate, private credit – sometimes they invest in hedge funds. Now the problem is, is that most alternative investments are not accessible to the “average” investor.

Why Invest in Alternative Investments

In economics, hyperinflation is problematic, and a root cause of economic uncertainty. True hyperinflation, marked by unfettered price increases and severe currency devaluation generally occurs during times of turmoil or war. This is a rare occurrence in developed countries.

Inflation: Why is it Happening?

Data shows that, in addition to the highest annual inflation rate in 13 years, there has been an 8.6% annual increase in producer prices, a metric measured by the producer price index (PPI). Producer prices commonly increase in response to inflation, as a means by which businesses attempt to recoup losses.

What Does Inflation Mean for Real Estate?

REITs are a well-known, solid investment strategy in times of high inflation. However, that does not mean that the real estate market is impervious to inflation; the real estate market is impacted by dynamics that include labor and supply shortages, pent-up demand, and rising commodity prices.

Why Retail Investors Seek Out Alternative Investment Strategies

In this Hartman Insights video, Hartman Income REIT CIO David Wheeler and National Sales Director Gian Craparo share their insights on the importance of diversification and how the financial crisis taught retail investors to seek out alternative investment strategies.

Real Estate Investments Benchmarked: Why Invest in Alternative Investments

Alternative investments are generally defined by what they are not: stocks, bonds, and cash, all of which are considered traditional investments. More specifically, alternative investments generally fall into four primary categories: private equity, hedge funds, real estate, and commodities.

Real Estate Investments in an Inflated Economy

Inflation weakens purchasing power, causing the price of goods and services to increase. Investors who own real estate or invest in REITs may experience protection from inflation for the following reasons:

Why Alternative Investments Can Be a Smart Choice

Most investors use alternative assets to diversify and protect their wealth, explains BlackRock. This approach can boost portfolio returns and even offer some tax benefits.

Potential Drawbacks of Alternative Investments

There's a reason why hedge funds and other “traditional” alternative assets are available mostly to accredited investors.

Are Alternatives Investments Right for You?

Now that you know more about the drawbacks and benefits of alternative investments, you may wonder what to do next. Should you put your money into real estate and other alternative assets or stick to bonds, stocks, and cash?

Alternative Assets Have Moved into the Mainstream

The CAIA Association estimates that alternative assets will make up 18% to 24% of the global investment market by 2025. This trend is driven by the maturation of emerging markets, the low interest rates, and the advances in digital technology, among other factors.

Leverage Modern Technology to Optimize Your Investment Portfolio

Still wondering why alternative investments are growing in popularity? Consider the technical advances in this field — in addition to the factors listed above.

Track and Manage Your Investments the Smart Way

As smart as this strategy may be, portfolio diversification comes with its challenges.

What are Alternative Investments?

Alternative investments are distinct asset classes that offer exposure and diversification outside of the traditional portfolio comprising stocks, bonds and cash. Many of these alternatives have historically been exclusively owned and traded between high net worth individuals.

Why invest in commodities?

Investing in commodities, whether it’s precious metals, oil, livestock, agricultural or otherwise, can be a great way to diversify and manage volatility. Gold and silver, for example, typically see an increase in price when the stock market is declining and currencies experience inflation.

Is venture capital a small industry?

Although the venture capital industry is a rather small sector of the global finance industry , the outsized returns of the top performing funds make it very attractive. Sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and high net worth individuals have continued to grow their exposure.

What is alternative investment?

Alternative investments are designed to make portfolios more efficient by enhancing return, minimizing risk or both. They’re perhaps best utilized as a complement to rather than as a substitute for traditional investments.

Why are private equity firms so active?

Private equity firms are known to take a more active approach to investing than their traditional counterparts and can create unique features , such as board seats at a private company.

What is equity strategy?

Equity strategies that make majority and minority investments in companies that aren’t listed on a public exchange. Invested capital is provided by limited partners and put to work by general partners to acquire businesses for control, fund new projects, solidify a company’s balance sheet, restructure the business model and management or fund acquisitions. They are typically less liquid with investments lasting years.

What is private investment pool?

Private investment pools that offer investors greater flexibility than traditional investments with the goal of hedging potential market volatility. Defining characteristics include the ability to benefit from declining stock prices through short positions, the ability to use leverage, as well as access to global markets and derivatives. These features provide investors the potential to generate positive returns in both up and down markets.

Is alternative investment riskier than traditional investment?

Alternative investments are riskier than traditional investments and not appropriate for all investors. Investors must bear the risk of complete investment loss and indefinite investment time horizons, as their ability to redeem may be limited by market conditions or the terms of the investment.

Who owns OAM?

OAM is a registered investment adviser and is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., which also indirectly wholly owns Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., a registered investment adviser and broker dealer.

Can alternative investments be used for all investors?

Alternative investments are not appropriate for all investors and many may only be offered to certain qualified investors. Investors must be able to bear the economic risk of such an investment for an indefinite period and can afford to suffer the complete loss of investment. An Investor’s ability to redeem from such investments is limited to specific time periods (eg. monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually) with certain notice requirements.

Why do investors invest in alternative investments?

So, to be diversified and to seek to achieve both lower volatility and increase returns, Investors are adding an Alternative Investment allocation in their portfolios. Investing in alternatives, especially in years that financial markets perform poorly, can add significantly to the overall performance of a portfolio.

What are the benefits of alternative investments?

The benefits of Alternative Investments also include greater flexibility, such as: 1 Helping to prioritize current income or capital gains; 2 Offering tax efficiency, depending on the vehicle; 3 Transaction structure; 4 Blending in a higher risk/greater potential returns within an otherwise conservative strategy; 5 Industry selection – Alternative Investments provide a means to invest in up and coming industries and business opportunities which publicly traded investments don’t yet offer.

image