Saturday, February 13, 2016

By James Collins


Stocks, bonds, pre-packaged categories and exchange traded funds are the most common investment ideas. This is a limited view of investment in light of changing trends in the market. The favored examples of alternative investments allow the money owners to avoid risks and still make impressive returns away from the speculative public market. These alternatives are becoming increasingly accessible to the public.

Private equity firms, unlike listed companies are traded in boardrooms. They have diverse investments in different markets which they also use to raise funds for their projects. Private equity firms make their money through venture capital investment, growing other companies or investing in start-ups. They deduct management and performance fees before releasing the gains to investors. The money invested reverts back through IPOs or profits from the funded companies.

Direct investment in a start-up or a private company is another form of alternate investment. The money is called seed capital while the investment is referred to as angel investing. Since the performance of start-ups is unpredictable, this form of investment is very risky. Even mature companies seek seed capitalization at various stages in their cycle. Such options are open to individuals.

Venture capital investment is the other example of alternate investment. This involves investing in the early stages of the growth of a company. Most of the target companies do not have access to public financing because their performance cannot support their credit demand. This class is very risky as well because most of the investment goes into planned activities other than existing operations. Some of these plans might fail leading to detrimental losses.

Investors in real assets are usually driven by passion and the prestige of owning certain assets. Real assets include precious metals, real estate, rare coins and prime agricultural land. Others in this category are baseball cards, wine and art. You may buy real assets through companies or acquire the assets as an individual.

Hedge funds claim similarity to private equity only that the two focus on different market segments. Hedge fund managers are interested in equity long-short, distressed assets, macro-trends and arbitrages. They also raise money for other companies. Investors have easier access to their money because of high redemption frequency and easy liquidity.

Debt investment is increasing in size and giving investors excellent returns. The debts are neither traded publicly nor are they rated by credit agencies. The aim is to provide cash to private companies to keep their operations running at a commission. The deal is sealed using mezzanine debt or promissory notes. It allows a company to maintain a steady cash flow and maintain its operations despite owning or being owed money through supplies.

Alternate investment works by shielding operations from the public which reduces chances of speculative trade. There are losses to be made if a trader or company fails to perform due diligence before investing. Profit margins for real assets are diminished because the segment rides more on prestige and security in holding the asset.




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