Alternative Investments
The global alternative investment space now sits at more than $9 trillion in global assets, and we’re just getting started. Roughly 40% of RIAs are using alternative investments. With the RIA space expanding and alternative investment demand rising among investors – a surge in data, news, and opinion will continue. This channel cuts through the noise to give you the most important actionable insight.
Top Story
SP Funds has expanded its suite of Sharia-compliant funds with the launch of The SP Funds S&P Global Technology ETF (SPTE) on the New York Stock Exchange. As North America’s largest family of Shariah-compliant exchange-traded funds (ETFs), SP Funds aims to provide investors access to cutting-edge technological advancements through SPTE.
Get Daily Updates
Subscribe to DailyAlts Today to get Alternative Investment news, insight, and commentary delivered straight to your inbox every day.
More Stories on Alternative Investments
Blackstone Buys Stake in BC Partners
Raymond Svider’s shop gets a boost of confidence. The Blackstone – BC Partners deal is official. Following a big run up, the U.S. private equity giant plans to invest $560 million into its European rival. Blackstone’s Alternative Asset Management (BAAM)’s Strategic Capital Group will own up to a 15% stake in BC Partners. BC Partners…
JPMorgan launches global real assets fund
A response to clients’ demand for exposure to alternatives
JPMorgan is launching the JPMorgan Real Assets Investment Trust for investing in alternative assets such as in the infrastructure, real estate and transportation sectors.
Barings Taps Hedge Fund Manager to Lead Institutional Division
Stewart Russell makes the jump from Moore Capital management. Barings, an asset manager owned by MassMutual, announced it has hired hedge fund manager Stewart Russell to the role of Head of Institutional Solutions. Stewart, who departs Moore Capital management, will lead the company’s new unit that centers on institutional investment services. In a statement released Tuesday,…
For ESG-conscious investors: DIY ETFs (well, sort of)
Time was when actively managed mutual funds were well and truly disrupted by the inexpensive ETF vehicle.
Fed up with lack-lustre performance and exorbitant fees, investors shifted $39 billion out of mutual funds since 2015. On the other hand, ETFs were laughing to the bank with inflows of $1.5 trillion since then.
But ESG investing is the new kid on the block – and it could be ETFs’ day of reckoning.
How a $147 billion pension plan will manage climate risk
The Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan (OTPP) has outlined its procedures for dealing with the impact of climate-related changes on its investments.
OTPP’s inaugural report details its comprehensive approach to various facets of investing in a global environment affected by climate changes.
Texas Teachers rejigs allocations
The Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) of Texas on Friday made changes to its asset allocation plan.
The changes underscore the $153 billion retirement plan’s worry that stock prices may be over-extended and could correct.
The TRS board adopted a two-pronged strategy to hedge against a downturn in equities.
Hot wheels of the future: Pre-fitted crypto wallets
Mercedes may soon have pre-installed in its cars a blockchain powered mobility platform that will do everything from managing your trip to processing digital contracts, “including the financial posting of the transactions in real time.”
In effect, the car becomes your crypto wallet!
BNY Mellon arm Alcentra raises €5.5 billion for private lending in Europe
With bankers reluctant to lend to small and medium-sized businesses in Europe after the financial crisis, direct lenders are willingly stepping into the breach.
Proof of that is the response to Alcentra’s recent European direct lending capital raise. With a minimum target size of €3 billion, the firm received €5.5 billion from institutional investors in Europe, Middle East, US and Asia.
Gatwick Airport: An infrastructure investment that paid off handsomely for CalPERS
When the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) invested $155 million in Gatwick Airport nine years ago, they envisaged 32 million passengers annually.
Gatwick is already catering to 46 million passengers a year. And it can only get better from here – because Heathrow, the other London airport, is at full flight capacity.
Unsurprisingly, CalPERS’ original investment of $155 million is now worth over $1.24 billion.
Why private markets will expand faster than their public counterparts
In recent years, an interesting trend has appeared. Whereas earlier the public markets shouldered the responsibility for raising capital and liquidity for businesses, in recent times the private markets have taken the lead.
Hedge Fund Titan Ray Dalio Recommends Investing in Gold
The yellow metal will benefit from the looming “paradigm shift” in investing, he says
According to Ray Dalio, chief of Bridgewater Associates, the ongoing party in stocks will soon run its course. Investors are likely to head for the exits amidst lower returns on equities, seeking other assets to invest in.
Blackstone Group may raise over $100 billion this year
At the end of the second quarter Blackstone had a record $545.5 billion in assets under management
Blackstone Group Inc, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, raised $45.1 billion during the second quarter, giving it a total of $88 billion raised during the first six months of this year.
Film Maker Luc Besson May Offer EuropaCorp to Vine Alternative Investments
Luc Besson controlled EuropaCorp ran into financial difficulties after the flop of its 2017 mega-budget sci-fi epic Valerian. The company has reportedly been in talks with potential suitors since May 2019.
Besson is not interested in the overtures of Pathe, a film group that distributes his movies in France.
Art: The ultimate alternative investment, now more accessible
Art is often called the ultimate alternative investment because it is completely uncorrelated to traditional markets such as stocks
Consider this: If, 18 years ago, you invested in an art portfolio that mimicked the ArtPrice 100, the art index which considers the most significant artists selling on auction, your portfolio would have outperformed the S&P 500 by a solid 250%.
Investing in Wine: Here are Three Ways to Profit
This may be a pleasant surprise, but wine investing can be profitable.
Here’s an example of a drinkable multi-bagger. Someone who bought 1982 Château Latour wine futures when it presold for about $40 a bottle in 1983 would be making a fat profit, because it now sells for about $1,500 a bottle.
Is the Art Market an Attractive Alternative Investment?
It would seem that blue chips are not to be found in the stock market alone. These exist in the art market as well in the form of top notch artists.
And if the above comparison of the first half performance of the art and stock markets is any guide, these blue chip artists are right up there holding their own against the best companies in the American economy!
Japanese institutional investors increasingly partial to alternatives
Two-thirds of Japanese institutional investors have invested in at least one alternative asset class, as persistent low yields have pushed them to look beyond traditional investment routes, says Preqin.
Further, over the next year, almost all institutions with alternative investments were planning to add new investments, the report said.
EisnerAmper survey of alternative investment professionals: Modestly bullish
A survey of alternative investment professionals conducted on June 19, 2019, at EisnerAmper’s 4th Annual Alternative Investment Summit in New York found that nearly half expected significant or moderate economic growth for the remainder of the year.
Innovative ESG fund from Trium Capital
Trium Capital, the alternative asset manager based in London, is launching an innovative ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) fund that will invest in European companies in the energy, materials, utilities and industrial sectors.
Japanese Investors Flee Traditional Investments
With 10-year Japanese government bond yields at 0%, and equities generating dividend yields at a mere 1.8%, Japanese institutional investors are shedding their aversion for risk and entering alternative investments like never before.
Globally, Canadian Institutional Investors Most Likely to Boost Alt Investments
Alternative investments are certainly the flavour of the season for Canadian institutional investors, according to data from a CIBC Mellon survey. More than half (58%) plan to increase their allocations to alternatives, while 42% said they will maintain existing levels. Across the world, a previous BNY Mellon report said only 53% of investors planned to increase allocations.
Fitch Study: Alternative Investment Returns Doesn’t Beat Equities
Fitch Ratings studied the returns from alternative investments made by 180 state and local public pension funds over the period 2001 through 2017 and found they were not nearly so outstanding as hyped.
Cerulli Associates: European Retail Investors Seek Alternatives
Cerulli Associates, the global research and consulting firm, finds evidence that European retail investors are increasing attracted to alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and private debt.
Corporate Defined Benefit Plans Now Have “Alternatives”
Outsourced chief investment officers (OCIO), are increasingly being used by institutions to identify high-quality investment opportunities and extend their range over asset classes. Research by Cerulli Associates indicates these OCIOs are favourably inclined towards alternative investing given diversification benefits and scope for higher returns.