Alternative investment ideas are attracting a surge of investors seeking diversification and reduced volatility.

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Alternatives for interesting times. The last 18-24 months have been wild ones on Wall Street, and the volatility has motivated some sophisticated investors to look into non-correlated or indirectly correlated asset classes. With the rise in oil and gas prices, high net worth investors are naturally examining the potential of alternative investment programs, especially in the energy sector.

Sunny forecast for energy firms. The world appetite for energy – especially clean energy – is surging. Analysts project that global energy needs will be 50% higher in 2030 than now, with the economies of China and India spurring 45% of the increase.¹ Therefore, some economists and Wall Street analysts have become quite bullish about the long-term outlook for energy investments.

In recent years, accredited investors seeking greater portfolio diversity have begun to direct some of their investable assets into energy programs, oil and gas equipment leases, and private REITs focusing on the energy sector. Additionally, other investors are moving assets into ETFs and mutual funds focused on energy firms.

What was once “exotic” now seems fundamental. Direct energy investments represent just a slice of the alternative investment world. Commodities, managed futures, tax credits, real estate securities, real estate exchanges, annuities, even collectibles … there are all kinds of investment vehicles apart from Wall Street. While many people historically dismissed some of them as too exotic or speculative for their portfolios, that opinion has changed as investors have become more educated about their potential.

Let’s look at these intriguing numbers. As any financial advisor wisely notes, past performance is no guarantee of future results. But just for a moment, let’s compare a couple of blue chip indices with a couple of commodity indices.

Over the last three years ending April 25, the S&P 500 returned nearly 21%, and the DJIA about 27%. Across the same 3-year period, the S&P GSCI Commodity Index went up 57%. It also posted a year-over-year gain of 22% for the 12 months ending April 25, 2008. The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index returned about 27% in that same 12-month stretch. Did the blue chips do this well in the last 12 months?²

Interesting options for sophisticated investors. To make some of these investments, you do need to be an “accredited investor”. That is a category of investor defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In general terms, the SEC defines an accredited investor as

• an organization, partnership, corporation, business, or trust with $5 million or more in assets
• an individual or couple with a net worth of $1 million or more or stable annual income of $200,000 or more ($300,000 for a couple).³

As the value of these investments can fluctuate notably, they are not usually suited for the risk-averse retiree or the middle-class investor. But if you are a high net worth investor in search of diversification, they may be for you.

To learn more about how an investment in energy or other alternatives can help you hedge rising costs or add balance to volatile stock portfolios, please speak with a qualified financial advisor familiar with these kinds of investments today.