What Are Alternative Investments? Are They Better Than the Stock Market?

The financial world is full of options and opportunities, and the decision to invest mainly depends on the returns and risk factors. But, in 2024, a certain investment category is gaining popularity, and we couldn’t say no to covering it. It is in the category of “alternative investments.”.

The active investor in you might be thinking about the opportunities in alternative investments. Well, there are a lot of lucrative opportunities, and most of them can provide you with a hefty amount of return.

Let’s go ahead and explore what are alternative investments and how they can provide you with better returns than conventional options.

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What Are Alternative Investments?

Alternative investments are those types of investments which do not fall into conventional categories like stock market, equity, and cash. Alternative investments mainly consist of modern investment categories like hedge funds, real estate, commodities, venture capital, etc.

Alternative investment also works on different terms and conditions. While some of the most trending alternative investments are real estate and hedge funds, others consist of tangible assets like cryptocurrencies and collectibles.

In the United States, alternative investments have fewer trade restrictions from the SEC (securities and exchange commission) than other investment categories. If you’re a US citizen, then alternative investments will be best suited for your long-term goals.

Which Are the Most Popular Alternative Investments in 2024?

Some of the most popular alternative investments are:

Real Estate

Real estate alternative investments are trending in 2024 as the demand for housing and office space is reaching back to pre-covid levels. As more and more people across the world reach metropolitan cities, the demand for housing and office space has increased significantly.

Real estate crowdfunding, or fractional investment, is gaining popularity in developing countries like India. Many fractional investment opportunities are available in India. Real estate alternative investments can get you tangible returns with the feature of liquidity.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptos are no longer complex to trade, many popular crypto exchanges offer you the ability to buy, sell, or hold popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Avalanche. These are pretty solid alternative investments that don’t require you to be a HNI (high-net-worth individual) to be able to invest in them.

Cryptos are solid alternative investments that can provide you with tangible returns with high liquidity.

Click here to visit our tech blogspace, where we post a lot about cryptos!

Art and Collectibles

Art and collectibles are another category of valuable alternative investments. These investments include collectibles and art pieces like sports memorabilia, antiques, old coins, paintings, and much more. If you invest in art and collectibles, their value might increase exponentially, which can get you huge returns.

Plus, art and collectibles have minimal rules and regulations for trade. Hence, it is one of the best alternative investment categories in 2024.

Venture Capital

As an angel investor or an experienced startup investor, you can always turn up to venture capital as an alternative investment. You can get a lot of opportunities in the form of pre-seed rounds of funding in some highly potential startups. The capital that you put into this investment guarantees growth and prosperity in the long-term.

Peer-to-peer Lending

P2P, or peer-to-peer lending, is becoming popular in countries like India. Companies like the 12% Club by Bharatpe provide high returns of 12% on your investments. These alternative investments are regulated by the RBI, so the risk factor is minimal. You can definitely try P2P alternative investments if you’re bored from the conventional categories.

Are Alternative Investments Better Than the Stock Market?

Yes, alternative investments are much better than the stock market. Suppose you invest in alternative real estate investments. The value of your investments is linked to tangible assets in the real world, like office, home, and marketspace buildings. These assets never disappear or rely on external factors.

Hence, in terms of risk factors and tangibility, alternative investments such as cryptos, real estate, art, and collectibles are much better investment options than the stock market. Alternative investments do not depend on monetary sources and assets in the conventional categories of funds.

So, they can act as strong hedges against inflation in the long-term. It can be pretty helpful for those investors too who are looking to diversify their portfolio to minimize losses in the event of a market collapse.

To Summarise

Alternative investments are a trending category of investments in 2024. As a young or even experienced investor, you can turn to alternative investments as they provide better liquidity and also act as a hedge against inflation. Some of the most popular alternative investments in 2024 will be real estate, hedge funds, venture capital, cryptocurrencies, etc.

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