People are now looking at alternative investments, and not just stocks, gold and real estate. In an interview with Mint, Nelson Lacey, director of examinations, CAIA Association, an institution which provides alternative investment education, talks about what is alternative investment and what’s in it for Indian investors.
What do alternative investments mean? How do they differ from traditional investment avenues?
We sometimes say we can define alternative investment not by inclusion but by exclusion. So how it works is that alternative investments are not stock, bond or cash. Anything else will be considered as alternative investments. For instance, real estate fits into that category.
It’s a bonafide investment area that attracts professionals to study and understand. It includes private equity, venture capital, real assets which goes beyond real estate, like which invest in land, intellectual property, which is a big area, hedge fund trading strategy like equity long-short strategy, and any structured product investments. So these are the areas that are growing.