An alternative investment is an asset that is not one of the conventional investment types, such as stocks, bonds and cash. Most alternative investment assets are held by institutional investors or accredited, high-net-worth individuals because of the complex natures and limited regulations of the investments. Alternative investments include private equity, hedge funds, managed futures, real estate, commodities and derivatives contracts.
Many alternative investments have high minimum investments and fee structures compared to mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF's). There is also less opportunity to publish verifiable performance data and advertise to potential investors. Most alternative assets have low liquidity compared to conventional assets.
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