Investment Articles

In recent years, many investors have started to realize that the investments that were previously viewed as safe may not be as safe as they thought. Traditional forms of investment such as the stock and bond markets don’t provide the same kind of safety that many people think. Because of this, many investors are starting to look for alternative investment options that can provide superior returns without taking on much more risk. For these types of investors, there are plenty of other alternative investment options to consider.

Precious Metals

One way that individuals can stay ahead of inflation is to put their money into precious metals. For those who want to invest in precious metals, there are plenty of options to consider. Investors can put money directly into precious metals like gold, silver or palladium. They also have the option of investing in precious metal certificates. These certificates provide investors with a certificate that shows they own a certain amount of precious metals in a secured storage facility. Investors can also invest in funds that focus on precious metals as their primary underlying asset. Precious metals mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are two similar options that allow investors to speculate on the values of these assets. Investors could also put money into mining company stocks, whose profits are based on the value of the metals that they mine.

Currencies

Another form of alternative investment that some choose to participate in is currency investing. Trading currencies is a discipline that takes advantage of the changes in the exchange rate between multiple currencies. This type of investment is done with the help of Forex brokers who make it possible for their customers to trade currencies. This is a high-risk type of investment, but it can be very lucrative if done correctly.

Assets

Some investors are turning to other physical assets for their investment needs. By purchasing physical assets, the investors know that they’ll always have something of value. With securities like stocks or bonds, this isn’t always the case. Some examples of assets that investors put their money into are antiques, baseball cards, stamps, race horses and real estate. All of these things have the potential to increase in value over time.

Regardless of what an investor puts his money into, it is important to keep a diversified portfolio. This helps reduce the risk of some of the alternative investments which are chosen.

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Investment Performance of Niche Property Investments

Again, it is difficult to define the investment performance of the property sector as a whole within the context of this document, due to the wide variety of sub-sectors and regions which must be considered. In the UK for example, residential real estate has delivered markedly different performance for each Investor that has participated depending on their strategy (buy to let/distressed assets/development etc), and residential property as a whole has delivered a different performance to commercial property or student accommodation. The same can be said for every combination of sector, strategy and region, therefore the context of this document does not allow for a detailed analysis of the investment performance of the sector as a whole.

Residential – The UK market offers some interesting opportunities, as depressed prices combine with a lack of buyer financing to create a viable rental market that can deliver yields of between 4% and 8% after costs. In other more distressed markets, properties can be acquired with heavy discounts, and rental yields can reach as high as 15% to 20%, although in many cases the quality (and therefore ability to dispose of) such property assets can be questionable, and Investors in these markets might better take advantage of current market dynamics by acquiring properties to refurbish and resell very quickly, capturing the discount as a capital profit and eliminating the long-term liability. Emerging markets also offer opportunities to invest in residential property, and the upside capital growth potential is often attractive, although the location risk associated with acquiring and owning physical property in many countries can be significant. Again, the cash-flow dynamics of direct investments in real estate are often very different from those of securitized investments such as property funds.

Commercial- Office space, shopping centres and industrial space have long been the focus of large Institutional Investors seeking stable income and long-term growth prospects. In developed markets where infrastructure is well established, commercial property is viewed as a stable income investment with some growth potential, and in less developed markets potential for growth is higher but so too is the level of risk to capital in terms of location and counterparty risk. The investment performance of commercial property varies from region to region, and across the varying sub-sectors such as office or industrial. One good point of reference for the global performance of commercial property investments is the FTSE UK Commercial Property Indices series encompassing the Retail, Office and industrial Indices; the All Property Index delivered 1.88% in the 12 months to March 2012.

Student accommodation – This is a growing sector, driven by demand for reasonable accommodation from University students; as the global population grows, so too will the volume of students attending University who will in turn require suitable accommodation in close proximity to their campus. Investors can purchase units in student blocks, effectively becoming the landlord of the unit themselves, or more often than not entering into an agreement with a management company who will manage the property on their behalf. Direct property investments in the UK student accommodation sector have delivered yields upwards of 10% p.a. There are also a number of funds investing in student accommodation which tend to acquire whole blocks, which investors taking a stake in the fund. The Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund has delivered an average annual yield of 9.71% p.a., and the Mansion Student Accommodation Sterling Fund delivered an annual performance of 12.14% in 2011.

Care homes – Another niche sector that is gaining popularity amongst both institutional and private Investors is care homes, as both seek to correlate the performance of their investments with trends in socio-economic fundamentals such as an ageing global population, and capture financial gains from increasing demand for assisted living accommodation. Investors may purchase units within custom care accommodation and assign day to day management to an operator, or they may choose to invest in a fund specialising in such assets. Direct investments in care homes offer the potential for capital growth and in many cases a “guaranteed” rental income of around 8% p.a., although most opportunities for private Investors tend to be pre-construction projects, adding significant counterparty and strategy risk. Access to investment funds specialising in care homes is severely limited for retail investors, and therefore there is no credible performance data.

This is an excerpt from DGC Asset Management’s Alternative Investments Guide. Free to download at the DGC Asset Management website.

Investing in property, be it residential, commercial, agricultural, leisure, healthcare, student accommodation or some other niche property sector, is ostensibly the most popular and common form of alternative investment, and has been used as a low risk, long-term investment asset by many Investors. The main aim of the property investor is to capture income from rentals, and/or capital growth either through natural attrition or by adding capital value through development. Whatever the form or sector, property investments are solid, tangible and ‘real’ in that a property is unlikely to depreciate in the long term provided due care and consideration is given to due diligence in the acquisition stage.

Investment Strategy

The traditional form of property investment is the simple leveraged buy to let, where an Investor will acquire a property using a combination of cash and mortgage debt, and seek to cover the mortgage costs with rental income. This strategy is ideal for the long-term Investor with ample time to allow the rentals to completely pay off any mortgage debt. Older Investors should be wary of taking on long-term debt to fund property acquisitions. The buy to let strategy can be applied to residential, commercial, agricultural and other sectors including student accommodation and healthcare properties.

A more opportunistic approach is to identify and acquire distressed assets at heavy discounts, and aim to resell quickly in the open market in order to capture the inherent profit. This strategy removes the long-term financial liability associated with property ownership, and also removes reliance on capital growth as the main driver for profit.

Land development and planning are also valid property investment strategies, although these are often large and complex projects and not suitable for inexperienced Investors. One way for smaller Investors to participate in property development is to buy off-plan, where they receive a discount for agreeing to purchase the property before it is built, this again capture inherent profit, and the investor may choose to sell the property on completion of the building works, or they may choose to rent the property out. Other options for Investors seeking exposure to development property are smaller developments or refurbishments involving the renovation of property in order to add value.

Each strategy carries its own set of risks, and Investors considering adding property exposure to their portfolio should consider their end goals, be it income, growth or both, and seek out investment opportunities likely to deliver on those goals. As always, due diligence is required in the research, investment planning and acquisition phases of property investment, and often Investor will require expert help for legal and property professionals in order to properly identify the risks associated with the property or project in front of them.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in alternative property transactions in the real estate and natural resources sectors.

Investment Options

Access to property investments is well-established, with a range of direct investment opportunities and collective investments available for both retail and institutional Investors alike. In the first instance we should look to the range of property sub-sectors available for consideration, and further investigate both direct and collective access points for the sector in general.

The main property sub-sectors that may be available for smaller investors are:

Residential
Commercial
Student Accommodation
Care Homes
Hotels
Leisure / Tourism
Development
Agricultural
Forestry

Within each sub-sector lies a range of possible entry points for Investors; broadly categorised as either direct investments or collective investments. Collective investments being either regulated or unregulated fund arrangements, where Investors capital is pooled so as to acquire a basket of assets, or participate in a project with a large capital requirement. Direct investments on the other hand are simply straightforward acquisitions of property assets by the Investor. There are, for example, funds for residential, student accommodation commercial and most other sub-sectors, and likewise, there are options for Investors to directly acquire investment properties in each of these sectors via freehold or leasehold title.

Direct investments – Simply the acquisition of property assets by the Investor, direct property investments take many forms; from the acquisition of property for improvement and sale; through to acquisitions for leasing/rental to a tenant or operator. For the Investors with sufficient capital or finance, direct investments remove the majority of risks specific to collective investment schemes where Investors are reliant on the external management of a property portfolio. Direct investments do however carry asset-specific risks; property assets can incur significant financial liabilities including on-going maintenance, tax and round trip purchasing costs (the cost of buying and selling an asset).

Property investments, especially direct property investments, provide the Investor with a level of security that paper-based investments do not due simply to the fact that quality property assets retain capital value throughout the long-term, which in the case of well-chosen properties in good locations, is unlikely to fall and cause the Investor a capital loss. Provided the Investor is prepared and capable of tolerating the illiquidity associated with physical property assets, this asset class provides true diversification out of traditional financial assets such as stocks bonds and cash.

For the direct Investor, careful consideration should be given to the due diligence process during the asset identification and acquisition stage, as in most regions this will require specific professional input from legal practitioners, surveyors, valuation agents, and in the case of niche property investment projects with a specific strategy Investors must also consider the counterparty risk in that in many cases Investors might be reliant on the performance of a strategy manager to achieve the expected returns from investing in their strategy.

Collective investments – Property funds come in all shapes and sizes, and invariably involve a Fund Manager acquiring a basket of properties in line with the fund’s investment strategy, and managing those assets on behalf of Investors in the fund. There are funds, both regulated and unregulated, that invest in all of the major property sub-sectors. One can find opportunities to invest in residential real estate, student accommodation, care homes, commercial real estate, shopping centres and property developments. Some of these funds cater only to large Institutional Investors, whereas other offer lower entry levels for smaller Investors.

The structure of collective property investments varies from fund to fund. Some are highly regulated affairs, established and operated by major asset management groups, others are small, niche operations established to capitalise on current short term opportunities or niche sectors or markets. Collective funds may be listed on an exchange, allowing smaller Investors to trade in and out of the fund as and when they please. This removes the potential illiquidity associated with the property asset class, however this also detracts substantially form the returns generated from the underlying property assets as some capital is never invested in order to ensure that redemptions can be made from cash without liquidating part of the underlying portfolio.

Whether listed or unlisted, regulated or otherwise, collective investments in property assets offer access to the asset class for the smaller Investors, although in many cases the cash flow dynamics of securitised investments differ greatly from direct investments in property assets.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in distressed real estate and productive natural resource properties.

The Carbon Tax introduction in Australia on the 1st July doesn’t just mark a change for big businesses and the top 500 emitters; it also marks an opportunity for smart investors to get involved in the fastest growing market in the world.

The Carbon Market is set to grow faster than any commodity ever seen before. The introduction of the Carbon Tax means that the top 500 emitters now have to offset their carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits, one metric tonne of ‘clean air’ for every metric tonne of pollution they create. As you can imagine the amount of carbon emitted by 500 companies named as the ‘top 500 polluters in Australia’ is vast indeed. Many people also believe that it is only the top 500 emitters that will be hit. This is not the case. In a recent court case a NSW mine wishing to expand its operations was told that this would only be granted should they offset their 575 Mil tonnes of carbon pollution over the next 20 years. This is not a one off either; this is set to become the norm. And as you can imagine that with 332 working mines in Australia, continuously growing, expanding and thus emitting, carbon credits are going to be THE in demand commodity with big business having no choice but to purchase them, and a lot of them.

This therefore puts those that can own or produce carbon credits in a very lucrative position. With a set price of $23 per credit, and one plot creating a projected 770 credits over 15 years with a low entry price; supply is incredibly low whilst demand is incredibly high. With the fixed price until 2015 the top emitters and other companies subjected to the carbon tax will not go offshore to purchase these credits, making the Australian market extremely lucrative. The gulf between the price of carbon credits in Australia and in the rest of the world is growing every day. Whilst Australia is seeing a set price of $23 per tonne, the European market for example is sitting at $7.85, making Australia’s individual carbon market the most profitable in the world. This is creating the carbon rush.

With a market that is so fast moving this carbon rush will not last long. Joining the carbon rush is something which all smart investors are looking to achieve. With profits of between 30% and 300% this is a market which is set to be the biggest in the world. Those in the know with the ability to get in on the scheme early are going to be very happy clients.

Capital Alternatives are market leaders in Alternative Investments and have a low entry level and low risk project which gains investors access to the carbon market whilst guaranteeing returns that surpass those in the traditional investment market. Due to limited supply and high demand opportunities within this market will not be around for long so it is something to act quickly on before it’s too late.

For a free report on an ethical, safe and highly lucrative carbon market which is available for a limited time visit http://www.capitalalternatives.co/au/lau

The $32 billion Harvard University Endowment Fund, which generated a return of 21.4% in the fiscal year 2011, has 23% of its investments held in real-assets, which according the CEO of Harvard Management Company; Jane Mendillo, has been a significant contributor to the fund outperforming its benchmark over the last decade by 270 basis points per year, adding roughly $15 billion of value versus what would have been earned by a more traditional portfolio. The University of Notre Dame also holds a significant proportion of its portfolio in real-assets (17.5%), and delivered a return of 21.5% in 2011. The Yale University Endowment Fund delivered a return of 21.9% in 2011, and holds 29% of its portfolio in real-assets, including real estate and natural resources.

This article seeks to review the investment performance of a range of real-assets, compare that performance to the performance of UK equities, and establish the effect of real-assets on the performance of investment portfolios. In particular, this report focuses on the investment performance and impact of farmland, forestry, gold and fine wine. The following analysis suggests that the low correlation of real-assets with other asset classes means that such investments, whilst potentially illiquid, offer an opportunity to reduce risk and volatility whilst also carrying significant potential to generate superior returns.

The following chart demonstrates the compound annual growth rate associated with a range of asset classes over a range of timeframes assuming a single investment made at the beginning of each measured period and ending at the end of 2011. In the case of the IPD UK Forestry Index and IPD Rural investment Index, data was only available until the end of 2010, however anecdotal evidence suggests that performance throughout 2011 has continued at a similar pace and therefore we feel this still offers a true and fair comparison with the equity indices.

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

FTSE 100

Gold
UK Farmland
UK Forestry
US Farmland
US Forestry
Fine Wine

FTSE All Share

Cash

5 year

-2.2%
19.4%
12.0%
17.7%
11.9%
4.7%
10.7%
-2.4%
3.8%

10 year
0.7%
18.7%
10.0%
10.4%
14.7%
7.5%
11.7%
1.3%
4.1%
15 year
6.2%
9.9%
-
-
11.9%
7.2%
-
2.4%
4.4%
20 year
6.2%
7.6%
-
6.3%
11.0%
10.1%
-
4.5%
4.8%

This chart tells us that, broadly speaking, real-assets have outperformed UK equity indices and cash over every period considered. Interestingly, equities is the only asset class examined that generates a financial loss over any given period, indicating a higher degree of volatility than its real-asset counterparts. The timing of this analysis plays some part in forming that conclusion due the impact of the recent financial crisis being included in the 5-year performance data. It is likely then that holding real-asset investment alternatives such as farmland, forestry investments, gold and fine wine throughout a range of timelines will have improved portfolio performance without dramatically altering – and in some cases improving – the overall risk profile.

It should be noted that, in the case of the FTSE 100 and FTSE All Share Indices, these numbers offer only a broad view of the performance of an investment in an index-linked investment vehicle, and do not take into account the upside and downside potential of managing a basket of equities and relying to an extent on picking specific stocks in the hope of ‘beating the market’. Nor does it take into account dividend income which could be re-invested, effectively compounding returns and losses. Investment Managers and Investors might feel they are able to outperform the Index through careful stock-picking and active trading/management, although many studies have shown that, over the long-term, professionally managed equities perform only marginally better than the Index in general, and Investors remain exposed to the likelihood or otherwise that individual investment managers will perform consistently throughout the entire term of an investment.

In this report we have compared the investment performance of a range of asset classes including UK equities, farmland, forestry, fine wine and gold bullion. We have also analysed the effect of portfolio diversification through reducing equity exposure and acquiring real-assets. This report has shown:

Real-assets may contribute substantially to traditional stock portfolios
Real-assets have outperformed UK equities by some considerable margin over every timeframe measured
Exposure to real-assets adds meaningful risk reduction, especially during periods of underperformance or volatility in traditional financial assets

It is clear then that diversification achieved through reducing equity exposure and allocating capital to real-assets has, in the cases reviewed in the this report, improved the overall performance of investment portfolios and reduced risk (considered as volatility) between 2001 and 2011, effectively optimising portfolio performance.

One issue with this basic analysis would be a lack of access to investable projects or assets that give smaller Investors direct exposure to the fundamental characteristics that drive returns in the real asset space. Often, farms and woodlands are too large and expensive for single Investors to purchase, and the specific expertise required to improve, develop and operate those assets is also expensive and hard to come by. It is therefore difficult for Investors to allocate smaller sums of capital to these assets outside of restrictive and often expensive and opaque collective funds. Whilst some funds do offer limited access to certain assets, the structure of such arrangements often hamper asset selection, development and management to such an extent as to deliver much smaller returns than direct investments, as revenue is often absorbed into the cost of the structure and on-going management.

Thios article is an excerpt from a report by David Garner is Partner, Investment Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in property transactions in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors. To download the full report, please visit the DGC Asset Management website.

This article addresses some of the risks associated with real-asset investment alternatives in general.

As with any potential transaction, all investments carry risk, and in the case of alternatives those risks are often very specific to the asset class, here we address some of the general risks associated with moveable and immoveable properties considered as alternative investments. This risk-set can be broadly defined and categorised as:

Sector Risk
Location Risk
Asset Specific Risk
Counterparty Risk

Sector Specific Risk

As is the case with traditional financial investments, hard-assets carry risks specific to their sector. For example, in the case of agricultural land, Investors must be aware that a variety of exogenous variables can affect the investment performance of the property. Weather, commodity prices, the cost of farming, and agricultural inputs all factor in the revenue potential and profit margins of a farm. As farmland values are dictated primarily by the income producing potential of the asset, poor on-farm performance can adversely affect capital values. The same can be said for gold; during period of growth in equity markets, gold values may fall as confident investors sell their gold and buy into equities in order to capture returns from raising markets. Subsequently gold values may fall as a result. In the case of timber properties, poor house building figures result in a fall in demand for construction timber, and in these circumstances Investor may not be able to secure the price they require for their timber, and may ultimately leave their trees to continue to grow throughout the downturn, choosing instead to harvest when prices are more buoyant and capturing the extra physical growth that has occurred in the interim.

Location Risk

In many cases, especially in the example of real-estate related investments, Investors may choose to acquire assets in countries other than their own domicile. Asset values in emerging markets are often lower, along with the price of labour, and demand in those markets might also be higher, so acquiring assets that form party of the emerging market supply chain is often a strategy to capture superior returns. Whilst man overseas locations offer security of ownership and a transparent business environment, any overseas investment carries risks specific to the country of operation, and developing economies often carry a much greater risk of political interference or security of ownership issues. This extra risk must be factored into the due diligence process, and the potential returns on offer weighed against this inherent risk to capital.

Asset Specific Risk

When acquiring a tangible asset, it is imperative that the investor has access to the requisite skill-set in order to properly identify any issues with the asset itself. This kind of due diligence is essential in order to establish value of money, and avoid costly investments into otherwise useless assets. In the case real estate based investment alternatives, there may be issue with title, access, planning or even financial issue like outstanding tax bills. In the case of niche property like farmland or forestry, there may be specific issues relating to soil quality or water supply which may ultimately cause the property to be less productive and profitable. In the case of other niche sectors like fine wine or collectibles, very specific experience is required in order to identify genuine investment opportunities, and Investors without access to quality, experienced advice may end up purchasing valueless assets for unscrupulous sellers out to make a quick buck.

Counterparty Risk

When investing in niche products, Investor will usually require the services of a professional to advise on the transaction, but also to operate or manage the assets as is the case with real estate or other assets that require ‘trading’ in order to capitalise on opportunities and minimise risk. In these cases, the investor is exposed to the professional capabilities and honesty of their partners, be they forest managers, fine wine investment managers or collectibles experts. Poor advice at the point of investment and bad or incapable on-going management can ultimately destroy the investment potential of any asset. Proper due diligence is required in order to establish the track record of all partners in their respective fields.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in property transactions in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.

This article focuses primarily on real-asset investments, and this section is designed to highlight some of portfolio planning characteristics of physical assets when considered as part of a well-diversified and balanced portfolio of investments, as well as some of the inherent risks to be considered when allocating investment capital to specific, niche investment sectors or projects.

Whilst real or hard-assets offer a number of significant benefits including reduced volatility, tangible asset values and the potential for superior investment performance that is not reliant on the performance of traditional financial investments, potential investors must give equal consideration to the potential for relative illiquidity, operational or management risks specific to the asset class, and of course counterparty risk exposure when investing in assets that require on-going expert management in order to maximise returns and minimise downside potential.

Portfolio Planning Advantages

Every asset class exhibits different characteristics when considered from the point of view of an Investor or Financial Planner, and Investors invariable choose to invest in specific assets in order to achieve specific goals such as risk mitigation, portfolio insurance, superior returns and a hedge against inflation or some other potential economic impact on the value and performance of their portfolio.

Here we look at some of the broad portfolio planning characteristics associated with a range of physical assets considered as alternative investments.

Capital Values

By their very nature, physical assets retain a disposal value throughout most economic circumstances, and whilst asset values will fluctuate from time to time, Investors allocate capital to hard-assets in order to underwrite the value of their portfolio and insure against the possibility of the values of listed financial assets falling sharply at any given moment. In fact, certain assets such as gold hold a ’safe-haven’ appeal, often rising in value when stock markets falls as Investors sell equities and buy gold.

Non-Correlated Returns

The fundamentals that support value growth and income associated with real-assets are often far removed from the fundamentals that support traditional investments. Often, alternatives share a direct negative correlation with the performance of equities and bonds, affording investors the opportunity to balance their portfolios and make gains when other portfolio components lose value or underperform. This strategy is sometimes referred to as portfolio insurance.

Diversification

Key to risk-mitigation in financial planning, diversification simply means spreading ones investment risk across abroad selection of holdings, reducing the likelihood that too many eggs are held in one proverbial basket. Diversifying an investment portfolio into a range of holding across different sectors and assets reduces the risk that poor performance in any one asset will have too big an impact on the portfolio as a whole.

Inflation Hedge

A number of alternative investment assets share a strong positive correlation with inflation, rising in value faster than the prevailing rate of inflation. This effectively mitigates the impact of inflation on the real value of investment portfolios. Pension funds and university endowments, along with insurance companies and other institutional investors buy into long-term investment assets such as farmland and forestry for this very reason.

Superior Returns

As detailed in the chart overleaf, many alternative investment assets have outperformed traditional investment assets over the long-term by some considerable margin. Whilst all sectors and strategies carry inherent risk, carefully selected and well-managed real-assets have been shown to generate superior investment returns for the Investor capable of tolerating short term price fluctuations and long-term investment horizons. Operational asset like property also generate income useful when other income assets like cash deposits underperform.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in property transactions in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.

Genuine alternatives to financial investments are considered to be ‘real’ or ‘hard-asset’ investments. Immoveable property such as real estate, farmland and timber properties are considered to be viable alternatives to financial assets, and moveable property like gold bullion, fine wine and rare stamps are also considered to be genuine alternative investment assets.

The case for real-asset investing is compelling; those with sufficient expertise in order to identify good quality assets in high demand can generate substantial financial gains as the inherent value of their assets grows over time. But in almost all cases, specific expertise is required in order to identify, properly value, and measure the risk associated with niche assets like timber properties or fine wine, and a lack of credible asset analysis, along with a non-existent regulatory framework have made this area of investing very high risk for most investors, many of whom have been subject to mis-selling, misrepresentation, poor advice or outright fraud.

Investors acquire certain assets as they are unlikely to depreciate over time, and when demand for the asset or its produce increases so too does the inherent value of the asset itself. So properties that are finite in supply yet have an essential function such as agricultural land, and forestry investment properties, are likely to see values rise as the global population grows and developing nations become wealthy and demand more resources. Niche sectors like fine wine also benefit from increasing demand for finite assets. As only a certain volume of a particular vintage is ever produced, the value increases over time as existing stock is consumed, and more buyers come into the market demanding the best quality product. The same could be said for other collectibles like stamps, antiques or rare coins. The basic underlying strategy remains relatively static across most in real-asset investing; acquire useful or desirable tangible assets, of which supplies are limited and demand for which is rising.

Core to the success of any property or asset-based acquisition for investment purposes is due diligence. Investors must be assured of the value they are receiving for the money they invest, and of the risks they face as an owner of such an asset. Often times such investment projects are structured so as to raise sufficient capital not just for an asset purchase, but also for its improvement and/or future operation or management, and in these cases it is paramount that an investor has ultimate confidence in the knowledge and ability of all of the counterparties which have an on-going responsibility to the good and proper management of the asset.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in property transactions in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.

Alternative Investing has become a trend in recent years. The traditional market cannot compete with the returns available, which is why investors turn to alternative projects to make their money work harder for them.

A quick look at the investments available on the traditional market shows that the only way in which investors are making returns is to enter into high risk projects over a long period of time. The returns being seen are also reasonably meagre. With the rising cost of living and inflation, people cannot afford to lose money on investments. Now more than ever people need their money working harder for them, generating income and creating high returns. The stock market is underperforming and the traditional market faces issues of volatility and cannot deliver rates that are so needed.

Over ten years the S&P 500 is up just over 10 %, or about 1 % a year. On a five year basis it’s down about 18 %. Similarly the Australian Super this year has made a loss of 2%, and investors are told that they should be thankful that this was the only loss made.

The instability of the traditional market has smart investors turning away. Turning to other projects to diversify their portfolio and have their money working harder for them. A direction in which many smart investors are turning is towards the alternative investment market.

Due to the fact that alternative investments have low market correlation, they are safely distanced from the traditional investments and have therefore been far outperforming anything available on the investment market.

The most commonly approached Alternative Investment is that of property. However the Australian property market has taken a downturn lately. House prices are dropping and we are not seeing the stability that we have become accustomed to over previous years. Meanwhile other Alternative Investments are creating returns that are unsurpassed.

The Carbon Market for example is set to become the fastest growing market in the world. As a tradable commodity Carbon Credits are going to be the most sought after tangible asset. The introduction of the Carbon Tax in Australia on the 1st July 2012 has created an opportunity for Carbon Credits to be created and then traded on the open market; creating massive profits for those who own them. Capital Carbon Credits is an alternative project which creates these Carbon Credits. With the ‘Top 500′ emitters being forced to purchase Carbon Credits, this is a commodity market which is in high demand yet very low supply.

Another great example of an alternative commodity which is in high demand but in low supply is actually the commodity of food. 3.6 billion people in the world rely on rice as a staple of their diet, creating a yearly demand of 437 million tonnes of rice. Currently the world can only create 381 million tonnes a year, leaving a vast shortfall. Agri Capital is a project which is creating the biggest commercial harvest in West Africa, a harvest which will create 9000 tonnes of rice per year. Winning ‘Best Alternative Product of the Year 2011′ and with projected returns of 15 % per harvest with the last harvest creating 16.2%; this is an alternative investment which is outperforming anything on the traditional market.

A further reason that people are turning to Alternative Investments is due to the ethical side of the investments available. In recent years a lot of the big profits being made have been through mining and oil companies. Companies which pollute our atmosphere; destroying our environment.

The Capital Carbon Credits is creating clean air for Australia. Growing trees in the Gippsland of Victoria the project is taking pollutions out of the atmosphere and offsetting the damage that the ‘Top 500′ emitters are creating.

The Agri Capital Investment has an enormous social impact on the area in which it operates. Whilst generating rice, it also creates jobs, healthcare, education and local markets for the community in which it is based. Also Agri Capital set aside 60 metric tonnes of rice per year to be given back to the community at no charge. Feeding the poor and improving the lives of those in the community surrounding the project.

These investment opportunities are not only greatly surpassing any of the returns that people are managing to get on the traditional market but they are also low risk. With guaranteed exit plans and insurance in place for varying projects; Alternative Investments deliver high returns in an ethical project whilst safeguarding your initial investment.

For a free report on an ethical, safe and highly lucrative rice market which is available for a limited time visit http://www.capitalalternatives.co/australia/