What are Alternative Investments? Are they safe? Will I See Better Returns?

Monday morning is upon us again! Therefore, before I start with our first topic of the week, I would like to wish all of our blog followers a productive and successful week!

This morning I rose early to speak with a client in Dubai (Time zones are the only thing that makes working in this industry tough). The client is a hardened property investor and has been with us for many years.

He had spent the weekend looking at our new products and felt drawn to the alternative investments we now offer. However, as with anything new, he had a lot of questions. With this in mind I thought I would start my first blog of the week explaining about alternative investments.

What are Alternative Investments?

Alternative Investments cover a broad part of the investment world. They can range from Commodities to wine EVEN collectables (comics, stamps, coins). The spectrum is very broad. Alternative investments often act as mid to long term investments that can balance ones portfolio. If you have stocks (good short term investment), property (good long term investment), it is always good to have some mid range products and alternative products to ensure your portfolio has balance.

Are Alternative Investments Safe?

As with any investment, due diligence is key. Make sure you have all the facts to make an educated decision to invest. At Global Investment Solutions we research all of our products thoroughly to make sure they are as safe as possible. We also expect our clients to do their own research as well to ensure they understand the investments before moving forward. We are always on hand to discuss and help clients with their due diligence, that is one service that we are famous for.

Will I see Better Returns?

Better than what? This is a common question and one that is hard to answer. Let us look at our Teak investment for example:

Our Teak investment is purchasing teak trees. I will not bore you with all the details now but please click here for full details and take the time to download the full prospectus.

This is a very safe and secure investment that offers incredible returns from year 5 (The minimum investment term).

Below are the returns per annum for each period of investment, the longer you invest for, the higher your yearly interest on the investment is, the fantastic thing about this investment is that you can access your capital and returns at any time after year five. I am sure you will agree that the percentages below look very interesting:

5 year investment =              8.28% pa

6 year investment =             15.19% pa

7 year investment =             19.42% pa

8 year investment =             23.45% pa

9 year investment =             27.76% pa

10 year investment =           32.07% pa

In Summary

As many of my friends and family know, I have always been a property investor. This will never change. However, I have diversified my portfolio to include alternative investments. I have done this as I can see the returns are fantastic, the exit strategies are always much clearer than some property investments and also the investment amount is a lot lower. I am using my alternative investments as a savings pot for my sons’ college fund for example. I also like the idea that many of these investments are ‘green’ investments and I now have a sustainable portfolio, something that is very close to mine and my partners’ hearts.

Alternative investments offer LOW ENTRY and high returns that BEAT BANK INTEREST RATES. With the proper research and the right products, these will become increasingly popular in clients portfolios.

If you read the Sunday papers as I do, you will notice that in the money section alternative investments crop up a lot. This is a sign of their increasing popularity. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to keep your portfolio working for you.

If you would like to discuss your options further, please contact us and we will be happy to help.

ENJOY YOUR MONDAY!