From Bitcoin to Zero Interest Rates, from slowing economies to skyrocketing stocks that defy logic, many people today are confused of both how to grow their investments and how to protect themselves from large “corrections.”  Investors often would like to go back to the world they grew up with where they believed that by finding the right stock/bond balance, their money could grow and also be protected.  First, this was never really true, but it is even less true today as bonds fail to provide much return and even some unexpected downside if interest rates rise.  Despite overwhelming evidence that during periods of investment crisis (most significantly like 2008 and 2020), traditional stock/bond diversification fails to deliver true downside risk mitigation, many still stick with the old beliefs. Today, even most investment advisors still fail to consider “modern liquid” alternative investments which provide real risk mitigation in a down equity market and conservative upside potential even when interest rates rise. So, what are modern liquid alternatives? These are strategies that provide upside potential like stocks do or more conservative returns like bonds used to provide, but are designed to limit the large downside risk of equities or the impacts of rising interest rates on fixed income. Traditional alternatives such as private equity, derivatives, fine art and commodities promise to provide significant return in the long run, but are often not liquid and have high investment minimums.  Unlike most traditional alternatives, liquid alternatives include mutual funds or exchange traded funds that can be bought and sold daily and have investment minimums most individuals can handle. Some of these strategies are called Market Neutral, Merger/Arbitrage, Event Driven and Hedged Equity.  Holding a portion of liquid alternatives in your portfolio can help you reach for return, while still allowing you to sleep at night, knowing you have protection on the downside. 

If you would like to know more about these options, or if you’d like to discuss a plan for you, please give us a call. 

Yes Wealth Management:

651-426-5854