Worried about the stock market?

There will always be times like this in the stock market, and they're good reminders of why it's important to diversify your portfolio, ideally into the kinds of assets that don’t move with the stock market

Published 28 February 2020 by Andrew Savikas

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Photo of people riding a roller coaster, and dropping straight down as a metaphor for this week's stock market tumble

Let’s not kid ourselves – the last few months have been 🎢 up and down on the stock market.

But there will always be times like this in the stock market, and they’re good reminders of why it’s important to diversify your portfolio, ideally into the kinds of assets that don’t move with the stock market.

Alternative assets have long been a critical part of the investment strategy for the wealthy and for institutions like university endowments. They’re used both to diversify risk away from stocks and bonds and into things like real estate, as well as to add the potential of big gains from exposure to things like venture capital.

Here’s a few of the kinds of alternative investments to consider if you’re looking for something unlikely to move with the broader market:

Venture capital. It seems a bit counterintuitive (since startups are operating in the same economic environment as public companies) but research shows that venture capital returns are almost totally uncorrelated with stocks (a coefficient of 0.04%). If you’re thinking about investing in startups, we’ve rounded up our list of 5 of the Best Equity Crowdfunding Sites for Beginning Investors, all of which offer at least some investments for non-accredited investors.
Fine Wines and Art. Another asset class that doesn’t tend to move with the market, new platforms like Vinovest and Masterworks offer anyone the opportunity to invest in fine wines (you actually own the wine bottles, which Vinovest stores for you) or fine art (you have a fractional ownership of a Warhol or a Banksy, also conveniently stored for you :)
Litigation Finance Although limited to accredited investors, litigation finance investments have no correlation with public markets so are a great choice for a portion of your alternative investing portfolio. I’ve invested using LexShares, and earned a 30% IRR
Performance Royalties Another interesting alternative asset class is performance royalties, in which you buy the rights from artists for the royalties they receive for their music (in the case of Royalty Exchange) or video game sales (in the case of Fig).
Real Estate Here the correlation gets a bit trickier, as there can be close connections between, say, the commercial real estate market and the overall economy (for example, office space could be had for quite a bargain in San Francisco after the dot-com crash), but it’s also true that tougher economic times usually mean more renters stay renters (and some owners become renters). Platforms like Roofstock make it easy for any investor to buy a single-family rental property, including property management services and in some cases even a rent guarantee. And since no matter what happens in the market, everyone’s gotta eat, you might consider a platform like FarmTogether, which offers fractional investments in US farmland.

You can find many more choices for in our database of online crowdfunding and alternative investment platforms.

Deep Breaths, Everyone

Weeks like this are scary, there’s no doubt about it. But they’re also inevitable in a world as complex as the one we all live and work in. Many very wealthy people have managed to remain very wealthy through good and bad markets in part because they don’t keep all of their eggs in one basket. There’s a place for alternative investments of one kind or another in just about any portfolio, and fortunately everyday investors have more options for doing that than ever before.

Want to learn more but aren’t sure where to start? You can explore 168 crowdfunding investment platforms in our database and learn more about the nuts and bolts of crowdfunding and alternative investing on our blog. Did you know you can use a self-directed retirement account to invest in many alternative investments? Rocket Dollar makes it easy, and when you sign up using that link you'll be helping to support YieldTalk.

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Other Investment Opportunities

EquityMultiple

Outstanding

EquityMultiple stands out among real estate crowdfunding investment platforms because their main investors and senior leadership come from institutional real estate finance, rather than being VC-funded. Seed funding for the company was provided by Mission Capital (later acquired by Marcus & Millichap) and their co-founders and board of advisors come from the New York real estate finance and law community. They offer fewer investments than some other platforms, but that’s a deliberate choice to take a more curatorial approach to dealflow. Overall, EquityMultiple is a solid choice for accredited investors looking for a hands-off way to invest in commercial real estate.

"Gain exclusive access to high-yield commercial real estate deals"

First National Realty Partners

Excellent

First National Realty Partners (FNRP) is a commercial real estate private equity firm that focuses on grocery-anchored commercial shopping centers, offering both investments in individual properties and an Opportunity Fund across all of their offerings.

"First National Realty Partners (FNRP) is a rapidly growing commercial real estate private equity firm that owns and operates real estate throughout the United States. FNRP focuses on expanding its portfolio by acquiring market-dominant, well-located commercial assets well below replacement cost. "

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