Fierce innovation in the investment world has resulted in a complicated and fragmented array of investment opportunities and vehicles, with new asset classes such as hedge funds and structured products proliferating, along with repackaged traditional commodities such as property, currencies and private equity.

Alternative Investments looks in detail at developments in the main alternative asset classes and at specific product offerings targeted at the retail and institutional markets.

It explains in clear, non-technical terms how these instruments work, supported by case studies and an examination of the key trends, risks and opportunities in each marketplace.

This new practical report, written by leading financial journalist Ceri Jones, gives an overview of the entire marketplace in one volume. It is an invaluable source for anyone who wants to find out more about a given specialist area without being bogged down by too much detail or jargon.

Original industry research

Very little information is available on trends across the investment marketplace. This guide draws on in-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of senior managers from product providers, fund managers, advisers, actuaries, pension funds and in some cases active investors themselves.

Why do you need this research?

In recent years both institutional and private investors have been intent on making their money work harder, and with derivative-based products this has been a rewarding strategy. It has proved far easier to make more impressive gains using increasingly liquid synthetic products, such as swaps, than by using traditional financial instruments.

However, while the use of alternative investments is growing exponentially, it can be a difficult and technical area to keep abreast of. Information on the new investment segments is hard to collate, and generally written for specialists. This report is a one-stop shop for any manager in the financial services or investment marketplace who needs to keep up-to-date across the range of disciplines and product segments. It should also be an invaluable resource to anyone providing investment advice, from consulting actuaries to private client advisers, and to company directors involved in any way in investing company funds, particularly in light of their more onerous fiduciary duties.

Most remaining final salary pension schemes are fighting their way out of deficit positions, with the result that many occupational pension schemes trustees are currently considering the use of alternative investment for the first time. They too now have a clear legal duty to understand the range of investments available.