What are alternative investments?

An alternative investment is a financial asset that does not fall into the conventional category of publicly traded stocks, bonds, and cash. It typically includes private equity, private credit, and hedge funds. The size of the private equity market is about US$13 trillion, private credit is over US$1 trillion, and the hedge fund segment is about US$4 trillion.  While this is still a fraction of the public securities market, it has been rapidly growing as a real allocation to portfolios not only for institutional investors but also for individual investors. A recent Goldman Sachs survey on family offices shows that family offices have allocated 26% of their assets into private equity. While alternatives are still not widely available for the general public due to lack of access, large minimum investment hurdles, and high cost, Endowus has been expanding its alternatives offering to offer high-quality products...