What alternatives to conventional stocks and bonds are available to Abacus clients for principal preservation and growth?
We believe strongly that real estate is an important “alternative” investment, because it provides both ownership of a “hard” asset, and an income stream. We believe commodities, as a wider base of “hard” assets, provide additional protection against unexpected inflation. We also consider micro-finance as an alternative asset class, although because it is not publicly traded at present we are unable to offer it as an investment vehicle for all of our clients. However, as microfinance funds become publicly traded, we will consider adding them to our investment portfolios. We do invest in emerging market stocks, but we do not consider them an alternative investment. They are simply a class of international stocks, with different risks and rewards than stocks issued in developed nations. Nor do we define hedge funds as alternative investments; they are simply trading strategies which make use of underlying positions (long and/or short and/or derivative) in underlying securities. Because t
