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The Role AIFs Play in Diversifying Your Portfolio

April 26, 2023

Alternative investment funds are investment plans that allocate money to financial instruments other than conventional investment options. They consist of venture capital, private equity, commodities, real estate, angel funds, etc. So how can AIFs enable you to diversify your portfolio and invest for the long-term? Let’s find out!

Why is Diversification Essential?

The majority of your portfolio probably consists of stocks if you are an average investor or don’t know about other alternative investments companies. In a person’s larger portfolio, stock holdings are frequently regarded as risky. When the market is bullish, people can generate return over their investments.

When the market is weak or during a bear run, people are likely to suffer losses. Unlike investment funds, which frequently reallocate their underlying investments to mitigate these losses, their return is on the opposite side.

A diversified portfolio can help reduce risk when the market is volatile. A balanced portfolio can even assist in achieving secure returns over a set period of time, depending on the investing objective.


Alternative Investments in India – Factors to be consider before investing

What are some key factors you need to keep in mind before you decide to invest in an Alternative Investment Fund? Let’s discover

  • Time Horizon & Liquidity – Alternative assets are investments that lack liquidity and have much longer planning or time horizons. In the case of a private equity firm where the partner is limited, time is fixed at the time of contract signing for some alternative investments. Long-term horizons are also appropriate in situations where products are difficult to sell or take a long time to gain value. 
  • Sectors and markets – Analyze market and industry trends for the private companies you’re considering before investing in any private equity or debt fund, and pick those particular businesses in a given industry with a high level of complementarity. When making real estate investments, divide your funds among various property types or geographical areas.
  • Potential Risks and Threats – Diversification is one way to reduce risk, and alternative investments and assets come with different levels of risk. Going back to how time horizons are conceptualized, investments with longer or fixed durations are less risky because the market has enough time to recover from a downturn. However, let’s say someone decides to invest in a physical asset like a home, piece of land, natural resource, or collectible. In that case, there is a greater chance that the asset will be damaged, taken, or lost, increasing the risk.

Conclusion
Building strong and diversified investment portfolios requires alternative investments. The best options for generating sustainable returns in the future are these investments. Strategies aid in portfolio diversification, but it takes time to comprehend portfolio diversification through alternative investments, including liquidity, industry, risk level, and market trends. This information will assist everyone in making better decisions that reduce the overall risk of the portfolio while maximizing returns.