Explore alternative investments and their integration into traditional portfolios

Following the collapse of the world’s equity markets between 2001 and 2003, many investors have been investing in, or are thinking of investing in, less traditional asset classes as an alternative to equities. The integration of these alternative asset classes into traditional investor portfolios is still at an early stage, leaving investment managers with significant challenges as they look to satisfy investor demand for these alternatives. This module will provide you with the solid background in commodities, hedge funds, private equity and real estate that’s essential to success in today's investment management industry. The topics you’ll cover in this module include:

Hedge Funds

  • Overview of the hedge fund industry
  • The 10 major hedge fund strategies
  • Analysis of hedge fund performance, performance metrics and factor models
  • Incorporating hedge funds into a traditional portfolio
  • Hedge fund data, availability, biases and statistical properties

Private Equity

  • Overview of the global private equity business
  • Venture capital vs buyouts
  • The private equity investment lifecycle
  • Valuing and structuring venture capital deals
  • Valuing buyout deals – the adjusted present value method
  • Measuring and benchmarking private equity fund performance

Commodities

  • The economic rationale for gaining exposure to commodities
  • Issues with physical commodity investment
  • Commodity indices, development, construction and return drivers

Real Estate

  • Historical returns and risks
  • Real estate investment vehicles, private, REITs, etc.
  • Data smoothing and its effects

Module Leader

The Alternative Investments module is led by Dr Nick Motson:

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On-demand webinar

Discover Dr Moton's masterclass on smart beta approaches and their historical outperformance:

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