“Alternative Investments” is a catch-all phrase used to describe investments that don’t fall neatly into the traditional cash, stock or bond categories. You may have some in your portfolio already. Or perhaps your financial sales rep called you with a suggestion to invest in a new hedge fund-like mutual fund. In this post I will provide you with a brief overview of some of the most common alternative investments. I also want to give you permission to pass on any investments that you don’t understand.It’s not you, it’s them.Not all that glitters is gold: CommoditiesCommodities were originally designed to help farmers reduce their risk by using contracts to buy and…

How the heck are you supposed to judge whether a specific asset allocation is right for you if you don’t fully understand the differences between the assets you are allocating? What does that even mean?! What is an asset and how can I get one may be your first question. Let’s start at the beginning so you can understand what your financial adviser, financial planner or salesperson (let’s be real - most people in “financial services” are actually in “financial sales”) is talking about. Today let’s focus on empowering you with knowledge you can use to better understand your financial picture. I’ll be frank, I don’t think the vast majority…