Is your money following your interests? Alternative investing – from tech start-ups to real estate

Since the financial crisis of 2008, traditional investments have been subject to highly volatile markets and overt monetary policy influence in the form of quantitative easing. Whilst these have created growth it has been unpredictable and made the investment decision process harder to navigate

As a result, investment in alternative assets has evolved to become an important part of the financial system, providing opportunities for private investors to achieve potentially higher long-term returns. 

Power shift in the investment landscape: the rise of the alternatives

The growing sophistication of individual investors is shifting the balance between traditional and alternative investing.

Faced with the difficult decision of whether to accept reduced or volatile expected returns from their investments in equities, fund-based SIPPs and ISAs, or to adjust the risk profile of their investment portfolio in pursuit of higher returns, investors have increasingly been choosing the latter – resulting in increased demand for alternatives.

Capturing the next wave of growth in alternative investments

At CoInvestor, we’ve designed a platform which gives investors the opportunity to co-invest in alternative asset investments alongside experienced fund managers. Qualifying investors have the opportunity to invest directly in a range of opportunities that would previously have required investment via several funds, giving them more control and greater transparency. By bringing investors, fund managers and advisers together on one platform, CoInvestor is simplifying a traditionally complex investment process.   

 The CoInvestor platform aims to provide sophisticated private investors with access to the kind of UK growth assets – from tech firms and healthcare businesses to infrastructure and real estate – which until recently were almost exclusively the domain of institutional investors.

By co-investing alongside the experts, participants can invest directly in their areas of personal interest while leaving time-consuming investment process to the fund managers who carry them out on a daily basis.

Why you should consider co-investing in alternatives

The alternatives market will without doubt be one of the most attractive growth opportunities for private investors in the coming years as traditional, actively managed products face the constant threat of commoditisation and margin compression.

According to Preqin, a leading source of data and intelligence for alternative investments, the main advantages of co-investing are:

• Better return on investment
• Lower management fees
• Better control over investments
• Stronger relationships with fund managers
• Increased knowledge of industry/sector

By offering the opportunity to invest alongside experienced fund managers, the co-investment approach represents a middle ground between traditional investments and the more daunting task of investing directly on your own.