Alternative Assets: Investments for a Post-Crisis World(The Wiley Finance Series)

The investment landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years, destroying many of the old certainties by which investors lived their lives. In particular, it has shaken belief in the ability of traditional asset types such as bonds and equities to protect them from abnormal market conditions, and it has brought home how closely correlation between different markets can be squeezed together by extreme pressure. Future investors will have to regard so-called "alternative" assets as essential elements within their portfolios, and be prepared to deal with the complexities that this will entail. This will in turn force a re-appraisal of core concepts such as "risk" and "return", not least because some alternative asset classes do not lend themselves well to traditional return measures. Exciting times lie ahead, but a thorough working knowledge of the various alternative asset classes will be an essential pre-requisite to success, and perhaps even to survival. Alternative Assets meets investor's need for a guide on where to allocate in this new climate. It provides investors with a primer on each alternative asset class, as well as practical tips on the pros and cons, implementation, returns analysis, fees and costs. It also offers introductory guidance on how to set investment targets, and how alternative assets can be accommodated within the allocation process. Each chapter gives useful background knowledge on a particular asset type, including a discussion of whether a satisfactory beta return level exists and, if so, the different ways in which it might be accessed. Written by best-selling author Guy Fraser-Sampson, this book guides investors through the new look alternative investment arena, providing post-financial crisis perspective and investment advice on the alternatives landscape.

Table of Contents:
Preface xi Acknowledgements xv 1. What are Alternative Assets? 1 Illiquid 2 Unquoted 2 Non bonds or equities 3 Are alternative assets really “alternative”? 3 Thoughts on classification 6 Private assets 6 Commodity type assets 9 Volatility and valuation issues 10 Time horizons 12 Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA) 13 An alternative way of accessing conventional assets? 15 What we will be considering 16 Summary 17 2. Investing in Alternative Assets 19 Why should we invest in alternative assets? 19 The traditional worldview 20 Risk (volatility) 20 Liquidity 22 Problems posed by the traditional world view so far as alternative assets are concerned 23 The tail wags the dog 23 The parallel universe of pension funds 24 Volatility as risk 25 Liquidity 27 How much liquidity do you really need? 28 The illiquidity premium 29 Problems with liquidity 30 The stock market goes supernova 31 Liquidity and volatility 31 Liquidity and correlation 32 Extending the efficient frontier 33 Correlation 35 Active and passive investing – beta and alpha 37 The rationale for alternative assets 40 Summary 41 3. Real estate 43 Real estate beta 45 Real estate exposure 46 Direct 47 Quoted 48 Quoted (1): property companies 48 Quoted (2): REITS 49 Quoted (3): ETFs 50 Unquoted (1): unlisted property funds 50 Unquoted (2): private real estate 53 Synthetic 57 Summary 61 4. Energy 63 Spot trading 64 Influences on pricing 65 Untapped reserves 65 The (US) strategic petroleum reserve 65 Production and growth in oil hungry economies 65 Weather 66 Political factors 66 Terrorism 67 The US dollar 67 Accessing oil as an investment 69 Investing in the shares of oil companies 69 Synthetic exposure 71 Oil ETFs 73 Bio-fuels 75 Natural gas 77 Oil and gas royalties 79 Energy as an investment 82 Summary 83 5. Private Equity 85 Private equity – definition and types 85 Buyout 86 Drivers 87 History and development 88 Development capital 89 Characteristics 89 Minority shareholder protection 90 Deal types 91 Growth capital 91 Venture capital 92 Venture returns and home runs 94 Mezzanine 95 Quoted private equity 95 Private equity funds 97 Private equity returns 99 The J-Curve, IRRS and multiples 100 Vintage year returns 102 Funds, funds of funds and secondaries 102 Concluding thoughts on private equity 103 Summary 105 6. Hedge Funds 107 Introduction 107 Use of derivative instruments 108 Leverage 110 Some common elements 112 Legal structure 112 Type of trades 113 Lack of transparency 113 How hedge funds invest – an overview 114 Long and long/short 114 Credit based 116 Global macro 117 Specific strategies 117 Long only 118 Long/short 118 (Equity) market neutral 118 Convertible arbitrage 118 Statistical arbitrage (“stat arb”) 119 Merger arbitrage 120 Fixed income arbitrage 120 Global macro 121 Event driven 121 Distressed 121 Fund of funds 122 The hedge fund model – pros, cons and the future 123 Redemption/co-investor risk 125 Some final thoughts on hedge funds 126 Summary 127 7. Infrastructure 129 What is infrastructure? 131 Secondary and primary infrastructure 132 Regulated and demand-driven 133 Drivers 133 Government 134 Investors 134 Industry 134 Threats 135 Regulatory/governmental 135 Funding 137 War and terrorism 137 Quoted and unquoted infrastructure 138 Quoted infrastructure (1): industrial companies 138 Quoted infrastructure (2): listed investment vehicles 140 Unquoted infrastructure (1): projects (typically PFI or PPP type) 143 Unquoted infrastructure (2): funds 144 Returns 145 Summary 146 8. Commodities 147 What are “commodities”? 148 How can we classify commodities? 149 Soft commodities 149 Hard commodities 150 What are the return drivers? 151 Commodities beta 152 Prices and indices 152 Is it investable? 153 US dollar currency risk 155 Are they representative? 156 Counterparty risk 158 Renewal effect 160 Commodity returns 161 What can be stated? 162 What other factors are relevant? 163 The case for commodities 164 Summary 165 9. Gold 167 Introduction 167 Inflation 168 Gold as a safe haven 169 Gold as a hedge against US dollar weakness 172 Gold as a diversifier 172 Returns 173 Gold doesn’t have babies 174 Fixing the gold price 175 How to invest in gold 176 Gold shares 177 Physical ownership 178 Synthetic ownership 180 Indirect ownership 182 Summary 183 10. Active Currency 185 How can an investor make money by investing in currency? 187 Are the currency markets a zero sum game? 188 Institutional approaches 190 Risk management 190 Active currency 192 Liquidity 193 Volatility 193 Correlation 194 Active currency strategies 194 The carry trade 195 Momentum/trend investing 196 Value investing 197 Active currency beta 199 What is the beta measure we are discussing? 199 What is the methodology? 200 Is the DBCR investable? 202 Final Considerations for Active Currency 203 Summary 203 11. Other Alternative Assets 205 Forestry 208 Returns and correlation 208 Direct and indirect forestry 209 Gem stones 210 Works of art 212 Musical instruments 213 Antiques 214 Wine 215 Classic cars 218 Other collectables – coins, medals, stamps, militaria, snuff boxes, perfume bottles, etc. 220 Yet more …? 221 Conclusion 222 Summary 223 Index 225

About the Author :
GUY FRASER-SAMPSON is one of the very few people in the world to have expertise right across the whole range of so-called "alternative" assets, including in particular issues of analysis, access and implementation. He has twenty-five years' practical experience of different aspects of the subject, including fund structuring, investment management and returns analysis. He is also unusual in that to his many years of practical experience have been added the last few years in an academic setting, enabling him to gain a whole new dimension on investment matters generally, not just through teaching and lecturing but also by supervising various research projects. Guy's work experience has included a period as Investment Controller with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and setting up and running for several years the non-US activities of a leading fund of funds manager. In addition to his work with funds, he has also conducted direct, secondary and mezzanine transactions around the world. He is currently at the forefront of work on identifying sources of beta return across different asset types, and discussing methods of accessing these. Guy teaches post-graduate modules on private equity and investment strategy at Cass Business School in the City of London, and is also recogniZed as an authority on all types of alternative assets. He performs consultancy and high level executive training assignments for clients around the world, and is also in demand as a provider of keynote addresses at investment conferences. In addition to various professional qualifications, he holds an LLB with honours from King's College London, and an MBA majoring in finance from Warwick Business School. Guy writes for a number of finance and investment publications, including his influential monthly column in Real Deals. He is the author of Multi-Asset Class Investment Strategy, also published as part of the Wiley Finance series, which questions accepted views of risk and return, and sets out ways in which investors could and should incorporate a wide range of so-called alternative assets into their planned portfolios. He conducts regular investor workshops around the world based upon his books. He has won praise for his no-nonsense writing style, which aims to de-mystify finance and make it accessible to the general reader by means of explaining the concepts which lie behind it, and the use of practical everyday examples.

Review :
"...explains alternatives both to the expert and the novice, covering real estate, energy, private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure, commodities, gold...currency." (Pensionsworld.co.uk, March 2011)