In essence, Alt investments are alternatives to traditional stock, bonds, CD’s and money market accounts. A major difference is that traditional investments are traded on a securities exchange, and most alternative investments are non-traded. These Alt’s are offered directly to investors through broker-dealers, financial advisors or direct from the company offering the investment. Popular Alt’s today include non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)s, Limited Partnerships, Private Placements and real estate-secured deeds. We offer two types of alternative investments, a family of private placement mortgage funds and individual trust deeds. These high yield investment funds and trust deeds can be an important component of a well-performing portfolio. Real estate debt-secured investments offer certain safety and security features that can limit downside in the event of a major market correction.

A private placement is a type of security that is exempt from full registration under federal securities law. Private placements provide investors with disclosure information through an offering memorandum. This disclosure document, often referred to as private placement memorandum, includes a summary of the offering terms, risks associated with the investment and a full description of the issuing company.

Which type is best for you depends on your personal investment profile. Alternative funds are a more passive investment, while investing in trust deeds requires active involvement. Another key difference is control. With a mortgage fund, control of how capital is invested resides with the manager. With trust deeds, the investor decides which loan to purchase. Moving some of your profits from traditional investment types to high yielding funds and trust deeds can be one method to re-balance a portfolio.