The Only Guide to Alternative Investments You'll Ever Need The Good, the Flawed, the Bad, and the Ugly

by Swedroe, Larry E.; Kizer, Jared

• ISBN13: 9781576603109
• ISBN10: 1576603105
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-11-01
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press

Summary

The rewards of carefully chosen alternative investments can be great. But many investors don't know enough about unfamiliar investments to make wise choices. For that reason, financial advisers Larry Swedroe and Jared Kizer designed this book to bring investors up to speed on the twenty most popular alternative investments: Real estate, Inflation-protected securities, Commodities, International equities, Fixed annuities, Stable-value funds, High-yield (junk) bonds, Private equity (venture capital), Covered calls, Socially responsible mutual funds, Precious metals equities, Preferred stocks, Convertible bonds, Emerging market bonds, Hedge funds, Leveraged buyouts, Variable annuities, Equity-indexed annuities, Structured investment products, Leveraged funds The authors describe how the investments work, the pros and cons of each, which to consider, which to avoid, and how to get started. Swedroe and Kizer evaluate each investment in terms of: Expected returns Volatility Distribution of returns Diversification potential Fees Trading and operating expenses Liquidity Tax efficiency Account location Role in an asset-allocation programAny investor who is considering or just curious about investment opportunities outside the traditional world of stocks, bonds, and bank certificates of deposit would be well-advised to read this book.

Author Biography

Larry Swedroe is Principle and Director of Research for Buckingham Asset Management, which manages over US$1.9bn in assets. Buckingham also provides turnkey assets management for more than 110 financial advisory firms in the US. Jared Kizer is an executive at Buckingham Asset Management.

Table of Contents

List of Tables
The Good
Real Estate	p. 3
Inflation-Protected Securities	p. 23
Commodities	p. 41
International Equities	p. 63
Fixed Annuities	p. 79
Stable-Value Funds	p. 91
The Flawed
High-Yield (Junk) Bonds	p. 101
Private Equity (Venture Capital)	p. 123
Covered Calls	p. 135
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds	p. 141
Precious Metals Equities	p. 147
Preferred Stocks	p. 155
Convertible Bonds	p. 163
Emerging Market Bonds	p. 169
The Bad
Hedge Funds	p. 181
Leveraged Buyouts	p. 213
Variable Annuities	p. 215
The Ugly
Equity-Indexed Annuities	p. 229
Structured Investment Products	p. 235
Leveraged Funds	p. 247
Final Thoughts	p. 251
Notes	p. 253
Glossary	p. 263
Recommended Reading	p. 275
Sources of Data	p. 277
Index	p. 279
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.