image

"So what do I do with my money?"

The range of opportunities available to investors is growing, and with it, the ability to obtain greater diversification. Alternative investments—such as hedge funds, commodities or certain categories of real estate—are no longer the preserve of the most sophisticated investors. Adding a variety of alternatives to a traditional portfolio has the potential to enhance returns, while also reducing risk, because they don’t typically move in tandem with other parts of a portfolio. Alternatives are modern-day “diversifiers”— and they are more accessible than ever through mutual funds and ETFs.

Open Your Eyes to Alternatives with Matthew Botein

Source for graph: BlackRock; Informa Investment Solutions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Standard deviation is a measurement of risk depicting the dispersion of returns from the average return. The higher the degree of dispersion, the higher the standard deviation. The information provided is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to represent the performance of any particular investment. The data assumes reinvestment of all income, and does not account for taxes or transaction costs. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Long-Only Equity is represented by the S&P 500 Index. Long-Only Fixed Income is represented by the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Enhanced portfolios include a 15% allocation to alternative assets, a 5% allocation to alternative equity strategies within the equity allocation and a 5% allocation to alternative fixed income strategies within the fixed income allocation. To fund these additional allocations, the equity allocation of each traditional portfolio is reduced by 15% and the fixed income allocation is reduced by 10%. The 15% allocation to alternative assets is represented by a 5% allocation to the S&P GSCI®, a 5% allocation to the Barclays Currency Traders Index and a 5% allocation to the NAREIT Equity Index. The 5% allocation to equity alternative strategies is represented by the Dow Jones/Credit Suisse Long Short Equity Index. The 5% allocation to fixed income alternative strategies is represented by the Dow Jones/Credit Suisse Fixed Income Arbitrage Index.

 

Investment involves risks. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. International investing involves additional risks, including risks related to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political, economic or other developments.

This website is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The information and opinions contained in this website are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by BlackRock to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy.

This website is for information only and does not constitute an offer or invitation to anyone to invest in any BlackRock or iShares funds.

iShares Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by their index providers. For details of the index provider including any disclaimer, please refer to the relevant iShares Fund offer document.

In Hong Kong, this website is issued by BlackRock (Hong Kong) Limited and BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited and has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.

© 2012 BlackRock, Inc. All Rights reserved. BLACKROCK, BLACKROCK SOLUTIONS, ALADDIN, iSHARES, LIFEPATH, SO WHAT DO I DO WITH MY MONEY, INVESTING FOR A NEW WORLD, and BUILT FOR THESE TIMES are registered and unregistered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere.  All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.

© 2013 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved.